2016 Women’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll - Sept. 20
CC RV
By Spencer Scheve, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Spring Arbor (Mich.) claimed all 19 first place votes and 529 points to earn a third consecutive No. 1 ranking in the Coaches Top 25, the National Office announced Tuesday. The Cougars continue their quest for back-to-back national titles as they have started the season 6-0. The second regular season poll will be released on Sept. 27.
Top 25 highlights (historical information dates back to 1999):
• Spring Arbor (Mich.) claims its third No.1 ranking in a row, 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 Bethany Balcer, who is ranked No. 1 in the NAIA in shots per game (7.5), and Ashley Timmons, who is ranked No. 2 in goals against per game (0.2).
• Keiser (Fla.) climbs the Top 25 poll from No. 9 to No. 2, as it started the season on a seven match streak. The Seahawks earned 503 points in this edition.
• Rounding out the top 5 is Westmont (Calif.) at No. 3 with 485 points, Northwestern Ohio at No. 4 with 480 points and William Carey (Miss.) at No. 5 with 470 points.
• The biggest move in the Top 25 is Columbia (Mo.), going unranked to No. 15 and Hastings (Neb.) moving from No. 18 to No. 12.
• There are four new teams in the Top 25 – No. 15 Columbia (Mo.), No. 20 Taylor (Ind.), No. 24 Robert Morris (Ill.) and No. 25 Marian (Ind.).
• Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) owns the longest active streak of consecutive appearances in the Top 25 with 172-consecutive mentions, including 143-straight in the Top 10 ranking.
• 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”
- Frequency of polls occur bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) for the 2016-17 academic season. This change will allow raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work in between rating periods.
· For the complete ratings calendar, click here.
2016 Woman's Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll (Sept. 20)
| RANK |
LAST ^ |
SCHOOL (1st PLACE VOTES) |
2016 RECORD |
FINAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Spring Arbor (Mich.) (19) |
6-0-0 |
529 |
| 2 |
9 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
7-0-0 |
503 |
| 3 |
7 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
7-0-1 |
485 |
| 4 |
3 |
Northwestern Ohio |
6-1-1 |
480 |
| 5 |
6 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
6-2-0 |
470 |
| 6 |
2 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
3-3-0 |
440 |
| 7 |
5 |
Mobile (Ala.) |
5-2-1 |
428 |
| 8 |
8 |
Martin Methodist (Tenn.) |
5-1-2 |
403 |
| 9 |
4 |
Benedictine (Kan.) |
4-2-0 |
396 |
| 10 |
10 |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
5-2-0 |
375 |
| 11 |
12 |
Biola (Calif.) |
6-0-0 |
351 |
| 12 |
18 |
Hastings (Neb.) |
5-1-1 |
318 |
| 13 |
15 |
St. Ambrose (Iowa) |
4-1-1 |
285 |
| 14 |
17 |
Kansas Wesleyan |
5-0-1 |
284 |
| 15 |
NR |
Columbia (Mo.) |
5-0-2 |
282 |
| 16 |
13 |
Baker (Kan.) |
5-2-0 |
271 |
| 16 |
25 |
Cumberland (Tenn.) |
4-1-1 |
271 |
| 18 |
22 |
Reinhardt (Ga.) |
7-1-0 |
244 |
| 19 |
16 |
Siena Heights (Mich.) |
3-2-2 |
218 |
| 20 |
NR |
Taylor (Ind.) |
7-0-0 |
217 |
| 21 |
20 |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
3-1-2 |
198 |
| 22 |
14 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
7-2-0 |
194 |
| 23 |
24 |
Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) |
4-1-2 |
140 |
| 24 |
NR |
Robert Morris (Ill.) |
3-0-2 |
118 |
| 25 |
NR |
Marian (Ind.) |
5-3-0 |
88 |
|
Others receiving votes: Viterbo (Wis.) 80; MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 75; St. Thomas (Fla.) 64; Davenport (Mich.) 47; John Brown (Ark.) 40; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 39;
Carroll (Mont.) 26; Ottawa (Kan.) 19; Missouri Valley 11; Georgetown (Ky.) 9; Bellevue (Neb.) 7; Southeastern (Fla.) 6; Midland (Neb.) 6
^ Based off 2016 Coaches’ Poll (Aug. 16, 2016)