men’s soccer third in ncaa rankings

There are rankings for fun, and there are rankings that mean something. The Muhlenberg men's soccer team has appeared in the "fun" rankings all year, and now they are in the meaningful ones too.

In the first NCAA regional rankings of the 2010 season, the Mules are third in the Mid-Atlantic. The rankings are determined by the NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Committee, the same body that will select and seed teams for the NCAA Tournament next month. The National Soccer Coaches Association of America and D3soccer.com polls have no bearing on national tournament selection.

The NCAA committee considers a number of factors, including in-region

NCAA Mid-Atlantic Rankings in-region overall team record record 1. Messiah 11-1 12-1 2. Johns Hopkins 9-2-3 10-2-3 3. MUHLENBERG 8-0-5 8-0-5 4. Drew 10-1-2 11-1-2 5. Merchant Marine 8-1-4 8-1-4 6. Manhattanville 7-4-1 7-4-1 7. Dickinson 7-3-1 9-3-2 8. Franklin & Marshall 6-3-3 6-3-3

record and strength of schedule as determined by opponents' winning percentage and opponents' opponents' winning percentage. Muhlenberg's strength-of-schedule rating of .576 is among the best in the region, which combined with its .808 in-region winning percentage to lead to the high ranking.

The Mules' five ties (before last night) are with teams ranked second, fourth, seventh and eighth in the region and the team ranked second in the East Region (New York University).

Conspicuously absent from the NCAA rankings is Swarthmore, which is ranked No. 1 in the NSCAA national poll. Although the Garnet was undefeated before last night, its .486 strength-of-schedule rating is much lower than the other ranked teams.
Click here for the complete men's rankings for all regions.

Although Muhlenberg does not appear in them, the NCAA rankings for the Mid-Atlantic show how strong the Centennial Conference is on the women's side also. Four CC teams (Johns Hopkins, Swarthmore, Dickinson and Haverford) are ranked in the top eight in the region. The Mules have played six of the eight regionally ranked teams and are a respectable 2-4 in those games with a pair of one-goal losses.
Click here for the complete women's rankings for all regions.