Georgia Southern Eagles men's soccer
American college soccer team
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The Georgia Southern Eagles men's soccer program represents Georgia Southern University in all NCAA Division I men's college soccer competitions. Founded in 1980, the Eagles currently compete in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC).[2] They played briefly as members of the Mid-American Conference. However, following a major conference realignment in 2021 brought several new men's soccer schools to the SBC including the Southeastern Conference and Big 12 Conference playing members, the league announced it would reinstate men's soccer no later than 2023.[3] The reinstatement of SBC men's soccer was ultimately pushed forward to 2022.[4]
| Georgia Southern Eagles | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Founded | May 7, 1980 | ||
| University | Georgia Southern University | ||
| Head coach | Lee Squires (2nd season) | ||
| Conference | Sun Belt | ||
| Location | Statesboro, Georgia, US | ||
| Stadium | Bo Pitts Field (capacity: 3,500) | ||
| Nickname | Eagles | ||
| Colors | Blue and white[1] | ||
| |||
| Conference regular season championships | |||
| 1990, 2016 | |||
The Eagles are coached by Lee Squires. Georgia Southern plays their home matches at Eagle Field.
History
Georgia Southern University's varsity men's soccer program was introduced by then-athletic director George A. Cook on May 7, 1980.[5] The same day, the soccer program's first head coach, Pat Cobb, was also introduced as the head coach. They began play in the league now known as the ASUN Conference.
Seasons
- Key
- – National Champions
- – Conference Champions
- – Division Champions
- – NCAA Tournament berth
| Season | Head coach | Conference | Season results | Tournament results | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Conference | Conference | NCAA[6] | ||||||||
| W | L | T | W | L | T | Finish | |||||
| 1980 | Patt Cobb | TAAC[7][8] | 10 | 8 | 1 | — | — | — | — | Runners-up | — |
| 1981 | 8 | 10 | 1 | — | — | — | — | Third place | — | ||
| 1982 | 4 | 10 | 1 | — | — | — | — | Semifinals | — | ||
| 1983 | Ray Wells | 5 | 6 | 1 | — | — | — | — | Quarterfinals | — | |
| 1984 | 6 | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | — | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 1985 | John Rafter | 3 | 9 | 3 | — | — | — | — | Quarterfinals | — | |
| 1986 | 12 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | Semifinals | — | ||
| 1987 | 14 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | Semifinals | — | ||
| 1988 | 10 | 7 | 1 | — | — | — | — | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 1989 | 8 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 3rd of 4, East | — | — | ||
| 1990‡ | Tom Norton | 15 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1st of 4, East | Runners-up | — | |
| 1991 | 4 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 6th of 7 | — | — | ||
| 1992 | SoCon[9] | 8 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3rd of 7 | Quarterfinals | — | |
| 1993 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3rd of 7 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 1994 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 4th of 7 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 1995 | 7 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5th of 7 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 1996 | Kevin Chambers | 10 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3rd of 7 | Runners-up | — | |
| 1997 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 4th of 8 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 1998 | 6 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4th of 9 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 1999 | 5 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6th of 9 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2000 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 6th of 9 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2001 | 8 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 7th of 9 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 2002 | 2 | 16 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 6th of 9 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2003 | 6 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 6th of 8 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2004 | 7 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5th of 8 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2005 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 7th of 8 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2006 | Kevin Kennedy | 10 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 2nd of 8 | Runners-up | — | |
| 2007 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7th of 8 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2008 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 4th of 8 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 2009 | 1 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 8th of 8 | — | — | ||
| 2010 | 3 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 8th of 8 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2011 | 8 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 3rd of 8 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2012 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 4th of 8 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 2013 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5th of 7 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 2014 | Sun Belt[10] | 8 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2nd of 6 | Runners-up | — | |
| 2015 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3rd of 6 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 2016* | John Murphy | 8 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1st of 6* | Semifinals | — | |
| 2017 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3rd of 6 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 2018 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2nd of 5 | Runners-up | — | ||
| 2019 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5th of 6 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
| 2020 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 4th of 4 | Semifinals | — | ||
| 2021 | MAC | 4 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 7th of 7 | — | — | |
| 2022 | Sun Belt | 1 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 9th of 9 | — | — | |
| 2023 | Lee Squires | 2 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 9th of 10 | — | — | |
| 2024 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 8th of 10 | Quarterfinals | — | ||
Head coaches
There have been eight men's soccer coaches in the program's history.[11]
| No. | Coach | Seasons | Years | Games | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pat Cobb | 3 | 1980–1982 | 52 | 22–28–3 (.443) |
| 2 | Ray Wells | 2 | 1983–1984 | 25 | 11–13–1 (.460) |
| 3 | John Rafter | 5 | 1985–1989 | 85 | 47–32–6 (.588) |
| 4 | Tom Norton | 6 | 1990–1995 | 123 | 52–57–14 (.480) |
| 5 | Kevin Chambers | 10 | 1996–2005 | 194 | 71–105–18 (.412) |
| 6 | Kevin Kennedy | 10 | 2006–2015 | 176 | 65–99–12 (.403) |
| 7 | John Murphy | 7 | 2016–2022 | 115 | 37–67–11 (.370) |
| 8 | Lee Squires | 2 | 2023–present | 34 | 8–16–10 (.382) |
Rivalries
Mercer
Mercer leads the series 30–24–1 through the 2023 season.[12]
Georgia State
Georgia State leads the series 32–11–7 through the 2023 season.[13][12]
