It wasn’t a very good week to be a top-ranked college soccer team.
Three of the top four teams in the country (and six of the top ten) suffered losses last week, shaking up the FOX Soccer Top 25 considerably as we move toward November and the end of the regular season.
No. 1 UConn fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, losing to West Virginia in Morgantown, while No. 2 North Carolina suffered the biggest upset of the season to date, a 1-0 loss to tiny Davidson College courtesy of a late wonder goal from midfielder Jake Keator.
Defending NCAA champion Akron also felt the upset bug, losing in overtime to Michigan in a rematch of the 2010 NCAA College Cup semifinals.
The rash of upsets allowed Maryland to reclaim the top spot in this week’s rankings, but the Terps will face a tough challenge to keep it as they take on North Carolina on Friday - a battle of ACC powers featuring some of the best pro prospects in the nation. Terps striker Casey Townsend and Tar Heels forward Billy Schuler are MLS prospects who will be among several players on display in front of what should be a plethora of scouts in Chapel Hill.
UConn’s loss left the University of New Mexico as the lone remaining unbeaten team in the nation. The Lobos posted two more victories to break double-digit wins but face their toughest remaining test of the regular season on Sunday against Cal-State Bakersfield.
A new team cracked the top three as South Florida became the first team other than Maryland, UConn and North Carolina to sit in one of the top three places after the Bulls defeated Louisville, pushing their unbeaten streak to eight matches. Unbeaten in Big East play, South Florida has joined UConn as co-favorites to win the Big East Tournament, which will crown a winner in three weeks.
Only one new team was able to break into this week’s Top 25, the University of Alabama-Birmingham, which cracked the rankings after beating Central Florida, ranked No. 12 at the time.
Here is this week’s FOX Soccer NCAA Top 25:
NCAA MEN’S SOCCER TOP 25
(Previous ranking in parentheses, records through Wednesday)
1. (3) Maryland (13-1-1)
2. (1) UConn (13-1-1)
3. (5) South Florida (10-2-2)
4. (6) New Mexico (11-0-2)
5. (2) North Carolina (11-2-1)
6. (9) Creighton (12-2)
7. (4) Akron (10-2-2)
8. (13) UCLA (10-3-1)
9. (8) St. John’s (9-4-2)
10. (15) Notre Dame (6-3-4)
11. (7) Louisville (8-5-1)
12. (18) Indiana (9-3-2)
13. (11) UCSB (9-4-1)
14. (20) West Virginia (8-5-1
) 15. (17) Coastal Carolina (12-2)
16. (19) Furman (11-2-3)
17. (10) UC-Irvine (12-4)
18. (12) Central Florida (8-2-2)
19. (14) Boston College (10-4)
20. (16) Cal-State Bakersfield (8-1-4)
21. (24) James Madison (10-2-1)
22. (21) Virginia (9-5)
23. (25) UNC-Charlotte (10-2-1)
24. (NR) UAB (9-3-2)
25 (23) Georgetown (9-3-3)
HONORABLE MENTION:
Old Dominion (10-2), Duke (7-5-1), Xavier (8-2-2), Washington (8-3-2), Iona (12-2), Northern Illinois (9-4), SMU (8-4-1), Cal-State Fullerton (7-4-3), Marquette (8-6-2), Monmouth (9-3), Bradley (9-4-2)
