2016 Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Nov. 1
CC RV
By Spencer Scheve, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Spring Arbor (Mich.) claimed all 19 first-place votes and 525 points to earn a ninth-straight No. 1 ranking in the NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll, the National Office announced Tuesday. The eighth and final regular-season Top 25 installment will be announced Nov. 8. The national championship qualifiers and final MRPI will be announced Monday, Nov. 14 at 11 a.m. CDT via live selection show.
Top 25 highlights (historical information dates back to 1999):
• Spring Arbor (Mich.) claims its ninth-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 (7.59).
• Crawling into the No. 2 spot is Martin Methodist (Tenn.), who earned 509 points in this edition.
• The Red Hawks are led by Linzi Taylor, who is ranked No. 11 in the NAIA in total assists (10) and No. 12 in assists per game (0.63).
• Rounding out the top five is Keiser (Fla.) at No. 3 with 487 points, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) at No. 4 with 483 points and Mobile (Ala.) at No. 5 with 463 points.
• There is a lot of movement in the Top 10 as Mobile climbs from No. 7 to No. 5, Northwestern Ohio moves from No. 8 to No. 6, Biola (Calif.) falls from No. 5 to No. 8 and William Carey (Miss.) falls from No. 6 to No. 9.
• The biggest move in the Top 25 is Davenport (Mich.) falling six spots from No. 14 to No. 20. Multiple schools shifted four spots including Reinhardt (Ga.) from No. 19 to No. 15, Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) from No. 23 to No. 19, Taylor (Ind.) falling from No. 17 to No. 21 and Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) from No. 21 to No. 25.
• There is one new team in the Top 25 – No. 24 Georgetown (Ky.).
• The last time Georgetown was ranked in the Top 25 was on Oct. 18.
• The institution to fall out of the Top 25 was Siena Heights (Mich.).
• There are three conferences tied for the most schools represented in the Top 25 -- the Southern States Athletic Conference, Mid-South Conference and the Golden State Athletic Conference. All three leagues boast three teams each.
• There are 14 of the 19 conferences with at least one team in the Top 25.
• Lindsey Wilson owns the longest active streak of consecutive appearances in the Top 25 with 177-consecutive mentions, including 148-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.
2016 NAIA Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll - No. 7 (Nov. 1)
| RANK |
LAST ^ |
SCHOOL (1st PLACE VOTES) |
2016 RECORD |
FINAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Spring Arbor (Mich.) (19) |
16-0-1 |
529 |
| 2 |
3 |
Martin Methodist (Tenn.) |
12-1-3 |
509 |
| 3 |
2 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
15-1-0 |
487 |
| 4 |
4 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
12-3-0 |
483 |
| 5 |
7 |
Mobile (Ala.) |
13-2-2 |
463 |
| 6 |
8 |
Northwestern Ohio |
15-2-1 |
437 |
| 7 |
9 |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
14-3-0 |
435 |
| 8 |
5 |
Biola (Calif.) |
14-0-2 |
410 |
| 9 |
6 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
12-4-0 |
392 |
| 10 |
10 |
Hastings (Neb.) |
16-1-1 |
374 |
| 11 |
11 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
14-2-2 |
358 |
| 12 |
12 |
Benedictine (Kan.) |
15-3-0 |
347 |
| 13 |
12 |
Baker (Kan.) |
13-3-2 |
326 |
| 14 |
15 |
Columbia (Mo.) |
15-1-2 |
304 |
| 15 |
19 |
Reinhardt (Ga.) |
15-2-0 |
284 |
| 16 |
18 |
John Brown (Ark.) |
15-1-1 |
280 |
| 17 |
20 |
Kansas Wesleyan |
14-1-2 |
246 |
| 18 |
16 |
Cumberland (Tenn.) |
10-3-2 |
230 |
| 19 |
23 |
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) |
11-2-2 |
192 |
| 20 |
14 |
Davenport (Mich.) |
16-1-1 |
187 |
| 21 |
17 |
Taylor (Ind.) |
16-1-1 |
186 |
| 22 |
24 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
13-2-2 |
158 |
| 22 |
25 |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
14-1-0 |
158 |
| 24 |
NR |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
11-3-2 |
143 |
| 25 |
21 |
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
13-3-0 |
135 |
|
Others receiving votes: Siena Heights (Mich.) 105; Ottawa (Kan.) 74; Park (Mo.) 62; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 52; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 52; MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 19; Georgia Gwinnett 14; Midland (Neb.) 10; Carroll (Mont.) 8.