DII, DIII Power Rankings: Oct. 21 edition
October 21, 2014
Division II and III college soccer is powering toward the conclusion of exciting conference title races, which means the importance continues to heighten for teams across the nation. That was never more evident than in the DIII men's ranks, which witnessed a virtual bloodbath among the top 10.
Three of the top five teams in DIII men's soccer lost last week, and two more in the top 10 fell completely out of the poll after further losses. That sent a tremor of change throughout the poll despite the fact that Messiah, as usual, held firm at No. 1. In fact, no top teams lost last week, and the relative lack of movement in the DII men's poll only illuminated how wild things were elsewhere.
Here's a look at this week's updated TDS power rankings for DII and DIII men's and women's soccer.
Men's
Division II
| RANK | PREV | TEAM | RECORD | COMMENTS |
| 1 | 1 | Southern New Hampshire | 12-0-1 | A week after suffering their first draw, the Penman smashed their two opponents last week a combined 14-1. Well then. |
| 2 | 2 | Young Harris College | 10-0-1 | There's been little drama atop the DII men's soccer world, and YHC's consistency is a major reason why. Another breezy week. |
| 3 | 3 | Charleston | 13-0-1 | Opening the week with a 7-1 victory is one way to inspire confidence. The Golden Eagles have scored more than five goals six times this season. |
| 4 | 4 | Quincy | 14-0-1 | Quincy got a test against Lewis last week, but a Jordan Roberts goal in OT gave the Hawks a 2-1 win. Still unbeaten? You bet. |
| 5 | 5 | Seattle Pacific | 12-0-1 | The tests keep coming, and SPU keeps passing. Two road games last week and two wins over Simon Fraser and rival WWU in OT. Props. |
| 6 | 6 | Lynn | 11-1-1 | Lynn's draw and loss were both at the hands of a solid Rollins side. Against everyone else, including last week, the Knights are 11-0-0. |
| 7 | 7 | Mercyhurst | 12-2-0 | One of the nation's hottest teams has now won eight straight, including 8-2 and 2-1 wins last week. Four more regular season games await. |
| 8 | 9 (+1) | Cal Poly Pomona | 14-0-1 | The Broncos only cracked the poll last week, but they're on their way up. A 2OT win over San Francisco State last week helped the unbeaten cause. |
| 9 | NR | St. Edward's | 10-2-1 | Midwestern State was in the poll last week. They're not anymore thanks to St. Ed's, which hasn't lost a game since Sept. 13. |
| 10 | NR | Limestone(m) | 11-1-0 | Limestone's relatively unimpressive strength of schedule kept them at bay, but four straight wins, most of them big, puts them in the top 10. |
Division III
| RANK | PREV | TEAM | RECORD | COMMENTS |
| 1 | 1 | Messiah | 14-0-1 | Dreams of a perfect season died last week with a draw against Stevenson, but the Falcons followed with a 7-0 win. Characteristic. |
| 2 | 3 (+1) | Franklin and Marshall | 13-0-1 | The climb continues. An impressive 2-1 win over Johns Hopkins last week kept F&M perfect and gave them the title of The Best Not Named Messiah. |
| 3 | 6 (+3) | Trinity (Texas) | 15-1-0 | Massive upheaval in the poll this week allowed the Tigers to hop three spots thanks to their heater. They haven't lost since Sept. 6. |
| 4 | 8 (+4) | SUNY Oneonta | 12-0-2 | Four teams ahead of Oneonta lost games last week. As a result, the Red Dragons' perfect week affords them a spot in the top four. |
| 5 | 9 (+4) | Brandeis | 14-1-0 | Last week was a bloodbath for the DIII top 10, so Brandeis' pair of 1-0 wins look even more impressive than they might've otherwise. |
| 6 | 2 (-4) | Amherst | 10-1-2 | The Jeffs went 1-1 last week, and their first loss kicked them down the poll from No. 2. Can they rebound with just two regular season games left? |
| 7 | 5 (-2) | Kenyon | 12-1-0 | Kenyon opened the season with 12 straight wins before falling last week to a very solid Wabash team 1-0. |
| 8 | 4 (-4) | Loras | 12-2-1 | Loras lost its second game last week to UW-Platteville, but a rebound 2-1 win over a top 25 Luther side kept the Duhawks from sliding further. |
| 9 | NR | Whitworth | 11-1-2 | It was a good week for capitalizing on the roiling sea here, and that's precisely what this West Coast outfit did with its unbeaten week. |
| 10 | NR | Wabash | 11-1-2 | Wabash lost its first game of the season last week, but it followed with a win over then-No. 5 Kenyon. Plenty to crack the top 10 for the first time. |
Women's
Division II
| RANK | PREV | TEAM | RECORD | COMMENTS |
| 1 | 1 | Western Washington | 12-0-2 | The nation's No. 1 for much of the season, Western didn't relent last week. The Vikings have wrapped seven wins around their only draw this month. |
| 2 | 2 | Minnesota State-Mankato(w) | 14-0-0 | Two more wins last week only makes the whispers of a perfect season louder. The Mavericks will have bigger aims, namely a national title. |
| 3 | 4 (+1) | Barry | 11-1-1 | GVSU's loss last week combined with Barry's wins over Palm Beach Atlantic and Saint Leo pushed the winning streak to six and Barry to No. 3. |
| 4 | 6 (+2) | North Georgia | 12-1-1 | Two weeks ago, North Georgia was entrenched at No. 9. After three teams above it lost last week, its up to No. 4 this week after a win and a draw. |
| 5 | 7 (+2) | Saint Rose | 12-1-1 | A week after suffering its first loss, Saint Rose rode the upset wave and two wins last week back up to No. 5 in the nation. |
| 6 | 8 (+2) | Rollins | 11-2-0 | Four straight wins in the teeth of a comically difficult conference schedule does all the talking for Rollins this week. |
| 7 | 3 (-4) | Grand Valley State | 13-2-0 | The defending champs lost again last week in a 1-0 decision to Ohio Dominican, but a recovery 4-0 win over Ashland stopped the bleeding. |
| 8 | 9 (+1) | Cal State Los Angeles | 13-1-1 | Eight consecutive wins to open the CCAA is an incredible way to kickstart your conference title campaign. A difficult three-game stretch remains. |
| 9 | 5 (-4) | Columbus State | 11-1-1 | The Cougars had their eight-game winning streak snapped in a 3-2 2OT loss to Clayton State last week. No. 4 North Georgia looms next. |
| 10 | NR | Ohio Dominican University | 10-3-1 | The only three-loss team in the poll this week clawed its way in with a win over then-No. 3 GVSU to continue a five-game win streak. |
Division III
| RANK | PREV | TEAM | RECORD | COMMENTS |
| 1 | 1 | Trinity (Texas) | 15-0-1 | Trinity's comically dominant run continues apace. The Tigers won their two games last week a combined 15-1. |
| 2 | 2 | Messiah | 14-0-1 | The women's team mirrored the men's team with a draw against Stevenson to break up a perfect season. An ensuing 3-0 win calmed some nerves. |
| 3 | 4 (+1) | Lynchburg | 16-0-0 | Let this sink in; Lynchburg's outscored teams 55-0 since Sept. 13. That kind of dominance almost doesn't make sense. |
| 4 | 5 (+1) | Carnegie Mellon | 11-1-0 | CM profitted from a loss by its only loss in Washington, so up it goes. Two 1-0 wins over Brandeis and NYU did the trick. |
| 5 | 6 (+1) | Wheaton (Ill.) | 12-1-2 | Wheaton split a win and a draw last week, but the most important bit is the Thunder kept alive their eight-game unbeaten streak. |
| 6 | 3 (-3) | Washington (Mo.) | 11-1-2 | A loss to a three-loss Case Western team severely dented Washington's hopes at a run at No. 1, but this is still a deadly efficient team. |
| 7 | 7 | Johns Hopkins | 12-2-0 | A single win last week in a game against Haverford was a nice continuation of a winning streak that hit 10 games. |
| 8 | 8 | Williams(w) | 12-1-0 | The beat goes on for Williams, which responded to a loss at Amherst on Sept. 20 with eight wins through last week. |
| 9 | 9 | Montclair State | 13-1-1 | After making its debut last week, Montclair State picked up wins over Rutgers-Camden and Kean to stay unbeaten in 14 games. |
| 10 | 10 | Amherst | 11-2-0 | Since picking up its second loss, Amherst is 3-0 with an OT win over Colby in the bunch. This team is good enough to make postseason waves. |
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