2016 Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Oct. 25
SOU RV
By Spencer Scheve, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Spring Arbor (Mich.) claimed 14 first place votes and 525 points to earn an eighth-straight No. 1 ranking in the NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll, the National Office announced Tuesday. The seventh regular season poll will be released on Oct. 31.
Top 25 highlights (historical information dates back to 1999):
• Spring Arbor (Mich.) claims its eighth-straight No.1 ranking, the most in school history. The last time the Cougars were out of the Top 25 was on Nov. 9, 2010.
• The Cougars are led by Ashley Timmons, who is ranked No. 1 in the NAIA in goals against per game (0.15), and Bethany Balcer, who is ranked No. 2 in the NAIA in shots per game (7.69).
• Behind the Cougars sits No. 2 Keiser (Fla.), who earned five first-place votes and 516 points in this edition.
• The Seahawks are led by Elsa Netz, who is ranked No. 4 in the NAIA in goals against per game (0.38), and has helped lead Keiser to 10 shutouts this season.
• Rounding out the top five is Martin Methodist (Tenn.) at No. 3 with 493 points, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) at No. 4 with 472 points and Biola (Calif.) at No. 5 with 463 points.
• The top 10 remained steady as the only movement was Keiser shifting from tied for No. 1 to No. 2.
• The biggest move in the Top 25 is Cumberland (Tenn.) falling from No. 12 to No. 16 and Kansas Wesleyan dropping from No. 13 to No. 20.
• There is one new team in the Top 25 – No. 25 Southeastern (Fla.).
• This marks the first time in Southeastern program history that the Fire has been ranked in the Top 25.
• The institution to fall out of the Top 25 was Georgetown (Ky.)
• There are three conferences tied for the most schools represented in the Top 25 -- the Southern States Athletic Conference, Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference and the Golden State Athletic Conference. All three leagues boast three teams each.
• Lindsey Wilson 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.) (14) |
15-0-1 |
525 |
| 2 |
1 |
Keiser (Fla.) (5) |
14-0-0 |
516 |
| 3 |
3 |
Martin Methodist (Tenn.) |
10-1-3 |
493 |
| 4 |
4 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
9-3-0 |
472 |
| 5 |
5 |
Biola (Calif.) |
13-0-1 |
463 |
| 6 |
6 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
12-3-0 |
449 |
| 7 |
7 |
Mobile (Ala.) |
11-2-2 |
427 |
| 8 |
8 |
Northwestern Ohio |
13-2-1 |
411 |
| 9 |
9 |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
12-3-0 |
393 |
| 10 |
10 |
Hastings (Neb.) |
14-1-1 |
373 |
| 11 |
11 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
14-2-1 |
363 |
| 12 |
15 |
Benedictine (Kan.) |
13-3-0 |
321 |
| 12 |
14 |
Baker (Kan.) |
12-3-2 |
321 |
| 14 |
17 |
Davenport (Mich.) |
15-0-1 |
309 |
| 15 |
18 |
Columbia (Mo.) |
13-1-2 |
279 |
| 16 |
12 |
Cumberland (Tenn.) |
10-2-1 |
272 |
| 17 |
16 |
Taylor (Ind.) |
14-1-1 |
255 |
| 18 |
19 |
John Brown (Ark.) |
13-1-1 |
237 |
| 19 |
20 |
Reinhardt (Ga.) |
13-2-0 |
233 |
| 20 |
13 |
Kansas Wesleyan |
12-1-2 |
216 |
| 21 |
21 |
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
12-2-0 |
180 |
| 22 |
22 |
Siena Heights (Mich.) |
11-3-2 |
176 |
| 23 |
23 |
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) |
10-2-2 |
157 |
| 24 |
25 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
11-2-2 |
123 |
| 25 |
NR |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
11-1-0 |
117 |
|
Others receiving votes: Georgetown (Ky.) 101; Ottawa (Kan.) 73; Park (Mo.) 69; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 40; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 38; MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 25; Georgia Gwinnett 16; Midland (Neb.) 11; Southern Oregon 5; UC Merced (Calif.) 3
^ Based off 2016 Coaches’ Poll (Oct. 18, 2016)