The 2016 Missouri Valley Conference men's soccer season was the 26th season of men's varsity soccer in the conference.
The SIU Edwardsville Cougars were the defending regular season champions, while the Drake Bulldogs were the defending tournament champions.
The SIU Edwardsville Cougars defeated the host Missouri State Bears in the Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament final 1âÂÂ0 and advanced to the NCAA tournament. The regular season champion Loyola Ramblers received an at-large bid to the tournament, giving the MVC two entries for the first time since 2011.
Loyola defeated UIC 2âÂÂ0 in the first round before falling in the second round at 15th ranked and 13th seeded Notre Dame 1âÂÂ0.
SIUE tied at 13th ranked Michigan State before advancing to the second round in an epic penalty kick battle 9âÂÂ8. The Cougars then tied at 11th ranked and 15th seeded Butler 0âÂÂ0 and advanced to the third round on penalty kicks 5âÂÂ4. SIUE finally fell at 2nd ranked and 2nd seeded Wake Forest 2âÂÂ1.
The MVC expanded the conference schedule from six games to eight. Each of the seven schools played a home-and-home series with two conference opponents and single games against the other four. The teams playing home-and-home series will change each year.
2016 Preseason MVC Coaches' Poll
2016 Preseason MVC All-Conference Team
â = Also on 2015 Preseason MVC All-Conference Team
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The second-seeded SIUE Cougars won the tournament, beating the tournament host and fifth-seeded Missouri State Bears 1âÂÂ0 in the championship match. It was SIUE's second Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament championship.
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James Wypych. Senior Forward, Drake, 3.57 GPA, International relations
Clark Emerson. Junior.Defender Bradley; 4.00 GPA, Finance
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Only All-District players are eligible for the Academic All-America ballot.
Clark Emerson. Junior. Bradley; 4.00 GPA, Finance
Kirill Likhovid, Senior, Loyola,3.53 GPA; Communication networks & security
Jacob Taylor. Junior, Bradley, 3.78 GPA, Mechanical engineering
Steven Enna, Junior, Drake, 3.55 GPA, Business studies
James Grunert, Senior, Drake, 3.79 GPA, Health sciences
Chris Holmes, Sophomore, Central Arkansas, 4.00 GPA, Undecided
Ben LeMay, Senior, Drake, 3.78 GPA, Pharmacy MBA
Rob Oslica, Junior. Missouri State, 3.70 GPA, Cell & molecular biology
Liam Priestley, Junior, Missouri State, 3.48 GPA, Finance
Phil Woods, Senior Missouri State, 3.82 GPA, Entertainment management
James Wypych. Senior, Drake, 3.57 GPA, International relations
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Second Team
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The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) annually recognizes college and high school soccer programs that have excelled in the classroom by posting a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher. Six of the MVC's seven teams were honored this year. The schools, their head coaches, and their team GPAs are:
Bradley University, Jim DeRose, 3.18
Drake University, Gareth Smith, 3.33
University of Evansville, Marshall Ray, 3.19
Loyola University of Chicago, Neil Jones, 3.20
Missouri State University, Jon Leamy, 3.02
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Mario Sanchez, 3.26
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2015 Missouri Valley Conference Men's Soccer Tournament MVPâ Austin Ledbetter, SIUE
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The criteria for the All-MVC honor parallels the CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) standards for Academic All-America voting. Nominees must be starters or important reserves with at least a 3.20 cumulative grade-point average (on a 4.00 scale). Also, students must have participated in at least 75 percent of the regular-season matches or played in the league tournament. Student-athletes must have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution (true freshmen and redshirt freshmen are not eligible) and must have completed at least one full academic year at their institution.