Stats Carry out is bringing a higher highlight to athletes, college students and tales at Traditionally Black Faculties and Universities via a partnership with City Edge Community. Included within the 2024 school soccer season are each HBCU FCS Participant and Staff of the Week awards and a season-ending HBCU FCS Nationwide Participant of the Yr Award, every offered by HBCU+.
In 1979, head coach Clarence Thomas led the Morgan State Bears soccer staff to a 9-2 season – solely the third nine-win marketing campaign in this system’s first 59 years of existence.
It hasn’t occurred since then.
Within the following 44 years, Morgan State has managed to succeed in seven wins solely twice, and there’s been solely 4 profitable seasons in that point.
Probably the most-recent profitable season occurred in 2014 when the Bears completed with a 7-6 document. It was Lee Hull’s first season as head coach as they tied for the MEAC title and superior to the FCS playoffs.
That staff was led by an offense that averaged 372 whole yards and 27.8 factors per sport. The protection was not nice, however made well timed performs that helped propel the staff to success.
The 2024 season may see the Bears return to the MEAC success they loved in 2014. Nonetheless, if that occurs, will probably be as a result of the protection leads them to prominence.
Coach Damon Wilson is aware of that after back-to-back four-win seasons, there are increased expectations. As a substitute of downplaying them, he has chosen to lean into them.
“I feel you simply settle for it,” Wilson mentioned on the MEAC’s soccer media day. “You count on us to play protection, you count on us to be a sure manner on the sphere. Now we now have a duty to dwell as much as it.”
It’s been exhausting for the Bears to stay beneath the radar with the preseason expectations coming off the heels of a 2023 season by which they’d the No. 1-ranked protection within the convention. They allowed 21.4 factors per sport general and simply 18.4 on common in convention whereas going 3-2. Out of convention, the Bears was named the FCS nationwide staff of the week following a season-opening upset at Richmond.
The stingy defensive unit returns eight starters, together with senior defensive lineman Elijah Williams and senior linebacker Erick Hunter – each 2023 All-MEAC first-team alternatives who this preseason had been named to the Stats Carry out All-America squad. In addition they had been named to the HBCU+ Preseason Participant of the Yr watch checklist.