So we're about a month into the season. Who still has a zero in the win or loss column, you were wondering? Well, here ya go... (RPI as of Sunday night's games.) PERFECT, SO FAR 1. Wake Forest – 7-0-0 59. Saint Mary’s – 7-0-0 39. Rhode Island – 5-0-0 UNBEATEN, BUT TIED 22. Denver – 6-0-1 3. Kentucky – 4-0-1 24. Wright State – 4-0-1 30. Bradley – 5-0-2 35. Portland – 5-0-2 47. UC Davis – 5-0-2 57. Michigan State – 5-0-2 78. Missouri State – 4-0-2 88. Fordham – 3-0-2 11. Virginia – 2-0-2 16. Xavier – 3-0-3 42. Stanford – 3-0-3 WINLESS, BUT WITH TIES 161. Holy Cross – 0-2-3 197. Hartford – 0-4-3 99. Dartmouth – 0-3-2 205. Mount St. Mary’s – 0-4-2 194. Cleveland State – 0-4-1 172. Incarnate Word – 0-5-1 189. Bryant – 0-5-1 196. Belmont – 0-5-1 171. UC Riverside – 0-7-1 FUTILE 186. Radford – 0-4-0 195. Central Connecticut – 0-5-0 153. Jacksonville – 0-6-0 164. North Florida – 0-6-0 174. Presbyterian – 0-6-0 204. VMI – 0-6-0
They progressed tremendously last year. They went from 0-19 in '15 and 0-17 in '16 to acquiring 2 ties in '17. Enough for the coach to keep his job. Crazy to think that a class of players could go their entire college career without a win.
Other than VMI who gets the "George Tarantini" automatic selection, Who is the last team to get their first loss? Who is the last team without a win? I'll take Wright State and Mount St Mary's.
I have said this before but VMI is the toughest coaching gig in D-I men's soccer. *It's a military school. That's tough to sell to elite players. Or even really good HS players. The uniforms, the discipline, the hair-cuts, getting bitched out by upperclassmen, having to spend summers doing military-oriented things instead of playing soccer. Etc... *It's not a US service academy. While prestigious in (older) parts of Virginia and in military circles, it doesn't have the cachet of Annapolis or West Point. It's also not free. Yes, there are both ROTC and military scholarships available, but it's still not the same deal that going to Air Force, Army or Navy is. *It's in the middle of nowhere. And I say this as a Virginian. Lexington is a small town in rural Virginia. Not a lot to do when you are allowed off campus. Compare that to Annapolis, West Point and Colorado Springs. *It's mostly male. The school fought, and lost, having to go co-ed so there are some women cadets now. But not many. And while there are some other colleges nearby (Washington and Lee is next door) there isn't the girls scene there is at almost any other D-I program. *It's conservative. Yes, some Republicans play and like soccer. And yes, some liberals and Democrats go to VMI. But, for the most part, the pool of players for a college soccer program are left-leaning. Not entirely, but mostly. And while I know some Democrats who went to VMI (Ralph Northam, Virginia's Democratic governor went there), the school is mostly conservative. I have family that went to VMI, a couple that played sports there (albeit in a different era.) It's a school with a great tradition and alumni network and for some people, it's a great fit. But for most 18-year old American soccer players, it's not. Simply put, it's not for most people. So that's what the coaches have going for - or against - them before they even start talking about soccer. So you're at best, getting third-tier recruits. But if you're a third-tier recruit in the mid-Atlantic and you can choose between, say, Longwood, High Point, Mount St. Mary's and VMI and you don't want to cut your hair and wear a uniform, odds are you aren't choosing VMI. It's just a tough, tough sell to good soccer players.
I wonder if improvement might be as simple as having the coach start shouting "Keep your shape!" instead of "Remain in formation!"
With all of this said, At what point is there no point to having the program, and it gets cut? It's interesting to me that you have a pretty historic program in New Mexico having its men's team cut, while you have programs like VMI continue to exist.
Like many other struggling programs in various sports, it's not hard to schedule a few "winnable" games when you control your own scheduling.
4 of their 16 games are against opponents with an RPI > 140 (greater than or less than? What is the symbol for worse than?), Including the two current lowest RPI teams. Sometimes winnable games are hard, if not, impossible to come by.
If you look at their roster too they lack veteran players. They have 3 seniors and 2 Juniors.This is probably a result of having 3 coaches in 3 years. It is hard to win in college soccer without older players. It has to be a tough place to get players. They do have some younger players who came from good teams and club programs. It must be hard to get them to perform with the major adjustment VMI must be.
There are D2, DIII, NAIA, and NCCAA opponents that are possible too. They wouldn't be the first DI program to schedule outside of DI.
UC Davis hasn't lost a soccer game since last Oct 18, down 2-3 to Cal Poly. However, they did get bumped by from the Big West Conference Tournament by losing the kicking circus on Nov 11 after drawing with Fullerton 0-0.
Belmont and Presbyterian face each other this afternoon so we may see one team removed from the winless list.
Rhode Island wins to stay perfect and UVa, UC Davis and Wright State win to stay unbeaten. Fordham takes its first loss, to Manhattan (which is 6-1!). Cleveland State gets its first W, over Bowling Green, and Belmont comes off the list by beating Presbyterian, which stays winless along with Hartford, Jacksonville, Dartmouth, Holy Cross and Bryant. Here's the updated list, with RPI as of Tuesday night's games. PERFECT, SO FAR (3) 1. Wake Forest – 7-0-0 78. Saint Mary’s – 7-0-0 40. Rhode Island – 6-0-0 UNBEATEN, BUT TIED (11) 21. Denver – 6-0-1 4. Kentucky – 5-0-1 26. Wright State – 5-0-1 33. Michigan State – 6-0-2 34. UC Davis – 6-0-2 28. Bradley – 5-0-2 32. Portland – 5-0-2 73. Missouri State – 4-0-2 10. Virginia – 3-0-2 14. Xavier – 3-0-3 34. Stanford – 3-0-3 WINLESS, BUT WITH TIES (7) 185. Holy Cross – 0-3-3 202. Hartford – 0-5-3 136. Dartmouth – 0-4-2 205. Mount St. Mary’s – 0-4-2 167. Incarnate Word – 0-5-1 197. Bryant – 0-6-1 166. UC Riverside – 0-7-1 FUTILE (6) 178. Radford – 0-4-0 196. Central Connecticut – 0-5-0 160. North Florida – 0-6-0 152. Jacksonville – 0-7-0 188. Presbyterian – 0-7-0 203. VMI – 0-6-0
Saint Mary’s stays unbeaten with a win over UC Santa Barbara, which used to be good. North Florida comes off the list after beating Charleston. VMI not so fortunate. (RPI is not current. I’ll update after tonight’s games are done.) PERFECT, SO FAR (3) 78. Saint Mary’s – 8-0-0 1. Wake Forest – 7-0-0 40. Rhode Island – 6-0-0 UNBEATEN, BUT TIED (11) 21. Denver – 6-0-1 4. Kentucky – 5-0-1 26. Wright State – 5-0-1 33. Michigan State – 6-0-2 34. UC Davis – 6-0-2 28. Bradley – 5-0-2 32. Portland – 5-0-2 73. Missouri State – 4-0-2 10. Virginia – 3-0-2 14. Xavier – 3-0-3 34. Stanford – 3-0-3 WINLESS, BUT WITH TIES (7) 185. Holy Cross – 0-3-3 202. Hartford – 0-5-3 136. Dartmouth – 0-4-2 205. Mount St. Mary’s – 0-4-2 167. Incarnate Word – 0-5-1 197. Bryant – 0-6-1 166. UC Riverside – 0-7-1 FUTILE (5) 178. Radford – 0-4-0 196. Central Connecticut – 0-5-0 152. Jacksonville – 0-7-0 188. Presbyterian – 0-7-0 203. VMI – 0-7-0
Updated with current RPI, which shows the importance of strength of schedule even when you haven't lost. PERFECT, SO FAR (3) 51. Saint Mary’s – 8-0-0 1. Wake Forest – 7-0-0 43. Rhode Island – 6-0-0 UNBEATEN, BUT TIED (11) 11. Denver – 6-0-1 4. Kentucky – 5-0-1 26. Wright State – 5-0-1 33. Michigan State – 6-0-2 34. UC Davis – 6-0-2 25. Bradley – 5-0-2 35. Portland – 5-0-2 77. Missouri State – 4-0-2 10. Virginia – 3-0-2 14. Xavier – 3-0-3 32. Stanford – 3-0-3 WINLESS, BUT WITH TIES (7) 188. Holy Cross – 0-3-3 203. Hartford – 0-5-3 141. Dartmouth – 0-4-2 206. Mount St. Mary’s – 0-4-2 164. Incarnate Word – 0-5-1 196. Bryant – 0-6-1 168. UC Riverside – 0-7-1 FUTILE (5) 178. Radford – 0-4-0 192. Central Connecticut – 0-5-0 156. Jacksonville – 0-7-0 189. Presbyterian – 0-7-0 201. VMI – 0-7-0
So one more team drops from the unbeatens, and a fairly significant one at that. Three-time defending champion Stanford fell at home to Pacific, 1-0, snapping a 21-game unbeaten streak. The Cardinal went undefeated for 363 days, dating to Sept. 23 of last year. Here's the updated list... PERFECT, SO FAR (3) 53. Saint Mary’s – 8-0-0 1. Wake Forest – 7-0-0 38. Rhode Island – 6-0-0 UNBEATEN, BUT TIED (10) 12. Denver – 6-0-1 4. Kentucky – 5-0-1 25. Wright State – 5-0-1 28. Michigan State – 6-0-2 34. UC Davis – 6-0-2 24. Bradley – 5-0-2 34. Portland – 5-0-2 76. Missouri State – 4-0-2 9. Virginia – 3-0-2 17. Xavier – 3-0-3 WINLESS, BUT WITH TIES (7) 188. Holy Cross – 0-3-3 204. Hartford – 0-5-3 141. Dartmouth – 0-4-2 206. Mount St. Mary’s – 0-4-2 167. Incarnate Word – 0-5-1 196. Bryant – 0-6-1 159. UC Riverside – 0-7-1 FUTILE (5) 179. Radford – 0-4-0 192. Central Connecticut – 0-5-0 156. Jacksonville – 0-7-0 189. Presbyterian – 0-7-0 201. VMI – 0-7-0 Here's who all these teams play this weekend. FRIDAY Wake Forest @ 63. Clemson Virginia @ 6. Syracuse 13. Charlotte @ Kentucky 91. St. John's @ Xavier 187. Rutgers @ Michigan State 42. Oregon State @ Portland 160. Brown @ Rhode Island Central Connecticut @ 111. Quinnipiac SATURDAY Denver @ 93. Omaha Bradley @ 163. Central Arkansas 180. Cleveland State @ Wright State UC Davis @ Saint Mary's - a battle of undefeateds! 153. Valparaiso @ Missouri State Dartmouth @ 169. Massachusetts 186. Lipscomb @ Jacksonville 82. Cal Baptist @ UC Riverside 119. Campbell @ Radford VMI @ Mount St. Mary's - might be each team's best shot at a W. Hartford @ 122. Binghamton SUNDAY 108. Grand Canyon @ Incarnate Word 136. Navy @ Holy Cross
Virginia, Michigan State, Kentucky, Wake Forest and Portland all keep winning while Xavier stays unbeaten with a tie. Central Connecticut gets another sad trombone. Here's the updated list... PERFECT, SO FAR (3) 1. Wake Forest – 8-0-0 49. Saint Mary’s – 8-0-0 32. Rhode Island – 6-0-0 UNBEATEN, BUT TIED (10) 11. Denver – 6-0-1 4. Kentucky – 6-0-1 24. Wright State – 5-0-1 31. Michigan State – 7-0-2 28. Portland – 6-0-2 30. UC Davis – 6-0-2 21. Bradley – 5-0-2 6. Virginia – 4-0-2 72. Missouri State – 4-0-2 22. Xavier – 3-0-4 WINLESS, BUT WITH TIES (7) 188. Holy Cross – 0-3-3 203. Hartford – 0-5-3 149. Dartmouth – 0-4-2 206. Mount St. Mary’s – 0-4-2 168. Incarnate Word – 0-5-1 190. Bryant – 0-6-1 159. UC Riverside – 0-7-1 FUTILE (5) 175. Radford – 0-4-0 199. Central Connecticut – 0-6-0 150. Jacksonville – 0-7-0 189. Presbyterian – 0-7-0 201. VMI – 0-7-0 Here are tomorrow and Sunday's games involving undefeated and winless teams. SATURDAY 158. Brown @ Rhode Island Denver @ 100. Omaha Bradley @ 162. Central Arkansas 180. Cleveland State @ Wright State UC Davis @ Saint Mary's - a battle of undefeateds! 147. Valparaiso @ Missouri State Dartmouth @ 172. Massachusetts 187. Lipscomb @ Jacksonville 81. Cal Baptist @ UC Riverside 118. Campbell @ Radford VMI @ Mount St. Mary's - might be each team's best shot at a W. Hartford @ 133. Binghamton SUNDAY 102. Grand Canyon @ Incarnate Word 136. Navy @ Holy Cross
The game is actually at Davis, and there will be live video, So far this year games from Davis have just ambient sound and no commentary. http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/schedule.aspx?path=msoc
Lots of movement on our list today as several teams either got their first Ws or lost for the first time. Dartmouth, win a win over UMass, gets off the schneid. So do, Mount St. Mary’s, at the expense of keeping VMI winless, and Jacksonville beat Lipscomb. Then later UC Riverside got a win over Cal Baptist. Saint Mary’s, with a win over UC Davis which keeps them perfect and takes Davis off our list. Bradley also suffers its first loss, to Central Arkansas. Brown also gives Rhode Island its first loss. Wright State (Cleveland State), Missouri State (Valparaiso) and Denver (Omaha) also stay unbeaten while Hartford (Binghamton) and Radford (Campbell) stay winless. There are now 10 undefeated teams and eight winless. Here's the updated list... PERFECT, SO FAR (2) 24. Saint Mary’s – 9-0-0 1. Wake Forest – 8-0-0 UNBEATEN, BUT TIED (8) 14. Denver – 7-0-1 4. Kentucky – 6-0-1 36. Wright State – 6-0-1 28. Michigan State – 7-0-2 27. Portland – 6-0-2 66. Missouri State – 5-0-2 6. Virginia – 4-0-2 25. Xavier – 3-0-4 WINLESS, BUT WITH TIES (4) 192. Holy Cross – 0-3-3 205. Hartford – 0-6-3 164. Incarnate Word – 0-5-1 191. Bryant – 0-6-1 FUTILE (4) 173. Radford – 0-5-0 196. Central Connecticut – 0-6-0 185. Presbyterian – 0-7-0 202. VMI – 0-8-0 Here are Sunday's games involving winless teams. SUNDAY 105. Grand Canyon @ Incarnate Word 160. Navy @ Holy Cross
I was wondering how good St. Mary's can be since they haven't played anyone with a good record yet (both teams improved their SOS with this game). Well, they're a lot better than Davis. The game could have easily been 3-0, since SM hit open-net posts twice when the Davis keeper was out of position. Another note - the Davis keeper Wallis Lapsley set a UC Davis school D1 record with 9 saves (breaking his own record of 8 set just a week ago).
Holy Cross comes off the list with a win over Navy. Incarnate Word stays on it, losing to Grand Canyon. Here's the updated list... PERFECT, SO FAR (2) 24. Saint Mary’s – 9-0-0 1. Wake Forest – 8-0-0 UNBEATEN, BUT TIED (8) 18. Denver – 7-0-1 4. Kentucky – 6-0-1 36. Wright State – 6-0-1 27. Michigan State – 7-0-2 30. Portland – 6-0-2 66. Missouri State – 5-0-2 6. Virginia – 4-0-2 25. Xavier – 3-0-4 WINLESS, BUT WITH TIES (3) 205. Hartford – 0-6-3 167. Incarnate Word – 0-6-1 189. Bryant – 0-6-1 FUTILE (4) 169. Radford – 0-5-0 198. Central Connecticut – 0-6-0 185. Presbyterian – 0-7-0 202. VMI – 0-8-0
Portland beats Coastal Carolina and Denver tops Tulsa to keep both undefeated. Here's the updated list... PERFECT, SO FAR (2) 21. Saint Mary’s – 9-0-0 1. Wake Forest – 8-0-0 UNBEATEN, BUT TIED (8) 20. Denver – 8-0-1 4. Kentucky – 6-0-1 34. Wright State – 6-0-1 13. Portland – 7-0-2 27. Michigan State – 7-0-2 68. Missouri State – 5-0-2 6. Virginia – 4-0-2 25. Xavier – 3-0-4 WINLESS, BUT WITH TIES (3) 205. Hartford – 0-6-3 165. Incarnate Word – 0-6-1 190. Bryant – 0-6-1 FUTILE (4) 170. Radford – 0-5-0 198. Central Connecticut – 0-6-0 185. Presbyterian – 0-7-0 202. VMI – 0-8-0