Top Contenders Steady in NAIA Men’s Soccer Poll as Oklahoma Wesleyan Holds No. 1, While LSU Shreveport and Life Crack Top 10
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In the latest NAIA Men’s Soccer Netting Professionals Top 25 Coaches’ Poll, Oklahoma Wesleyan remains at No. 1 for a second consecutive week after receiving 14 first-place votes, staying unbeaten and showcasing one of the nation’s most prolific offenses. MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) holds steady at No. 2, continuing its strong performance this season, while Keiser (Fla.) rises one spot to No. 3.
LSU Shreveport (La.) makes the jump into the top 10, climbing four spots to No. 7 after clinching its fourth straight Red River Athletic Conference regular-season title. Indiana Wesleyan moves up to No. 8, and Life (Ga.) cracks the top 10 for the first time this season at No. 10, following its first-ever Southern States Athletic Conference regular-season championship.
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1. Oklahoma Wesleyan
Record: 13-0-3
Notes: Oklahoma Wesleyan boasts one of the nation’s most explosive offenses, ranking third in goals scored (67) and fifth in total shots (302). They appear No. 1 in the poll for the second consecutive week.
Up Next: The Eagles have two games left in the regular season; they will face Avila (Mo.) on Wednesday and York (Neb.) on Saturday.
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2. MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.)
Record: 10-2-4
Notes: The Pioneers are 7-2-3 in Heart of America action and hold the top spot in the conference standings. Grand View (Iowa) trails behind them with a 7-2-2 conference mark.
Up Next: MidAmerica Nazarene will challenge Missouri Baptist on Saturday, Nov. 1, in their final regular-season contest.
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3. Keiser (Fla.)
Record: 13-0-2
Notes: Keiser currently sits atop The Sun Conference standings with a 6-0-1 in-league record. Their lone tie of the season came to SCAD-Savannah (Ga.) on Oct. 18 in a 1-1 draw. Since then, they have recorded two wins and accumulated nine goals across those games.
Up Next: The Seahawks will take on Florida Memorial in their final regular-season contest on Wednesday at 1 p.m. ET.
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4. Bethel (Ind.)
Record: 12-2-2
Notes: Bethel suffered just its second loss of the season on Oct. 29, falling 1-0 to then-No. 23 Marian (Ind.). It marked the Pilots’ first setback since Aug. 23, but they quickly responded with back-to-back wins last week over Huntington (Ind.) and Spring Arbor (Mich.).
Up Next: Bethel will face No. 8 Indiana Wesleyan on Wednesday, Oct. 29, in their final regular-season match of Crossroads League action.
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5. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
Record: 11-2-1
Notes: Lindsey Wilson closed out Mid-South Conference play with a 4-2-0 mark, claiming the No. 3 seed. The Blue Raiders will look to advance to their third straight conference tournament final.
Up Next: The Mid-South Conference Tournament begins on Oct. 29, and Lindsey Wilson will take on Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) in the Quarterfinals on Oct. 30.
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6. Cumberlands (Ky.)
Record: 8-4-4
Notes: Cumberlands clinched the top spot in the Mid-South conference with a 5-1 conference mark.
Up Next: The Patriots will verse Georgetown (Ky.) in the quarterfinals of the Mid-South Conference Tournament on Oct. 29 at 6 p.m.
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7. LSU Shreveport (La.)
Record: 12-0-5
Notes: No. 11 LSU Shreveport secured its fourth straight Red River Athletic Conference regular-season title on Monday, Oct. 27, defeating Xavier (La.) 2-0 on their home field.
Up Next: The Pilots will close out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 1, when they take on Louisiana Christian. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. CT.
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8. Indiana Wesleyan
Record: 10-2-4
Notes: Indiana Wesleyan’s Kadin Wolfe earned his third Crossroads League Defensive Player of the Week honor this season after backstopping IWU to a 1-0 win over then-ranked No. 23 Marian (Ind.) last week. The senior goalkeeper recorded his seventh clean sheet of the year, making five saves and posting his sixth shutout in the last seven matches.
Up Next: The Wildcats finish the regular season on the road in a matchup against the conference’s top-ranked Bethel (Ind.) on Wednesday, Oct. 29.
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9. William Carey (Miss.)
Record: 12-3-2
Notes: The Crusaders rank third nationally in shutouts with nine and have maintained a strong scoring margin all season, outpacing opponents 42-13 over 17 matches.
Up Next: William Carey is back in action on Oct. 30 as they host Thomas (Ga.) in the Southern States Conference Tournament Quarterfinals.
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10. Life (Ga.)
Record: 12-1-2
Notes: Life secured its first-ever Southern States Athletic Conference regular-season championship on Sunday afternoon, defeating Dalton State (Ga.) 1-0. The game’s only goal came in the 43rd minute off a strike from Andrei Apostu, marking the program’s historic victory. Head Coach Alex Pama noted, “Per usual, Dalton State forced us to go to the limit, and this, too, could have been any round in the national championship. It makes our conference so great and tough at the same time.”
Up Next: Life will host Blue Mountain (Miss.) in the first round of the SSAC tournament on Friday, Oct. 31.
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| TREND |
RANK |
LAST POLL |
INSTITUTION |
RECORD |
POINTS |
| ● |
1 |
1 |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
13-0-3 |
504 |
| ● |
2 |
2 |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
10-2-4 |
485 |
| ▲ |
3 |
4 |
Keiser (Fla.) |
13-0-2 |
456 |
| ▼ |
4 |
3 |
Bethel (Ind.) |
12-2-2 |
455 |
| ● |
5 |
5 |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
11-2-1 |
407 |
| ● |
6 |
6 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
8-4-4 |
397 |
| ▲ |
7 |
11 |
LSU Shreveport (La.) |
12-0-5 |
374 |
| ▲ |
8 |
9 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
10-2-4 |
364 |
| ▼ |
9 |
7 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
12-3-2 |
354 |
| ▲ |
10 |
12 |
Life (Ga.) |
12-1-2 |
351 |
| ▲ |
11 |
13 |
Cumberland (Tenn.) |
11-2-3 |
318 |
| ▲ |
12 |
15 |
Georgia Gwinnett |
10-2-3 |
317 |
| ▲ |
13 |
14 |
Grand View (Iowa) |
11-2-3 |
281 |
| ▲ |
14 |
18 |
Bethel (Tenn.) |
9-1-2 |
270 |
| ▲ |
15 |
17 |
Madonna (Mich.) |
15-1-2 |
262 |
| ▼ |
16 |
8 |
William Penn (Iowa) |
7-4-4 |
244 |
| ▼ |
17 |
16 |
Indiana Tech |
13-4-1 |
229 |
| ▲ |
18 |
19 |
WVU Tech (W.V.) |
13-0-2 |
215 |
| ▼ |
19 |
10 |
Dalton State (Ga.) |
8-2-5 |
167 |
| ● |
20 |
20 |
Grace (Ind.) |
11-4-2 |
147 |
| ▲ |
21 |
25 |
Ottawa (Kan.) |
9-1-6 |
118 |
| ▼ |
22 |
21 |
Xavier (La.) |
10-3-2 |
108 |
| ▲ |
23 |
RV |
Eastern Oregon |
11-0-4 |
89 |
| ▲ |
24 |
RV |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
14-2-1 |
75 |
| ▼ |
25 |
22 |
Northwestern Ohio |
12-4-2 |
74 |
Receiving Votes: Marian (Ind.) 69, Rio Grande (Ohio) 65, Midland (Neb.) 55, Bellevue (Neb.) 42, St. Thomas (Fla.) 41, Union Commonwealth (Ky.) 34, Westcliff (Calif.) 33, Faulkner (Ala.) 29, Baker (Kan.) 28, Carroll (Mont.) 22, Central Methodist (Mo.) 16, LSU Alexandria (La.) 11, John Brown (Ark.) 6, Spring Arbor (Mich.) 5, Campbellsville (Ky.) 2.
Key: Steady●| Climbed ▲ | Dropped ▼
Poll Methodology
- The national poll is for publicity purposes only and does not influence the selection process for national championship consideration.
- A panel of head coaches representing each conference and the Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) votes in the poll.
- The Top 25 teams are selected using a points-based system:
- 30 points for a 1st-place vote, 29 for 2nd, 28 for 3rd, and so on.
- The highest and lowest rankings received by each team are discarded before final tallying.
- Teams receiving only one point are not listed as “receiving votes.”
- For the Preseason Poll, there is no “previous ranking” column since it is the initial poll and differs from the prior rating system.
<table class="table">
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Rank</th>
<th>University</th>
<th>Points</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr><td>1</td><td>Oklahoma Wesleyan University (Okla.)</td><td>504</td></tr>
<tr><td>2</td><td>MidAmerica Nazarene University (Kan.)</td><td>485</td></tr>
<tr><td>3</td><td>Keiser University (Fla.)</td><td>456</td></tr>
<tr><td>4</td><td>Bethel University (Ind.)</td><td>455</td></tr>
<tr><td>5</td><td>Lindsey Wilson University (Ky.)</td><td>407</td></tr>
<tr><td>6</td><td>University of the Cumberlands (Ky.)</td><td>397</td></tr>
<tr><td>7</td><td>Louisiana State University Shreveport (La.)</td><td>374</td></tr>
<tr><td>8</td><td>Indiana Wesleyan University (Ind.)</td><td>364</td></tr>
<tr><td>9</td><td>William Carey University (Miss.)</td><td>354</td></tr>
<tr><td>10</td><td>Life University (Ga.)</td><td>351</td></tr>
<tr><td>11</td><td>Cumberland University (Tenn.)</td><td>318</td></tr>
<tr><td>12</td><td>Georgia Gwinnett College (Ga.)</td><td>317</td></tr>
<tr><td>13</td><td>Grand View University (Iowa)</td><td>281</td></tr>
<tr><td>14</td><td>Bethel University (Tenn.)</td><td>270</td></tr>
<tr><td>15</td><td>Madonna University (Mich.)</td><td>262</td></tr>
<tr><td>16</td><td>William Penn University (Iowa)</td><td>244</td></tr>
<tr><td>17</td><td>Indiana Tech (Ind.)</td><td>229</td></tr>
<tr><td>18</td><td>West Virginia University Institute of Technology (W.Va.)</td><td>215</td></tr>
<tr><td>19</td><td>Dalton State College (Ga.)</td><td>167</td></tr>
<tr><td>20</td><td>Grace College (Ind.)</td><td>147</td></tr>
<tr><td>21</td><td>Ottawa University (Kan.)</td><td>118</td></tr>
<tr><td>22</td><td>Xavier University (La.)</td><td>108</td></tr>
<tr><td>23</td><td>Eastern Oregon University (Ore.)</td><td>89</td></tr>
<tr><td>24</td><td>Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.)</td><td>75</td></tr>
<tr><td>25</td><td>University of Northwestern Ohio (Ohio)</td><td>74</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
