Nov. 14, 2010

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

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In the final NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 poll of the season, Rio Grande (Ohio) has been tabbed the No. 1 team for the fourth-straight week. Tied for the most wins in the country with a 21-0 record, the RedStorm captured 653 total points and was the unanimous selection for the second-consecutive poll with 23 first-place votes. The next five teams in the poll all held their positions.

The official 32-team field for the 2010 Men’s Soccer National Championship will be announced Sunday by 5 p.m. CST. The bracket will be announced by 8 p.m., for the Opening Round on Nov. 20.

Four teams fell out of the Top 25: No. 19 Science and Arts (Okla.), No. Park (Mo.), No. 21 Houghton (N.Y.) and No. 25 Illinois Tech. Those teams were replaced by No. 17 St. Thomas (Fla.), No. 23 Columbia (Mo.), No. 24 Saint Xavier (Ill.) and No. 25 Concordia (Ore.). St. Thomas and Concordia are ranked for the first time this year. The Bobcats are in the Top 25 for the first time since Oct. 19, 2004 (No. 25), while Concordia is mentioned for the first time since Aug. 18, 2009 (No. 25).

Rio Grande won the Mid-South Conference regular season title and tournament championship. On Thursday, the RedStorm took down No. 5 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), 2-0, in the league final. Rio Grande has posted 15 shutouts this year and ranks in the top-five nationally in all major offensive statistical categories, including second in assists per match (4.7) and goals per match (5.3).

No. 2 Notre Dame (Ohio) is one of four undefeated teams sporting a 19-0 record. The Falcons earned 628 total points. Notre Dame has been ranked in the top five in each of the last 11 polls after being tabbed seventh in the preseason announcement. The Falcons were crowned both the regular season and tournament champions of the American Mideast Conference after a 5-2 victory over Houghton (N.Y.) on Saturday. Notre Dame has outscored its opponents 87-10 this year, including 12 shutouts.

One of three teams with at least 20 wins, No. 3 Hastings (Neb.) earned 613 total points and is ranked third for the second week in-a-row. The Broncos won both the Great Plains Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles. They prevailed 2-0 against Sioux Falls (S.D.) in the league final on Saturday. Hastings has held a 44-3 scoring edge in its last 10 matches, including eight shutouts. The Broncos rank fourth nationally with 4.2 goals per match.

Fourth-ranked Simon Fraser (B.C.), who won the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) tournament, checks in with 587 points. The Clan, who were ranked in the top spot for six weeks this season, took down St. Thomas (Texas), 1-0 on Saturday to win the A.I.I. title. Simon Fraser stands at 19-1 this year and is 3-0 against NAIA competition, playing a majority of its schedule against NCAA Division II and III programs.

Despite the loss to top-ranked Rio Grande in the conference final, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) holds steady in the No. 5 spot. With 551 total points, the Blue Raiders are 15-3-1, with two of their losses this season against Rio Grande. The defending national champion is eighth in the nation in scoring (3.5 gpg).

The Golden State Athletic Conference (GSAC), Mid-South Conference and the Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) lead all conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups with three schools apiece in the Top 25. Two other conferences each landed a pair of teams in the poll.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups.

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NOTES: Three teams have held the No. 1 ranking this year (Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Simon Fraser (B.C.) and Rio Grande (Ohio))… Rio Grande has been ranked in the top 10 for the last 23 straight polls, dating back to the start of the 2009 season… Rio Grande and Maine-Fort Kent are tied for the most wins (21) in the country… Overall, there are four undefeated programs (Rio Grande, Notre Dame (Ohio), Hastings (Neb.) and Maine-Fort Kent)… In 12 polls this year (including Preseason Top 25), there have been 51 teams ranked in the Top 25… Rio Grande surpasses Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) for the most No. 1 mentions since 2000 as the RedStorm now hold 35 top rankings… Overall, there have been 14 different teams to claim the No. 1 spot during that span: after Rio Grande, Lindsey Wilson is second (31) and is followed by Bethel (Tenn.) (11), Auburn Montgomery (Ala.) (9), Simon Fraser (B.C.) (6), Azusa Pacific (Calif.) (5) and Concordia (Calif.) (5)… Lindsey Wilson and Simon Fraser now hold the distinction of being consecutively ranked the longest among active schools – 44 straight polls, dating back to the 2007 Preseason Top 25 Poll… Maine-Fort Kent is next in line with 40 straight rankings, followed by Rio Grande (38) and Azusa Pacific and Notre Dame are tied at 31… 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. 11 – FINAL POLL)

Others receiving votes:

Park University (Mo.) 135; Bethel University (Tenn.) 108; Science and Arts of Oklahoma 107; Oklahoma City University 74; Houghton College (N.Y.) 74; Illinois Institute of Technology 41; Davenport University (Mich.) 36; University of Great Falls (Mont.) 33; Bethel College (Ind.) 21; William Carey University (Miss.) 18; Northwood University (Fla.) 8; Mount Vernon Nazarene University (Ohio) 4; Campbellsville University (Ky.) 3; Baker University (Kan.) 3; St. Thomas - Houston (Texas) 3; Warner University (Fla.) 1; Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Fla.) 1; Biola University (Calif.) 1; Holy Names University (Calif.) 1

* Submitted by the raters and reflecting the overall record through games played Nov. 13