Sept. 28, 2010

Contact: Chad Waller, NAIA Director of Sports Information & Media Services, cwaller@naia.org

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – As one of 16 teams with an undefeated record, No. 1 Simon Fraser (B.C.) holds as the top-ranked team in the fourth regular season edition of the 2010 NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The next five teams in the poll all hold and have yet to lose on the season: No. 2 Rio Grande (Ohio), No. 3 Notre Dame (Ohio), No. 4 Hastings (Neb.), No. 5 Vanguard (Calif.) and No. 6 Maine-Fort Kent.

Four teams enter the Top 25 this week after sitting out in the Sept. 21 edition: No. 18 Grand View (Iowa), No. 20 William Carey (Miss.), No. 23 The Master’s (Calif.) and No. 25 Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio). It has been almost three years since Grand View has been mentioned in the poll – the last time was Oct. 31, 2007 (No. 24). William Carey is back in the Top 25 after enjoying a ranking for the first three polls of the season (including preseason). After taking a two-week hiatus, The Master’s is back in the Top 25. Mount Vernon Nazarene is appearing for the first time since Oct. 6, 2009 (No. 23)

For the third straight poll, Simon Fraser is the No. 1 team. The Clan gathered 18 first-place votes and a total of 649 points. Simon Fraser holds a 24-2 scoring advantage this season and is a perfect 7-0 overall. The latest victim was Northwest Nazarene (Idaho) 2-0 on Sept. 25. Since a loss to British Columbia on Oct. 13, 2009, Simon Fraser has won 16 of its last 17 matches.

Closely behind Simon Fraser for the third straight time is No. 2 Rio Grande. The Red Storm gained 636 total points and five first-place votes. Tied for the most wins in the NAIA with a 10-0 season record, Rio Grande has shut out five of its 10 opponents. Rio Grande next plays Roberts Wesleyan (N.Y.) on Saturday.

No. 3 Notre Dame holds steady and has dominated thus far this season. The Falcons are 9-0 overall and blanked their first seven opponents. Overall, Notre Dame has outscored the opposition 45-3 in nine matches. In the Top 25, Notre Dame posted 612 total points.

Hastings maintains the fourth spot for the second straight poll. The Broncos have 584 total points. Hastings kept their perfect record intact and moved to 7-0 with a 6-1 win over Briar Cliff on Sept. 25. Next up on the schedule is a Wednesday date with No. 22 Bellevue (Neb.).

No. 5 Vanguard sits this week with 570 total points. The Lions battled then-No. 12 Azusa Pacific (Calif.) to a 3-2 victory on Sept. 25 to improve to 6-0-1 on the season. Vanguard next matches up with San Diego Christian on Wednesday.

Four teams fall out of the Top 25 since last week: No. 20 Shorter (Ga.), No. 22 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.), No. 24 Concordia (Calif.) and No. 25 Ashford (Iowa).

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups. The fifth regular season Coaches’ Top 25 Poll will be announced on Oct. 5.

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NOTES: No. 10 Belhaven (Miss.) is tied with No. 2 Rio Grande (Ohio) for the most wins in the NAIA (10)… In five polls this year (including Preseason Top 25), there have been 42 teams ranked… No. 11 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) is tied with Rio Grande for the most No. 1 mentions since 2000 at 31 times… Overall, there have been 14 different teams to claim the No. 1 spot during that span, led by Lindsey Wilson and Rio Grande (31), followed by Bethel (Tenn.) (11), Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) (9), Azusa Pacific (Calif.) (5), Concordia (Calif.) (5) and Simon Fraser (B.C.) (3)… Lindsey Wilson and Simon Fraser (B.C.) now hold the distinction of being consecutively ranked the longest among active schools -- 37 straight polls, dating back to the 2007 Preseason Top 25 Poll… Since 2000, two teams have rattled through the entire season ranked No. 1 --- Bethel in 2009 and Rio Grande during the 2004 season.

2010 NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – (Regular Season No. 4)

Others receiving votes:

University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) 103; Bethel University (Tenn.) 93; Shorter University (Ga.) 81; Oklahoma Baptist University 77; Concordia University (Ore.) 74; Westmont College (Calif.) 35; McKendree University (Ill.) 28; Warner University (Fla.) 21; Mount Mercy University (Iowa) 17; Aquinas College (Mich.) 16; Saint Xavier University (Ill.) 15; California State University-San Marcos 11; Baker University (Kan.) 10; Cedarville University (Ohio) 10; Columbia College (Mo.) 10; Mountain State University (W.Va.) 9; Auburn University Montgomery (Ala.) 5; Union College (Ky.) 4; Our Lady of the Lake University (Texas) 3; Concordia University (Calif.) 3; Northwood University (Fla.) 1; Oklahoma City University 1; University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) 1; Ashford University (Iowa) 1; Mid-Continent University (Ky.) 1; Houghton College (N.Y.) 1; Southern Polytechnic State University (Ga.) 1; Rogers State University (Okla.) 1; Thomas University (Ga.) 1

* Submitted by the raters and reflecting the overall record