Top Stories

SBI College Soccer Top 25 (Oct. 23rd)

Photo by Tony Quinn/ISIPhotos.com

By IVES GALARCEP

The University of Maryland removed any doubts about their hold on the No. 1 spot in the SBI Top 25 after outplaying and ultimately defeating then No. 2 North Carolina in last week’s showdown of top teams.

The rainy conditions in Maryland put a damper on things, but we were still able to see a Terrapins side that was both strong offensively and tough defensively. North Carolina never could quite get going, but still showed enough to make a potential rematch in the ACC Final a can’t-miss encounter.

While Maryland remains the top team in the nation, the hottest team in the country is Akron, which increased its winning streak to eight matches after beating a tough West Virginia side. Caleb Porter’s side has allowed just one goal in nine matches, but will begin a three-game road trip that includes visits to Big Ten sides Ohio State (tonight) and Michigan State.

The last team with a perfect record finally fell last weekend as Cornell dropped points for the first time this year, with Brown inflicting the damage. Niagara also fell from the ranks of the unbeatens, leaving only Maryland and Xavier as teams that have yet to taste defeat this season.

The win against Cornell helped Brown climb all the way to No. 18 in the latest SBI Top 25, but their resume includes more than just that victory. The Bears also beat Washington earlier in the year, and are now riding a 10-match unbeaten streak.

Here is the latest SBI College Soccer Top 25:

SBI MEN’S COLLEGE SOCCER TOP 25

(last week’s rank in parentheses)

1. (1)- MARYLAND (13-0-1)

2. (3)- AKRON (11-1-2)

3. (4)- UCONN  (13-1-1)

4. (2)- NORTH CAROLINA (11-2-1)

5. (5)- MARQUETTE (14-1)

6. (6)- GEORGETOWN (13-2-1)

7. (7)- NOTRE DAME (12-3)

8. (8)- XAVIER (10-0-3)

9. (9)- COASTAL CAROLINA (13-1-2)

10. (11)- UCLA (9-2-2)

11. (14)- SAINT LOUIS (11-3)

12. (16)- NEW MEXICO (12-3)

13. (15). OLD DOMINION (9-2-2)

14. (10)- INDIANA (10-3-2)

15. (12)- NORTHWESTERN (10-3-2)

16. (20)- CHARLOTTE (10-2-3)

17. (13)- UCSB (9-3-3)

18. (25)- BROWN (11-1-2)

19. (22)- LOUISVILLE (10-4-1)

20. (19)- WASHINGTON (10-3-3)

21. (23)- CREIGHTON (11-3-2)

22. (17)- ST. JOHN’S (9-3-4)

23. (18)- FURMAN (10-3-3)

24. (NR)- WAKE FOREST (9-2-4)

25. (24)- VCU (8-2-4)

——————-

HONORABLE MENTION– Penn State (9-4-2), Cornell (12-1), Tulsa (10-4-1), SMU (9-3-3), West Virginia (8-4-2), Syracuse (12-4), Elon (10-4-1), Cal Poly (9-5-1), Boston College (8-4-3), High Point (11-2-2)

———–

What do you think of this week’s rankings? Which team didn’t make the Top 25 that you feel should be there? See anybody being able to stop Maryland this season?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

    • Great job again Ives! I just am a bit disappointed that this years College Cup is in that baseball stadium in Alabama….again!!!

      Reply
  1. I think dropping NC to 4th is a little harsh. I’d keep them at No. 2. The loss to Maryland, away in those conditions means nothing imo. Not that I mind seeing the Zips at #2, they are my favorite team after all

    Reply
    • The top four is a very tight bunch. For my money you can put them in any order after Maryland. You still have to drop when you lose though, especially when a team like Akron is rolling.

      Reply
  2. Sort of off topic but I would love to see a college player ranking closer to the draft detailing players that are potential homegrown signings and who you guys think are worth taking a chance on.

    Reply
  3. Nice rankings. I wonder how Akron will be affected next year with the loss of Caleb Porter. I’ve been watching a lot of their highlights/interviews on YouTube and he seems like a great coach.

    Reply
    • Cornell only cracked our Top 25 last week, and the reality is they have played an extremely weak schedule (non-conference schedule included). They failed their first good test of the season and are out. If they win out they might still make the NCAA Tournament, but I just don’t think they’ve done a thing to be considered a Top 25 team.

      Reply
  4. Nice comments (finally) about the Terps. They’ve been dominant all season and I’m still perplexed as to why you dropped them from the top spot a few weeks ago in the first place. It’s not like Sasho Cirovski doesn’t churn out good players. This current team is chock full of future pros and very much resembles the Akron teams from 2-3 years ago.

    Maryland doesn’t have the lead strikers like Teal Bunbury, Steve Zakuani or Daren Mattocks for Akron, but they are absolutely loaded with players. The following seem like certain future MLS’ers or European prospects:

    London Woodberry
    Christiano Francios
    John Stertzer
    Patrick Mullins
    Sunny Jayne
    Taylor Kemp
    Schillo Tshuma

    the list goes on – go Terps!

    Reply
    • I dropped them behind UConn because I thought UConn had done more at that point of the season to merit the top spot. Wasn’t like I dropped Maryland out of the Top Five. Maryland is stacked, but then they were also stacked last year as well and wound up with no trophies. They impressed against UNC but I’d like to see that rematch in the ACC Final. I think UNC puts in a stronger performance the next time they meet.

      Maryland is the clear No. 1 right now, but I wouldn’t say that means they’re the dominant pick to win it all. The difference between the top five teams is smaller than years past. I’d love to see Maryland play Akron or UConn. Hopefully we see that come tournament time.

      Reply
      • Ives, I’m still trying to figure out how you claim Akron as the hottest team with a winning streak of 8 games. I admit allowing 1 goal in the past 8 games is very impressive, but Maryland has won 13 consecutive games since tying UCLA.

      • Pretty simple really. Yes, Maryland has the longer winning streak, but when we talk about recent results, more recent results, Akron has been more dominant. Maryland is the No. 1 team in the country but they haven’t been blowing teams away lately. They’ve had tougher than expected matches against teams like Rutgers, Duke and even College of Charleston. Their last seriously convincing victory was more than a month ago against Georgia State (They recently beat a 4-5-5 Colgate side by a 2-0 margin AT HOME). During that same time frame, Akron has posted a more impressive run of convincing victories. That’s what HOTTEST means. If you want to know who the best team has been over the course of the FULL season that’s what the rankings are for. When we talk about the past month or so, I’d give the edge to Akron as hottest team. If anything. I’d say Coastal Carolina has as much of an argument for the “hottest team” label as Maryland.

  5. Our opinions are starting to merge. I think you’re still high on GTown and Xavier, low on Wake and Indiana, but that’s the most agreeable I’ve ever been with a set of rankings from you…

    I don’t know what to think about CS Northridge (can a team be any less consistent, even year to year?), but I’d want them to receive an honorable. Kentucky is also flying under the radar after a rough start to the season; they just had a pair of tough road victories after losses to Indiana and @SMU (both expected)… I guess the draw against Memphis is kind of ugly.

    Reply
    • Northridge just missed our Honorable mention (They’d be 12th if we did 12 HM selections). As for Kentucky, sure they’re playing well now but a six-loss team isn’t making Top 25. I know they’ve played a very tough sked, but at a certain point you need to beat a good team to move into consideration.

      Reply
      • They’re definitely the best six-loss team in the country, haha… that’s a fair point. Recent form much better, but @Louisville has to be considered a strong victory at this point, even if you slightly discount the other CUSA wins they’ve had.

Leave a Reply to Ives Galarcep Cancel reply