SEC Soccer Updates for 2020 Season

Here's all you need to know for the start of SEC soccer in 2020.

SEC SOCCER NOTES

The 2020 SEC soccer season will consist of an eight-match, Conference-only regular season over eight weeks of competition beginning September 18, followed by the SEC Championship, November 13-22, in Orange Beach, Alabama. All 14 schools will compete in the SEC Championship with each team guaranteed at least two matches.

· Arkansas was predicted to win to the 2020 Southeastern Conference women’s soccer title in voting by the league’s 14 head coaches. South Carolina, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt and Florida rounded out the top five.

· Twenty players (out of 35 possible) that earned All-SEC honors last year return for the 2020 campaign. Included in that group is Midfielder of the Year Jimena Lopez (AM) and Co-Defensive Player of the Year Haley VanFossen (AR) and first team selections Kayla Bruster (UG), Channing Foster (UM), Parker Goins (AR), Taylor Malham (AR), Anna Podojil (AR), Reyna Reyes (UA) and Parker Roberts (UF).

· Fifty-nine players were named to the Preseason SEC Watch List. A complete listing of the players is available on page two of this release.

· More than half of the regular season matches are scheduled to be televised to a national television audience this year on SEC Network and ESPNU. Additionally, other matches will be available digitally on SEC Network+.

· The SEC had five teams selected to participate in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. Two teams earned national seeds and four teams earned the right to host their opening round match on their home pitch.

· Over the last nine years, the SEC has earned 63 NCAA Tournament bids – an average of seven per year – with all 14 member institutions making at least one appearance during that span. Eight different SEC teams have advanced to the Round of 16 since 2013 and the league has placed teams in the NCAA quarterfinals in each of the last six seasons.

· Five SEC players earned 2019 All-America honors from the United Soccer Coaches, including first team selections Grace Fisk and Ally Watt. Mikayla Krzeczowski, Haley VanFossen and Anna Podojil each earned third team honors.

· SEC’s players have garnered 51 All-America awards from the United Soccer Coaches since 2011. SEC players have earned 12 first team All-America honors during that time and three have earn multiple first team honors (South Carolina’s Sabrina D’Angelo in 2013 and 2014; South Carolina’s Savannah McCaskill in 2016 and 2017; and South Carolina’s Grace Fisk in 2018 and 2019).

· The SEC has had at least five teams rank in the Top 25 nationally in attendance in eight of the last nine years. South Carolina and Texas A&M have both ranked in the Top Five in each of the last six years with the Aggies leading the nation with an average of 2,652 fans per game in 2018.

· Arkansas’ 8-1-1 league record in 2019 earned the Razorbacks their first SEC Championship. South Carolina earned its second SEC Tournament championship with a 2-0 win over Arkansas in Orange Beach, Ala.

Upcoming Games (All Times Eastern):

Mississippi State at Auburn SEC Network 7:00 p.m.

Florida at Missouri postponed

Tennessee at Alabama SEC Network 2:00 p.m.

LSU at Arkansas SEC Network 4:00 p.m.

Texas A&M at Ole Miss SEC Network 6:00 p.m.

South Carolina at Georgia SEC Network 1:00 p.m.

Kentucky at Vanderbilt SEC Network 3:00 p.m.

Alabama at Mississippi State SEC Network 7:00 p.m.

Georgia at Florida SECN+ 12:00 p.m.

Vanderbilt at Tennessee ESPNU 2:00 p.m.

Ole Miss at LSU SEC Network 2:00 p.m.

Missouri at South Carolina ESPNU 4:00 p.m.

Auburn at Texas A&M SEC Network 4:00 p.m.

Arkansas at Kentucky SECN+ 6:00 p.m.

NOTE: Content courtesy Southeastern Conference press release.