Sept. 5, 2007
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Taking down a top 20 opponent on the road propelled William Jewell (Mo.) to the top of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men's Soccer Top 25 Poll, announced this afternoon (Sept. 5). WJC defeated then-No. 13 Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) 4-1 last week and earned eight of a possible 14 first-place votes. The Cardinals, who made it to the NAIA Semifinal round last year, ended last season at No. 3 in the poll.
Coming in at second is Rio Grande (Ohio) after shutting out its first two opponents and taking down then-No. 24 Mobile (Ala.) to close out a 3-0 week. Concordia (Calif.), who like Rio Grande received three first-place votes, went 3-0 in its opening week to jump to No. 3. One of those wins came against the No. 16-ranked team in NCAA Division II ranks.
Filling out the top five is Graceland (Iowa) at No. 4 followed by Azusa Pacific (Calif.). Those two clubs were listed in the preseason poll (Aug. 15) as the No. 1 and No. 2 teams, respectively.
Other notables are Lee (Tenn.) and Simon Fraser (B.C.) who have each totaled a poll-leading four wins on the young season. Region II lists four teams in the Top 25 -- No. 3 Concordia, No. 5 Azusa Pacific, No. 18 Fresno Pacific (Calif.) and No. 24 Vanguard (Calif.) -- the highest amount of teams from any one region. Region II is comprised of the California Pacific Athletic Conference, the Golden State Athletic Conference and four independent teams.
The second regular season Top 25 poll will be released on Wednesday, Sept. 12.
2007 NAIA Men's Soccer Top 25 Poll - Sept. 5 (Rating #1)
RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL (Region) | 1st PLACE VOTES | 2007 RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
1 | 3 | William Jewell (Mo.) (V) | 8 | 1-0-0 | 338 |
2 | 4 | Rio Grande (Ohio) (IX) | 3 | 3-0-0 | 328 |
3 | 9 | Concordia (Calif.) (II) | 3 | 3-0-0 | 322 |
4 | 1 | Graceland (Iowa) (V) | | 1-0-1 | 304 |
5 | 2 | Azusa Pacific (Calif.) (II) | | 2-0-0 | 283 |
6 | 6 | Lee (Tenn.) (XIII) | | 4-0-1 | 278 |
7 | NR | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (XI) | | 3-0-0 | 263 |
8 | 7 | Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) (XIII) | | 1-0-0 | 244 |
9 | NR | Southern Nazarene (Okla.) (VI) | | 2-0-1 | 235 |
10 | 8 | Judson (Ill.) (VII) | | 3-0-1 | 232 |
11 | 11 | Embry-Riddle (Fla.) (XIV) | | 1-1-0 | 207 |
12 | 10 | Grand View (Iowa) (VII) | | 1-0-1 | 186 |
13 | 18 | Hastings (Neb.) (III) | | 1-0-1 | 158 |
14 | 15 | Park (Mo.) (IV) | | 2-1-0 | 143 |
15 | NR | Simon Fraser (B.C.) (I) | | 4-0-1 | 140 |
16 | NR | Oklahoma City (VI) | | 3-0-0 | 132 |
17 | NR | Indiana Wesleyan (VIII) | | 1-0-1 | 128 |
18 | NR | Fresno Pacific (Calif.) (II) | | 2-0-1 | 104 |
19 | NR | Lindenwood (Mo.) (V) | | 1-0-1 | 93 |
20 | 17 | Berry (Ga.) (XIII) | | 2-0-0 | 88 |
T21 | NR | Bethel (Tenn.) (XI) | | 2-0-0 | 63 |
T21 | 23 | Ohio Dominican (IX) | | 3-0-0 | 63 |
23 | 20 | Savannah Art & Design (Ga.) (XIV) | | 1-1-0 | 45 |
24 | 12 | Vanguard (Calif.) (II) | | 1-0-0 | 41 |
25 | 19 | Concordia (Ore.) (I) | | 2-1-0 | 38 |
Others Receiving Votes: Webber International (Fla.) (XIV) 21; Westmont (Calif.) (II) 19; Science & Arts (Okla.) (VI) 13; Maine - Fort Kent (X) 11; Martin Methodist (Tenn.) (XI) 11; Milligan (Tenn.) (XII) 6; Davenport (Mich.) (VIII) 3; Hannibal LaGrange (Mo.) 2; Northwood (Fla.) (XIV) 2; Southern Wesleyan (S.C.) 2
