2016 Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Oct. 18
SOU RV
By Spencer Scheve, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Spring Arbor (Mich.) and Keiser (Fla.) tie for the No. 1 ranking in the Women's Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll, the National Office announced Tuesday. The fifth regular season poll will be released on Oct. 18.
Top 25 highlights (historical information dates back to 1999):
• Spring Arbor (Mich.) claims its seventh No.1 ranking in-a-row, the most in school history. The Cougars earned 10 first place votes and 520 points in this edition. The last time the Cougars were out of the Top 25 was on Nov. 9, 2010.
• The Cougars are led by Ashley Timmons, who ranks No. 1 in the NAIA in goals against per game (0.17), and Bethany Balcer, who ranks No. 2 in the NAIA in shots per game (7.93).
• Tied the Cougars for the No. 1 rank is Keiser (Fla.), which earned 520 points and nine first place votes in this edition.
• The Seahawks are led by Amanda Blixt, who has recorded eight goals and six assists for 22 points this season. Johanna Engberg, who has posted eight goals in seven matches, is also a key cog.
• Rounding out the top 5 is Martin Methodist (Tenn.) at No. 3 with 479 points, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) at No. 4 with 478 points and Biola (Calif.) at No. 5 with 470 points.
• The biggest move in the Top 25 is Davenport (Mich.) jumping from No. 24 to No. 17 and Reinhardt (Ga.) falling from No. 14 to No. 20
• There are two new teams in the Top 25 – No. 24 Georgetown (Ky.) and No. 25 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.). The Tigers were last ranked in the 2015 Postseason Poll, while Olivet Nazarene garnered Top 25 mention earlier this season.
• The two institutions to fall out of the Top 25 are Park (Mo.) and MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.).
• There are four conferences tied for the most schools represented in the Top 25 with three teams each – Southern States Athletic Conference, Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference, Golden State Athletic Conference and the Mid-South Conference.
• No. 4 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) owns the longest active streak of consecutive appearances in the Top 25 with 176-consecutive mentions, including 147-straight in the Top 10.
• Lindsey Wilson has the most No. 1 rankings with 58, followed by former NAIA member Azusa Pacific (Calif.) with 33.
• Former NAIA member Lee's (Tenn.) 2011 team is the last squad to be preseason ranked No. 1 and win the national title in the same year.
For the complete ratings calendar, click here.
Poll Methodology
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, Association of Independent Institutions and Unaffiliated Groups.
- The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place and so on through the list.
- The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low ratings) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appears on.
- Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
· For the complete ratings calendar, click here.
|
RANK
|
LAST ^
|
SCHOOL (1st PLACE VOTES)
|
2016 RECORD
|
FINAL POINTS
|
|
1
|
1
|
Spring Arbor (Mich.) (10)
|
13-0-1
|
520
|
|
1
|
2
|
Keiser (Fla.)
|
11-0-0
|
520
|
|
3
|
8
|
Martin Methodist (Tenn.)
|
9-1-3
|
479
|
|
4
|
5
|
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
|
8-3-0
|
478
|
|
5
|
6
|
Biola (Calif.)
|
11-0-1
|
470
|
|
6
|
3
|
William Carey (Miss.)
|
11-3-0
|
451
|
|
7
|
7
|
Mobile (Ala.)
|
11-2-2
|
421
|
|
8
|
4
|
Northwestern Ohio
|
12-2-1
|
415
|
|
9
|
9
|
Vanguard (Calif.)
|
11-3-0
|
395
|
|
10
|
10
|
Hastings (Neb.)
|
13-1-1
|
374
|
|
11
|
11
|
Westmont (Calif.)
|
12-2-1
|
363
|
|
12
|
12
|
Cumberland (Tenn.)
|
10-1-1
|
342
|
|
13
|
13
|
Kansas Wesleyan
|
11-0-2
|
324
|
|
14
|
15
|
Baker (Kan.)
|
11-3-1
|
306
|
|
15
|
16
|
Benedictine (Kan.)
|
11-3-0
|
288
|
|
16
|
18
|
Taylor (Ind.)
|
13-1-0
|
258
|
|
17
|
24
|
Davenport (Mich.)
|
14-0-1
|
242
|
|
18
|
19
|
Columbia (Mo.)
|
12-1-2
|
239
|
|
19
|
20
|
John Brown (Ark.)
|
11-1-1
|
226
|
|
20
|
14
|
Reinhardt (Ga.)
|
11-2-0
|
215
|
|
21
|
21
|
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.)
|
11-2-0
|
189
|
|
22
|
22
|
Siena Heights (Mich.)
|
9-3-2
|
158
|
|
23
|
23
|
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)
|
8-2-2
|
155
|
|
24
|
NR
|
Georgetown (Ky.)
|
10-2-1
|
111
|
|
25
|
NR
|
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.)
|
10-2-2
|
105
|
Others receiving votes: Park (Mo.) 99; Southeastern (Fla.) 82; Missouri Valley 81; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 38; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 37; Southern Oregon 16; Ottawa (Kan.) 15; MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 10; Midland (Neb.) 7; The Master’s (Calif.) 3 Bellevue (Neb.) 3; Marian (Ind.) 3;
^ Based off 2016 Coaches’ Poll (Oct. 11, 2016)