The loss to Allegheny college snapped Ohio Wesleyan's NCAA Division III-record winning streak to 60 games! Just thought everyone should know of this very big Division III game. http://www.allegheny.edu/cgi-bin/mt/mt-view.cgi/6/entry/1138/womensoccer_entry (I'm personally very proud because I'm from Meadville, the town Allegheny is in, and have friends on the team)
Well, that's a big upset. But it's not earth-shaking. After all, Allegheny was a ranked team, at number 25, even before the upset. If you look at the Albyn Jones ratings prior top the game, it's "only" a difference of slightly more than 400 ratings points. Code: [font=courier]Team rank record rating SE Ohio Wesleyan 1 14-0-0 1580 119 Allegheny 29 12-1-1 1174 82[/font] Yes, that's a significant difference, but it represents "only" 32 to 1 odds in favor of Ohio Wesleyan. (it's not, for example, 100 to 1 odds) So, again: it's a big upset, but it's not earth-shaking. This week, Ohio Wesleyan falls to a #3 ranking (NSCAA), and Allegheny jumps from #25 to number 10. NSCAA rankings - October 27 Code: [font=courier]1 Trinity (Texas) 14-0-1 2 2 Chicago 13-0-2 3 3 Ohio Wesleyan 15-1-0 1 4 Wheaton (Mass.) 17-1-0 4 5 Puget Sound (Wash.) 13-1-1 9 6 Scranton (Pa.) 16-0-1 15 7 Wheaton (Ill.) 12-1-3 8 8 Union (N.Y.) 14-1-1 5 9 Willamette (Ore.) 13-1-2 6 10 Allegheny (Pa.) 14-1-1 25[/font] Washington U. is at #16. Go Bears!
As much as we can all rely on math for 100% accuracy of all results, there is a much larger mental victory there. I've been watching the NCAC conference play for 8 years now and I think that victory is a pretty big deal. Even if it were a DI school at the bottom of the rankings beating UNC during one of their streaks in the 80's (if it hypothetically was at 60 games), I'm sure a Jones score would not have measured the big step that was for the program that beat them. I understand that it isn't the end of the world exciting but it needed to be noted for those who don't follow the tumultuous world of non-scholarship college soccer.