It took them most of the 2011 regular season, but the New Mexico Lobos have completed the improbable climb to the top of the FOX Soccer NCAA Top 25.
They may play in the tiny Mountain Pacific Conference and have not played as strong a schedule as the other teams around them at the top of the rankings, but New Mexico’s standing as the lone unbeaten team in the nation became even tougher to ignore as some other national powers struggled last week.
In fact, not only is New Mexico the only unbeaten team in the nation. There isn’t even another team in the country with just one loss. The Lobos have posted some good results this year, including tying Akron on the road and beating Cal-State Bakersfield, though they aren’t likely to be tested again until the NCAA Tournament.
Both UConn and Maryland endured surprising defeats last week to drop down the standings, while South Florida increased its unbeaten run to 11 games heading into the Big East Tournament, which has already seen one highly-ranked casualty eliminated. Notre Dame suffered two losses last week, including a first-round upset against Villanova, and must now await the announcement of the NCAA Tournament Field to find out if they are in (and just how tough their road will be).
Having five teams ranked in the Top 16 will make this year’s Big East quartefinals the toughest conference tournament in the nation, with West Virginia facing St. John’s in the best of the quarterfinal match-ups.
Two key regular season conference titles will be decided this weekend, with UCLA looking to lock up the Pac-10 title with a win against Cal tonight (editor's note: UCLA defeated Cal, 2-0, on Friday night), while Indiana and Ohio State clash on Saturday with the Big-10 regular season title on the line.
We have two new teams making their first appearances in the Top 25 this season. UC-Riverside jumps in after adding a win against UC-Irvine to its two victories against UCSB, while Rutgers climbs into the rankings after putting together a strong finish to their regular season.
Here is how this week’s Top 25 shakes out
NCAA MEN’S SOCCER TOP 25
(Previous ranking in parentheses, records through Thursday)
1. (4) New Mexico (15-0-2)
2. (3) South Florida (12-2-3)
3. (5) North Carolina (14-2-2)
4. (2) UConn (15-2-2)
5. (1) Maryland (13-2-3)
6. (6) Creighton (15-2)
7. (9) Louisville (11-5-2)
8. (10) Indiana (10-3-4)
9. (12) UCLA (12-4-1)
10. (13) Coastal Carolina (15-2)
11. (14) Furman (13-2-4)
12. (7) Akron (12-3-3)
13. (11) St. John’s (11-6-2)
14. (15) UC-Irvine (13-5-1)
15. (18) UCSB (12-5-1)
16. (19) West Virginia (10-6-1)
17. (20) Boston College (12-5)
18. (8) Notre Dame (9-5-4)
19. (21) UAB (12-3-2)
20. (NR) UC-Riverside (9-5-3)
21. (24) Washington (11-4-2)
22. (NR) UNC-Charlotte (12-3-2)
23. (NR) Rutgers (9-5-4)
24. (17) James Madison (12-3-1)
25. (NR) Bradley (12-4-2)
HONORABLE MENTION:
Central Florida (9-4-3), Georgetown (10-5-4), Cal-State
Bakersfield (10-3-4), Virginia (11-6-1), Ohio State (9-5-2), Iona
(14-3), Old Dominion (11-4), Duke (9-6-2), Northern Illinois
(11-5), Xavier (10-4-2)
