The men's college soccer season is nearing the postseason, and with it comes the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). In the second installment, released earlier this week, Akron found itself in ranked third despite their outstanding 15-0 record. Wake Forest and UCLA sit ahead of the Zips, who are certainly punished for playing weaker opponents in the Mid-American Conference.
One thing clear about the RPI is that it doesn't like the Big East. Louisville, ranked at No. 5 by the NSCAA, sits at a distant 44 in the RPI. Meanwhile, Connecticut, No. 8 in the NSCAA poll, gets shuffled down to 30 in the RPI. Then just look at the ACC, who has four teams in the top 10.
The RPI has other interesting contrasts — take Princeton, who is 7-5-2 in the top 10, ahead of Ivy League counterparts Harvard, who boast a much better mark of 10-3-1. Though it makes a bit more sense when considering Princeton beat Harvard on the weekend.
The complete RPI is available here, ranking 204 schools across the country. Be sure to check out the top 25 after the jump.
- Wake Forest, ACC (11-2-2)
- UCLA, PAC-10 (9-2-2)
- Akron, MAC (15-0-0)
- Northwestern, Big Ten (9-2-4)
- San Diego, WCC (10-4-0)
- North Carolina, ACC (10-2-2)
- Indiana, Big Ten (7-7-1)
- North Carolina State, ACC (10-3-1)
- Duke, ACC (10-4-0)
- Princeton, Ivy (7-5-2)
- San Diego State, PAC-10 (6-4-4)
- Charlotte, Atlantic 10 (9-1-4)
- Butler, Horizon (10-1-1)
- Maryland, ACC (10-4-1)
- Loyola Marymount, WCC (7-7-1)
- Penn State, Big Ten (9-4-2)
- Stanford, PAC-10 (9-4-1)
- Tulsa, CUSA (9-4-2)
- Harvard, Ivy (10-3-1)
- Virginia, ACC (10-3-1)
- Monmouth, Northeast (13-1-1)
- South Carolina, CUSA (7-5-3)
- Michigan State, Big Ten (9-4-1)
- Ohio State, Big Ten (8-4-4)
- American, Patriot (8-3-2)
What do you think of this week's RPI? Think it makes no sense? Who should jump into the top 25?
Share your thoughts below.