Aug. 17, 2010

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Coming off the school’s eighth men’s soccer national championship, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) takes over at the No. 1 position in the NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 poll, announced by the NAIA on Tuesday. The Blue Raiders earned 19 of the possible 20 first-place votes to total 560 points. This is the first No. 1 ranking for Lindsey Wilson since the final 2008 poll (Nov. 16). Lindsey Wilson bumps out Bethel (Tenn.) from the No. 1 spot after the Wildcats were the top-ranked team for the entire 2009 season.

The Blue Raiders finished last year with a 20-2-1 record and will enter the 2010 season on a 12-match unbeaten streak. Opening up at home against Saint Xavier (Ill.) on Saturday, Lindsey Wilson returns several key starters including sophomore Lebogang Moloto, a 2009 NAIA All-America First Team selection. Anchoring the defense is Championship MVP Chris Williams, who helped Lindsey Wilson record 16 shutouts (in 23 matches) last year, which ranked first in the nation.

No. 2 The Master’s (Calif.) brought in 538 total points after a 19-3-3 season. The Mustangs advanced to the 2009 National Championship final against Lindsey Wilson. That trip was their first to a title game in school history. In a banner year, The Master’s won the 2009 Golden State Athletic Conference Championship with a 9-1 record and finished one overall win shy of the school record (20).

For the fourth straight poll dating back to last year, Simon Fraser (B.C.) remains at the No. 3 spot. The Clan piled up 518 total points. Simon Fraser, a team that won 15 of its final 17 matches last year, finished with a 19-4 record. The Clan played in the 2009 NAIA Semifinals, only to lose 3-0 to national champion Lindsey Wilson.

Rio Grande (Ohio) checks in at No. 4 with 514 total points. Members of the Mid-South Conference along with Lindsey Wilson, the RedStorm went 18-3-3 last year and wrapped up the campaign with a trip to the NAIA Semifinals before getting ousted by The Master’s in penalty kicks. Rio Grande was ranked fourth in the NAIA last year in goals per game (3.9 gpg).

No. 5 Embry-Riddle (Fla.), with 465 total points, makes one of the biggest leaps from last year. The Eagles finished the 2009 season at No. 18 and reached as high as tenth. Embry-Riddle won The Sun Conference Tournament last year and went 14-4-4 overall. During a 9-1-2 stretch to end the year, Embry-Riddle allowed only seven goals.

The Golden State Athletic Conference and the Southern States Athletic Conference are the most represented in the Top 25 with three teams apiece. The GSAC hails The Master’s, No. 8 Biola (Calif.) and No. 13 Azusa Pacific (Calif.). The SSAC, which added members from the former Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and now has 13 institutions, places No. 9 Southern Poly State (Ga.), No. 17 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) and No. 19 William Carey (Miss.) on the list.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups. The first regular season Coaches’ Top 25 Poll will be announced on Sept. 7.

For more information on NAIA men’s soccer, please click here.

NOTES: Since 2000, No. 1 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) has been ranked first in the Preseason Top 25 Poll on five occasions (2010, 2006, 2002, 2001, 2000)… No. 6 Martin Methodist (Tenn.) notched the remaining first-place vote after not being ranked in the final 2009 regular season Top 25 poll – the Redhawks won six of their final seven games last year before falling in the NAIA Quarterfinals… A team that went on a 31-match unbeaten streak last year, Bethel (Tenn.) falls from the No. 1 team during the course of the 2009 season to No. 12 in this poll… Since 2000, there have been 14 different teams to claim the No. 1 spot – Rio Grande (Ohio) leads the pack with 31 mentions as the top-ranked team… The last time Rio Grande was No. 1 was on Oct. 14, 2008, an absence of 17 polls… Lindsey Wilson is second on the list for No. 1 rankings since 2000, having been mentioned 30 times followed by Bethel (Tenn.) (11), Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) (9), Azusa Pacific (Calif.) (5) and Concordia (Calif.) (5)… Since 2000, two teams have rattled through the entire season ranked No. 1 --- Bethel (Tenn.) in 2009 and Rio Grande during the 2004 season… Auburn Montgomery holds the longest active streak of being ranked in the Top 25 with 100 consecutive polls dating back to the first regular season poll on Sept. 12, 2000… Trailing Auburn Montgomery for the second-longest streak, Lindsey Wilson and Simon Fraser (B.C.) have both been ranked in the last 33 straight polls, this dates back to the 2007 Preseason Top 25 Poll… Since 2000, of the 122 NAIA schools to be ranked in the Top 25, 21 schools no longer sponsor NAIA men’s soccer.

2010 NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Top 25 Poll – (Aug. 17)

Others receiving votes:

Savannah College of Art and Design (Ga.) 157; Oklahoma City University 94; University of the Cumberlands (Ky.) 88; Kansas Wesleyan University 76; Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) 36; Vanguard University (Calif.) 35; Concordia University (Ore.) 27; Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio) 18; University of Mobile (Ala.) 14; Judson University (Ill.) 13; California State University-San Marcos 10 Park University (Mo.) 10 Westmont College (Calif.) 8; Bryan College (Tenn.) 7; McPherson College (Kan.) 5; Missouri Valley College 4; Holy Names University (Calif.) 3; Warner Pacific College (Ore.) 3 Concordia University (Calif.) 1; Asbury University (Ky.) 1; Aquinas College (Mich.) 1; Milligan College (Tenn.) 1; Saint Thomas University (Fla.) 1; Davenport University (Mich.) 1

^ Final rating from 2009 regular season Top 25 (Nov. 10, 2009)

* Submitted by the raters and reflecting the final 2009 record