DII, DIII Power Rankings: Oct. 28 edition
October 28, 2014
The postseason is nearly upon DII and DIII soccer. As such, the TopDrawerSoccer.com Power Rankings reflect the urgency permeating conference title pushes and the inevitable jockeying for conference tournament positioning.
The most notable change this week came in the DII men's poll, which got a new No. 1 for the first time all year. Southern New Hampshire opened the year with nine straight wins, but a draw and a loss in its last six precipitated its fall to No. 5 and Young Harris' rise to No. 1. The DIII men's poll, meanwhile, witnessed little change. The title looks increasingly like Messiah's to lose, but what's new there?
On the women's side, there's also a new No. 1. DII Minnesota State rode its perfect 16-0-0 start to the top spot after Western Washington suffered its third draw of the year last week. And while the DII women's poll was rife with upheaval in general, the DIII poll featured just one change, Connecticut College's introduction at No. 10.
Here's a look at the entirety of the polls with the regular season almost finished.
Men's
Division II
| RANK | PREV | TEAM | RECORD | COMMENTS |
| 1 | 2 (+1) | Young Harris College | 12-0-1 | Young Harris' consistency since drawing the first game of the year has been admirable. Now, the Mountain Lions are No. 1 for the first time. |
| 2 | 3 (+2) | Charleston | 15-0-1 | Behind 26 goals split between Augusto Maciel and Will Roberts, the Golden Eagles' terrifying attack will make them a postseason fixture. |
| 3 | 4 (+1) | Quincy | 15-0-2 | Quincy had a split week with a win and a draw, but it was enough to clinch a second straight Great Lakes Valley Conference regular season title. |
| 4 | 5 (+1) | Seattle Pacific | 14-0-1 | Seattle Pacific's 13-game winning streak isn't just a program record. It's also guiding the Falcons toward another league title and a postseason run. |
| 5 | 1 (-4) | Southern New Hampshire | 13-1-1 | The Penmen had been No. 1 since the preseason, but the defending champs lost 1-0 in 2OT to Le Moyne last week. An anomaly or a worrying sign? |
| 6 | 6 | Lynn | 12-1-1 | Until recently St. Leo graced this poll, so Lynn's scintillating 3-2 win over the Lions last week shouldn't go unnoticed. |
| 7 | 7 | Mercyhurst | 14-2-0 | With two games left in the regular season, the Lakers' win streak is now in double digits at 10. A top seed in the PSAC tourney appears assured. |
| 8 | 9 (+1) | St. Edward's | 11-2-1 | St. Ed's lost two of its first three and is 10-0-1 since Sept. 17. With three games left, a Heartland Conference regular season title is within reach. |
| 9 | 10 (+1) | Limestone(m) | 13-1-0 | A William Picoux 2OT goal against Mount Olive won Limestone the Conference Carolinas regular season title last week. Sixth straight win. |
| 10 | NR | Cal State Los Angeles | 13-2-0 | CSULA's nine-game win streak combined with Cal Poly Pomona's loss last week sets up a de facto title game between these two on Thursday. |
Division III
| RANK | PREV | TEAM | RECORD | COMMENTS |
| 1 | 1 | Messiah | 15-0-1 | Messiah only had one game last week, and Jack Thompson became the program's all-time leading assist man in a 5-0 win over Hood College. |
| 2 | 2 | Franklin and Marshall | 14-0-1 | After climbing to No. 2 last week, F&M made sure it stuck with a crushing 4-1 win over Haverford on Homecoming night. |
| 3 | 3 | Trinity (Texas) | 17-1-0 | At 14 games, Trinity's win streak is the nation's longest for men's soccer at any divisional level. Another week like this and No. 2 may be next. |
| 4 | 4 | SUNY Oneonta | 15-0-2 | The Red Dragons shot up four spots last week, and their 3-0 week means they won their fourth SUNYAC title in the last five years. |
| 5 | 5 | Brandeis | 14-1-0 | Brandeis took the week off, but it's hard to miss the team's streaky run as the postseason approaches. Four regular season games left. |
| 6 | 7 (+1) | Kenyon | 13-1-1 | Kenyon lost its first game of the season on Oct. 18, but a 1-0-1 recovery week puts Kenyon on firmer ground with two games left. |
| 7 | 6 (-1) | Amherst | 10-1-3 | Suddenly Amherst hasn't won in nearly two weeks. A lone draw last week puts the program on uneasy ground just two games from the postseason. |
| 8 | 8 | Loras | 13-2-1 | The Duhawks have had a tough go lately, but consecutive wins over top 25 opponents reinstalls some confidence for the Iowa Conference champs. |
| 9 | 9 | Whitworth | 13-1-2 | A lone loss on Oct. 5 to Puget Sound is receding on the horizon. If things fall right, Whitworth can best Willamette for the conference crown. |
| 10 | NR | Muhlenberg | 10-1-2 | A poll debutant, Muhlenberg's lone loss was to No. 2 F&M on Oct. 3. Since then, the Mules are 3-0 and streaking toward the playoffs. |
Women's
Division II
| RANK | PREV | TEAM | RECORD | COMMENTS |
| 1 | 2 (+1) | Minnesota State-Mankato(w) | 16-0-0 | Finally, the Mavericks are No. 1. Another rampant week clinched at least a share of the conference title. Will the whole thing fall this week? |
| 2 | 1 (-1) | Western Washington | 13-0-3 | A 0-0 draw against Central Washington at home cracked open the door for the perfect Mavericks, but this is still a salty unbeaten team. |
| 3 | 3 | Barry | 10-1-2 | Barry is unbeaten in 19 straight conference games, and an unbeaten week last week means a win over Eckerd hands Barry another league crown. |
| 4 | 9 (+5) | Columbus State | 13-1-1 | The biggest mover in this poll all year, Columbus State beat No. 4 North Georgia and Lander last week to re-assert some control. |
| 5 | 6 (+1) | Rollins | 13-2-0 | Rollins' two losses earlier this year continue to look odder. Six straight wins, including two last week, speak for themselves. |
| 6 | 5 (-1) | Saint Rose | 11-2-0 | Saint Rose hasn't been poor lately, but a 1-1 draw against five-loss Stonehill allowed Rollins to sneak through the cracked door. |
| 7 | 8 (+1) | Cal State Los Angeles | 14-1-2 | CSULA hasn't lost since Sept. 20. That continued last week when a 4-0 win over East Bay gave the team an outright CCAA title. |
| 8 | 7 (-1) | Grand Valley State | 14-2-1 | A 1-0 win and a 0-0 draw don't allay fears that the Lakers' attack may not be there in the postseason. Still, there may be a league title in the offing. |
| 9 | 4 (-5) | North Georgia | 13-2-1 | The Nighthawks are 1-1-1 in their last three. Not great. This is still a solid side, but a tough Peach Belt Conference has clearly taken its toll. |
| 10 | 10 | Ohio Dominican University | 10-3-1 | A rugged start to the season quickly gave way to ODU's current six-game win streak, which includes a victory over No. 8 GVSU. |
Division III
| RANK | PREV | TEAM | RECORD | COMMENTS |
| 1 | 1 | Trinity (Texas) | 17-0-1 | It's become clear the Tigers won't get any competition until the postseason. They've outscored opponents 57-2 in the month of October. |
| 2 | 2 | Messiah | 16-0-1 | Messiah hasn't had Trinity's style points, but a third straight win last week after the season's only draw will help the optics. |
| 3 | 3 | Lynchburg | 18-0-0 | A 6-0 win over Sweet Briar and a 3-0 win over Rowan last week was nice. There appears to be a clear separation between the top three and all else. |
| 4 | 4 | Carnegie Mellon | 11-1-0 | It's not about who you beat, it's about when you lose. No. 6 Washington beat CM earlier this year, but CM's won more games since then. |
| 5 | 5 | Wheaton (Ill.) | 14-1-2 | Wheaton won both of its contests last week in breezy fashion to stretch its unbeaten run to 10 matches. |
| 6 | 6 | Washington (Mo.) | 11-1-2 | There's no question Washington has attacking panache, but an Oct. 17 loss to Case Western Reserve is hard to shake this late in the season. |
| 7 | 7 | Johns Hopkins | 14-2-0 | It looks increasingly likely that the Blue Jays will roll into the postseason on a winning streak. It hit 12 games last week. |
| 8 | 8 | Williams(w) | 13-1-0 | Williams' loss to Amherst was more than a month ago, and the Ephs have won every game since. That includes one last week. |
| 9 | 9 | Montclair State | 15-1-1 | Two wins last week stretched the impressive unbeaten run to 16 games. The Red Hawks need just one win this week to snap up the league title. |
| 10 | NR | Connecticut College | 11-2-0 | Amherst occupied this space last week, but CC won that battle before smashing Trinity (Conn.) 4-0. This is how you close out a regular season. |
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