KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Behind 14 first-place votes and 643 points, Concordia (Ore.) reclaimed the No. 1 ranking in the fourth edition of the 2010 NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the national office announced on Tuesday. Second-ranked Azusa Pacific (Calif.) earned nine first-place nods and totaled 639 points. The rest of the top-five teams remained intact with No. 3 Lee (Tenn.), No. 4 California Baptist and No. 5 Martin Methodist (Tenn.).

 

The Cavaliers are spending their third week in four polls as the nation’s top-ranked team. Concordia closed out its non-conference schedule by blanking Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 4-0 on Sept. 26. Head coach Grant Landy will lead his 8-0-1 squad into Cascade Collegiate Conference action on Friday by hitting the road to take on Eastern Oregon. All eight of the Cavaliers’ victories have been shutouts, which ranks first in the NAIA. Tori Talbutt leads the defensive efforts for Concordia. The sophomore goalie ranks No. 1 in goals against per game (0.00).

 

Joining the Cavaliers in the poll, Corban University received 44 votes to stay in the hunt of breaking into the top 25. After opening with five straight wins, Corban has put together a three-match winning streak for the best start in the program's history at 8-1-0. They have outscored its opponents 22-8 so far this season. Corban's lone setback was a 2-0 loss against Holy Names (RV). 

Playing in last week’s NAIA Game of the Week and GSAC opener against then-No. 8 Vanguard, Azusa Pacific was forced to settle for a 1-1 double-overtime draw. The tie was the Cougars’ third league opener resulting in deadlock in the past eight seasons. At 5-0-2, Jason Surrell’s team will continue to wage battle against the competitive GSAC with a date at Hope International (Calif.) on Tuesday and will return home Saturday against No. 17 Point Loma Nazarene. The Cougars notched 1-0 wins against both foes last season.

Lee (7-2-0) posted a pair of wins last week to hold steady at No. 3 for the fourth-straight week. The Lady Flames received a hat trick from freshman forward Ashley Aragona en route to a 4-2 victory over NCAA II opponent Carson-Newman (Tenn.) on Sept. 22. Returning to the NAIA circuit, Matt Yelton’s team notched its first-ever win in Columbia, Ky., shutting out then-No. 6 Lindsey Wilson 2-0. It was the 11th all-time meeting between the two powerhouse programs, but only the second time that Lee emerged victorious (2-8-1). Four of the Lady Flames’ past five games have been against top-10 teams. Lee returns home for a Wednesday meeting with Union (Ky.).

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups. The next regular season Top 25 poll will be announced on Oct. 5.

Others receiving votes: Dakota Wesleyan University (S.D.) 66; Roberts Wesleyan College (N.Y.) 61; Oklahoma City University 59; University of Texas at Brownsville 54;Houghton College (N.Y.) 46; Marian University (Ind.) 45; Corban University (Ore.) 44; Northwood University (Fla.) 34; Trinity International University (Ill.) 30; Baker University (Kan.) 28; William Jessup University (Calif.) 23; Park University (Mo.) 19; Saint Ambrose University (Iowa) 13; Faulkner University (Ala.) 12; Spring Arbor University (Mich.) 11; Ottawa University (Kan.) 10; Westmont College (Calif.) 9; Benedictine College (Kan.) 9; University of Maine at Fort Kent 8; Lyon College (Ark.) 7; Davenport University (Mich.) 7; Rocky Mountain College (Mont.) 4; SCAD Savannah (Ga.) 4; Holy Names University (Calif.) 3; Northwood University (Texas) 1; Science and Arts (Okla.) 1; Texas Wesleyan University 1; Westminster College (Utah) 1; Hastings College (Neb.) 1.