2020-21 MAAC Men’s Soccer Championship Preview
EDISON, N.J. (April 10, 2021) – The 2020-21 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) Men’s Soccer Championship kicks off this Sunday, April 11, with the quarterfinal round.
Kicking off the quarterfinals will be the second-seeded Rider Broncs (2-0-1, 2-0-1 MAAC) as they play host to the seventh-seeded Iona Gaels (2-3-1, 2-3-1) in Lawrenceville, NJ at 2:00 p.m. Also at 2:00 p.m. will be the third-seeded Niagara Purple Eagles (5-2-0, 4-2-0) taking on the sixth-seeded Monmouth Hawks (2-2-1, 2-2-1) at Niagara Field in Niagara University, NY. At 3:00 p.m., the top-seeded Quinnipiac Bobcats (5-1-0, 5-1-0) will host the eighth-seeded Siena Saints (2-4-1, 2-4-1) in Hamden, CT. Wrapping up the day will be No. 4 Saint Peter’s (3-2-1, 3-2-1) playing host to No. 5 Fairfield (3-2-1, 3-2-1) at 3:00 p.m. in Jersey City, NJ.
Per MAAC policy, host institutions will establish attendance policies based on state, local, and campus regulations, as well as facility guidelines. Please refer to each institution’s website for more details. All matches of the 2020-21 MAAC Men’s Soccer Championship will be broadcasted live on ESPN+.
This will be the third time that Quinnipiac has held the top seed in the MAAC Championship Tournament (2014, 2016) and their eighth-straight MAAC postseason appearance. The Bobcats captured the MAAC Regular Season title on the last day of the season after they defeated Manhattan, 2-0. Quinnipiac will be seeking their second MAAC Championship title and first since 2013. Their quarterfinal opponent, Siena, finished the season dropping their final two games of the season to fall to 2-4-1. The Saints will be seeking their first win over Quinnipiac since October 28, 2015. Siena makes their return to the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and are seeking their first MAAC Championship.
Niagara and Monmouth will face off for the second straight game against one another. On April 8, the Hawks defeated Niagara in overtime by a score of 4-3. After taking an early 1-0 lead, Monmouth gave up three straight goals and found themselves trailing at halftime, 1-3. In the second half, the Hawks found the back of the net twice to force overtime and it took Monmouth’s Liam McGregor just over a minute of overtime play to tally the golden goal. Niagara will host its third straight home game as they seek their first win in the MAAC Championship tournament since 2012 when the Purple Eagles took home the MAAC title.
The MAAC’s only unbeaten team, the Rider Broncs, will look to remain unbeaten as they host the defending MAAC champion Iona Gaels. The Broncs won in their only meeting this season in a 1-0 match and have won seven of the last eight versus the Gaels. However, it will be the Broncs who are looking for revenge in this rematch of the 2019 MAAC Championship first-round game as Iona defeated Rider, 2-1, on their way to claiming their first MAAC Men’s Soccer Championship. The Gaels will look to be the first team to repeat as MAAC Men’s Soccer Champions since Rider won back-to-back titles in 2015 and 2016.
The 2020-21 MAAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll favorite, Saint Peter’s, look to get back in the win column after tying their final game of the regular season, 1-1, against Iona. In their lone matchup against Fairfield this season, the Peacocks came out victorious after netting three second-half goals to take the match, 4-3. Saint Peter’s will be looking for redemption this year after falling in the 2019 MAAC Championship game to Iona, 3-2. The Stags are in search of their sixth MAAC Men’s Soccer Championship title, which would break a tie with Rider to make them the leader among active conference members.
| 2020-21 MAAC MEN’S SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE |
| Sunday, April 11 |
Match-Up |
Time |
Network |
| Quarterfinal #1* |
No. 2 Rider vs. No. 7 Iona |
2:00 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal #2* |
No. 3 Niagara vs. No. 6 Monmouth |
2:00 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal #3* |
No. 1 Quinnipiac vs. No. 8 Siena |
3:00 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
| Quarterfinal #4* |
No. 4 Saint Peter’s vs. No. 5 Fairfield |
3:00 p.m. |
ESPN+ |
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|
| Wednesday, April 14 |
|
|
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| Semifinal #1* |
Quarterfinal #1 Winner vs. Quarterfinal #2 Winner |
TBA |
ESPN+ |
| Semifinal #2* |
Quarterfinal #3 Winner vs. Quarterfinal #4 Winner |
TBA |
ESPN+ |
| |
|
|
|
| Saturday, April 17 |
|
|
|
| Championship Game* |
Semifinal #1 Winner vs. Semifinal #2 Winner |
TBA |
ESPN+ |
The 2020-21 MAAC Men’s Soccer begins on Sunday, April 11, with the quarterfinal round. Semifinal round action will take place on Wednesday, April 14. The 2020-21 MAAC Men’s Soccer Championship Game is scheduled for Saturday, April 17. Keep up with all MAAC soccer action by following @MAACSports on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and by searching #MAACSoccer.
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) celebrates its 40
th year of competition during the 2020-21 academic year. Current conference members include: