KANSAS CITY, Mo – Concordia (Ore.), the defending national champion, is the No. 1 ranked club in the first regular season NAIA Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Cavaliers hold the top-spot for the eighth-straight poll, receiving all 21 first-place votes and 591 points.
Concordia (7-0-1) remains undefeated in 2014, but lost its school record tying 22-match winning streak on Sept. 5 with a 1-1 draw against No. 12 Vanguard (Calif.). Since that match, the Cavaliers have won three-consecutive contests, including a road victory over No. 2 Westmont (Calif.), 2-1, on Sept. 12.
Westmont comes in at the No. 2 position with 570 points. The Warriors, the national runner-up, remain in the same position as in the 2014 NAIA Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll. Head coach Kristi Kiely has led her team to a 6-1 record in 2014, with the lone blemish coming to top-ranked Concordia in a rematch of last year’s national championship final.
The top two schools were the only programs to hold their spots from the top five of the Preseason Poll, as third position belongs to William Carey (Miss.). No. 4 is Cumberland (Tenn.) and coming in at No. 5 is Embry-Riddle (Fla.).
There was a lot of movement within the Top 25 this week, as six newcomers entered the poll. The biggest mover of the unranked schools is Northwestern Ohio, moving up to No. 11.
Benedictine (Kan.) leaped from being ranked 24
th in the Preseason Poll to No. 14 after an 8-0 start to the year. Within the Top 25, the biggest drop came from St. Thomas (Fla.) falling from No. 11 to No. 21. Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) fell out of the rankings.
Thirteen conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups are represented throughout the Top 25, led by four from both the Golden State Athletic Conference and Southern States Athletic Conference. The Sun Conference and Wolverine Hoosier Athletic Conference are tied for second with three teams each.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups. The second regular-season Top 25 Poll will be announced on Sept. 30. The first NAIA Women’s Soccer Modified Ratings Percentage Index (MRPI) will be announced on Oct. 1.
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Notes: (
All information dates back to 1999) Concordia (Ore.) receives its eighth-straight and 24th overall No. 1 ranking this week – third on the NAIA's all-time list… Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) owns the longest active streak of consecutive appearances in the Top 25 with 151 mentions, including a string of 121-straight top 10 rankings… Lindsey Wilson boasts the most top spot rankings at 47, followed by former NAIA member Azusa Pacific (Calif.) with 33. … The No. 3 ranking for William Carey (Miss.) is the school’s highest ranking since it was ranked fourth-overall on Oct. 30, 2012… Concordia owns the second longest active streak at 144-straight polls … Three teams held the No. 1 ranking in 2013: Lindsey Wilson, Embry-Riddle (Fla.) and Concordia … Concordia, Lindsey Wilson and Northwood were ranked in the top 10 in every poll last season… Lee’s 2011 squad is the last team to receive the No. 1 preseason ranking and win the national title in the same season.
2014 NAIA Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll (Sept. 23)
|
RANK |
LAST^ |
SCHOOL (1st PLACE VOTES) |
FINAL POINTS |
|
1 |
1 |
Concordia (Ore.) (21) |
591 |
|
2 |
2 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
570 |
|
3 |
9 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
547 |
|
4 |
8 |
Cumberland (Tenn.) |
537 |
|
5 |
6 |
Embry-Riddle (Fla.) |
519 |
|
6 |
3 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
484 |
|
7 |
5 |
Concordia (Calif.) |
481 |
|
8 |
7 |
Davenport (Mich.) |
458 |
|
9 |
13 |
Martin Methodist (Tenn.) |
433 |
|
10 |
12 |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
430 |
|
11 |
RV |
Northwestern Ohio |
394 |
|
12 |
14 |
Spring Arbor (Mich.) |
371 |
|
13 |
4 |
Northwood (Fla.) |
318 |
|
14 |
24 |
Benedictine (Kan.) |
306 |
|
15 |
18 |
The Master's (Calif.) |
272 |
|
16 |
RV |
Westminster (Utah) |
266 |
|
17 |
15 |
Cal State San Marcos |
253 |
|
18 |
RV |
Oklahoma City |
246 |
|
19 |
17 |
Brenau (Ga.) |
242 |
|
20 |
NR |
Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) |
223 |
|
21 |
11 |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
208 |
|
22 |
25 |
Trinity International (Ill.) |
182 |
|
23 |
21 |
St. Ambrose (Iowa) |
172 |
|
24 |
RV |
Mobile (Ala.) |
138 |
|
25 |
NR |
Siena Heights (Mich.) |
135 |
|
|
|
|
|
Others Receiving Votes: Science & Arts (Okla.) 134; Missouri Valley 100; Grace (Ind.) 67; Judson (Ill.) 62; Biola (Calif.) 57; Viterbo (Wis.) 53
; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 30
; Bellevue (Neb.) 28
; Ottawa (Kan.) 19
; Georgia Gwinnett 17; Midland (Neb.) 14; Hastings (Neb.) 6
; Grand View (Iowa) 6
; Baker (Kan.) 5; Texas at Brownsville 5; Faulkner (Ala.) 4; Carroll (Mont.) 3.
^ 2013 NAIA Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll (Aug. 19)