I know that the NAIA may not be of interest of a number of you, but here's the preseason poll that came out last week. There are some of the usual suspect in the pool, such as Lindsey Wilson, Azusa Pacific and Rio Grande. Although there are a couple of new comers listed; McKendree (IL), Bethel (IN) and Savanah Art and Design. Alot of these schools lean heavily on foriegn students, but a lot don't. http://naia.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/081606aaa.html
Savannah College of Arts and Design is quieting gaining recognition with many southeastern area players including Sereth Love, a transfer and former signee from the University of New Mexico. One of the tougher matches Lindsey Wilson may face this fall may be instate rival Cumberland who I think is underrated.
Hastings was preseason #6, and only lost two games all of last year, including the playoffs. They are now 0-2 this year. Very surprising.
Not really surprising but somewhat. They lost both games by one goal to 2 very good teams which one is in the top 25 (Mo. Bap.) and the other should be (Columbia). They started last year 0-1-2 and was losing to Park before it got canceled so they could have started 2005 0-2-2. They play one of the toughest non-conference schedules. Hastings tends to turn it on in late September. They play #2 Azusa Pacific on Friday, the team they lost to last year in the Final Four. Like they always say, it does not matter how you start, it matters where you finish. Hastings started slow last year and finished strong.
Here are the first regional rankings. The revised national rankings come out in two days. http://naia.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/090406aaa.html Also, this past weekend saw number 12 Lindenwood beat number 1 Lindsey Wilson 3 - 1. Number 2 ranked Azusa Pacific beat # 6 Hastings 4 -0 and #7 Oklahoma Baptist 4 - 2. I would imagine there would be a change at the top of the rankings when they come out on Thursday.
Here's the updated national rankings. Number 1 Lindsey Wilson dropped to # 3 and Azusa Pacific moved up one to the top. http://naia.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/090606aaa.html
I think that Oklahoma Christian will be one of the surprise teams of the NAIA this year. A win on the road against McKendree should help them get a top 25 ranking this week.
That's a pretty good upset. I think it will get them into the top 5 in their region, but not sure if it will get them into the top 25 nationaly. It would have helped more if they had been in the top 5 of their region last week. In spite of losing two out west, I think that Oklahoma Baptist is still the best in that region.
Embry Riddle up to #4. Travelling to Rio this weekend. Mobile # 21 and Notre Dame College(OH) will also be Down on the Farm. Great weekend of soccer in Southeastern Ohio.
Those are two games that should be good to see. Yesterday Judson beat a very good D3 school in Wheaton (IL). Judson's only loss for the year is to Rio Grande 1 -0. http://www.judson-il.edu/about/index.aspx?id=2100&mID=44
Rio beats NDC 6-1. Embry Riddle beats Mobile 3-1. Mobile vs NDC 4pm. Rio vs Embry 7pm. Upset McKendree College #8 loses to Bethel (TN) 3-2.
Here's the updated national rankings. http://naia.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/092006aaa.html With a change at the top, Azusa Pacific to fourth and Embry-Riddle (FL) jumped to the top from #4. They beat previous #2 Rio Grande (OH) and Azusa Pacific lost to unranked Graceland (IA).
Oklahoma Christian and Oklahoma Baptist tied 1-1 this week. OC now has to play OK Science and Arts, another highly ranked team. Perhaps another good result will finally get them the national ranking they deserve.
Kind of surprised that they haven't moved into the region top 5. But as they move into the thick of their conference schedule and if they continue to win, they should move up into the regional rankings and then into the national rankings.
Here's the updated national rankings. Lindsey Wilson is back on top after Embry Riddle lost. http://naia.cstv.com/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/092706aaa.html
Who are the top American players in NAIA and who, if any, are the top international players that aren't more than three years older than their classmates?
We (Bethel, IN) have fallen from the top ten after dropping two games. Our game versus Rio got canceled, which really would have helped our Longo points and that put a slight damper on our season from a coaching perspective. Then we gave up a 2-1 lead versus Auburn Montgomery with 4 minutes left. Our tougher games will be Madonna probably for Regionals.
They will still be tough in your region though. Presently ranked 3rd in the region and top 30 pre-season nationally.
How do the longo points work? This is a concept in the NAIA which I have never understood. Would anyone care to explain? Thanks!
I saw your game against Olivet and thought you had a pretty good team. I saw that you lost to TIU, how was that game? They have a new coach and a number of transfers.
I don't completely understand it either, but will make an attempt explain it. So the team that you are playing against has a certain scale, I believe it's A-C or maybe D. It's kind of based on not only their history, but what kind of season they are doing. A win over a A team is worth more then a C team. And also you get more points if for an away win then at home. Also, I know you max out points with a 3 goal margin of victory. So not I don't really think that pouring on the goals helps. And then you have a ongoing longo score for the season. So it's possible to be for a team with a couple of losses (but has wins over A schools) to be higher ranked then an undefeated school that has played a bunch of lowever ranked school. I'm sure that some one can explain it better, but that's my understanding. Hope it helps.