Woman's Soccer Final Top 25 Poll Released
CU No. 2, NU No. 21
KANSAS CITY, Mo – In the final regular season edition of the NAIA Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, Embry-Riddle (Fla.) is the top-ranked squad for the third-consecutive release, the national office announced Sunday. The Eagles earned all 21 first-place votes and took home 591 points.
Embry-Riddle (16-1-0) earned a berth in the 2014 NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship Opening Round by virtue of its The Sun Conference (TSC) regular season championship-victory over No. 14 Northwood (Fla.), 2-0, on Nov. 5.
The Eagles have won 11-consecutive contests since falling 2-1 to then-No. 9 William Carey (Miss.) on Sept. 12. Embry-Riddle finished 2014 with a perfect TSC record (9-0-0), and has shutout five opponents in its last six matches, including the win over Northwood.
The No. 1 club has only allowed six goals since dropping to William Carey, and with four-straight blankings, the Eagles hope to continue their stellar defense in the national championship.
The pairings for the Opening Round will be revealed Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. CST via a broadcast event on NAIANetwork.com. Championship host Mobile (Ala.) receives a bye directly to the final site in Orange Beach, Ala. For conference tournament results, click here.
At-large teams in the national championship will be selected based on the final NAIA Women’s Soccer Modified Ratings Percentage Index (MRPI). The MRPI consists of the team’s modified winning percentage, their opponents’ winning percentage and the cumulative ratings points from the NAIA Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll. The final MRPI will be revealed tonight at 7 p.m. CST.
Moving up one spot to No. 2 is Concordia (Ore.). The Cavaliers (16-1-2) beat Northwest (Wash.) 1-0 in the Cascade Collegiate Conference final on Saturday. Concordia – who earned 570 points – has now won 15-straight CCC crowns and 14-consecutive trips to the national championship.
Embry-Riddle was the only school in the top five to hold the same position from the Nov. 11th poll. Coming in at No. 3 is Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) with 552 points, followed by Westmont (Calif.), who collected 528 points and Mobile (Ala.) rounds out the top five by garnering 514 points.
All three programs moved up in the ratings by winning their respective conference tournaments and earning automatic bids to the 2014 NAIA Women’s Soccer National Championship.
Mobile and No. 9 Benedictine each jumped three spots from last week’s poll, the highest within the rankings. The Ravens won the Heart of America Athletic Conference national championship berth by beating Culver-Stockton (Mo.), 4-0, on Nov. 14.
No. 7 William Carey fell five spots from No. 2 – the furthest of any school – after dropping a 1-0 decision to Mobile in the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) championship tilt.
No. 24 Concordia (Neb.) hops into the Top 25 for the first time in 2014 thanks to its 1-0 win over Hastings (Neb.) in the Great Plains Athletic Conference title match. The Bulldogs earned their first appearance in the national championship with the victory.
Fourteen conferences/association of independent institutions/unaffiliated groups are represented throughout the Top 25, led by four teams from the Golden State Athletic Conference. The SSAC comes in second with three teams ranked in the poll.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, association of independent institutions and unaffiliated groups.
For the complete women’s soccer ratings calendar, click here.
Notes: (All information dates back to 1999) For the third-consecutive edition, Embry-Riddle (Fla.) is No. 1… Before that, the Eagles’ last time being No. 1 was Oct. 8, 2013… The Eagles are the only The Sun Conference team to hold the top spot in 2014… No. 18 Grace (Ind.) sits in its highest ranking in school history. It’s the program’s sixth national rating ever, and sixth-straight rating… No. 3 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) owns the longest active streak of consecutive appearances in the Top 25 with 159 mentions, including a string of 129 top 10 rankings… Lindsey Wilson boasts the most top spot rankings at 47, followed by former NAIA member Azusa Pacific (Calif.) with 33… No. 2 Concordia (Ore.) owns the second longest active streak at 152-straight polls… The Cavaliers now turn their focus to defending their national title… Embry-Riddle, Cumberland and Concordia are the only three teams to be No. 1 in 2014.
2014 NAIA Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Final (Nov. 16)
|
RANK |
LAST ^ |
SCHOOL (1st PLACE VOTES) |
2014 RECORD |
FINAL POINTS |
|
1 |
1 |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (21) |
16-1-0 |
591 |
|
2 |
3 |
Concordia (Ore.) |
16-1-2 |
570 |
|
3 |
4 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
13-3-3 |
552 |
|
4 |
5 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
15-3-0 |
528 |
|
5 |
8 |
Mobile (Ala.) |
15-2-3 |
514 |
|
6 |
6 |
Spring Arbor (Mich.) |
18-1-1 |
486 |
|
7 |
2 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
17-2-1 |
482 |
|
8 |
7 |
Northwestern Ohio |
18-1-1 |
471 |
|
9 |
12 |
Benedictine (Kan.) |
18-1-0 |
418 |
|
10 |
10 |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
16-3-1 |
416 |
|
11 |
9 |
Cumberland (Tenn.) |
15-3-1 |
395 |
|
12 |
13 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
16-3-1 |
383 |
|
13 |
11 |
Martin Methodist (Tenn.) |
12-5-1 |
380 |
|
14 |
14 |
Northwood (Fla.) |
14-5-2 |
348 |
|
15 |
15 |
Cal State San Marcos |
11-2-4 |
331 |
|
16 |
16 |
The Master's (Calif.) |
12-5-1 |
293 |
|
17 |
18 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
16-1-0 |
284 |
|
18 |
17 |
Grace (Ind.) |
13-4-3 |
261 |
|
19 |
21 |
Westminster (Utah) |
15-3-2 |
257 |
|
20 |
19 |
Siena Heights (Mich.) |
15-4-2 |
236 |
|
21 |
23 |
Northwest (Wash.) |
11-6-2 |
184 |
|
22 |
24 |
Trinity International (Ill.) |
14-3-2 |
172 |
|
23 |
22 |
Science & Arts (Okla.) |
18-2-0 |
165 |
|
24 |
RV |
Concordia (Neb.) |
15-2-4 |
161 |
|
25 |
25 |
Concordia (Calif.) |
11-7-1 |
124 |
|
|
Others Receiving Votes: Hastings (Neb.), 110; Ottawa (Kan.), 75; Biola (Calif.), 48; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio), 33; Kansas Wesleyan, 30; AIB (Iowa), 27; Baker (Kan.), 26; Oklahoma Baptist, 22; SCAD Savannah (Ga.), 18; Missouri Valley, 12; Reinhardt (Ga.), 3; Ashford (Iowa), 3.
^ 2014 NAIA Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 8 (Nov. 11)