DII/DIII power rankings: Sept. 22 edition
September 23, 2014
The men's and women's DII/DIII power rankings are back this week, and while there hasn't been any change atop any of the four power polls, there was plenty of shakeup at their collective backs.
The most topsy-turvy poll this week came in the men's DII ranks, which saw three new teams enter the top 10. No. 7 Metro State, No. 8 Seattle Pacific and No. 10 Midwestern State are a combined 14-1-1 this season and bring some unique flair to the poll. For the women, Sonoma State is the lone debutant at No. 10, setting a must-see conference matchup with No. 1 Cal State Stanislaus next month.
Parity is a bit harder to come by in the DIII ranks, but a handful of upsets guided some movement in the top 10. On the men's side, Brandeis makes its long-awaited debut in the 2014 rankings at No. 6 after an unforgettable start, while 7-0-0 Kenyon joins them as newcomers at No. 10. For the women, a massive upset of Wheaton shook up the top five, and Lynchburg creeps into the top 10, where they'll look to make an extended stay.
Here's a look at the full men's and women's rankings through Sept. 22.
Men's
Division II
| RANK | PREV | TEAM | RECORD | COMMENTS |
| 1 | 1 | Southern New Hampshire | 5-0-0 | No hiccups this week for the Penmen. They won by a combined 7-0 scoreline in convincing victories over Franklin Pierce and New Haven. |
| 2 | 2 | Young Harris College | 4-0-1 | Only one game for Young Harris this week, and it was an 8-0 rout of North Georgia. We can't wait for their Sept. 27 meeting with Flagler. |
| 3 | 4 | Quincy | 7-0-0 | Quincy steps into the top three for the first time this week behind three wins last week, including two 1-0 W's to open conference action. |
| 4 | 5 | Charleston | 6-0-0 | A pair of gritty conference wins over Notre Dame College (1-0) and Urbana (2-1) helped Charleston stay unbeaten last week. |
| 5 | 3 | Lynn | 5-1-0 | Lynn had a split week, with a win over Nova and then a loss to a solid Rollins side to drop two spots in the rankings this week. Conference play is next. |
| 6 | 6 | Saint Leo | 2-0-2 | A win and a draw this week allowed Saint Leo to hold its position. Through four games, the Lions haven't conceded a single goal. |
| 7 | NR | Metropolitan State College- Denver | 5-0-0 | This Denver side is the biggest mover this week thanks to a resounding win over top 20 Regis. That perfect record in late September looks mighty nice. |
| 8 | NR | Seattle Pacific | 4-0-1 | A debutant in this week's rankings, the Seattle side hasn't yet lost and opened GNAC play last week with an impressive victory over Saint Martin's. |
| 9 | 7 | Mercyhurst | 5-2-0 | Mercyhurst slides two spots in the rankings this week after opening the PSAC with a loss. A 6-1 rebound win keeps them in the top 10. |
| 10 | NR | Midwestern State | 5-1-0 | The Mustangs dropped their opener but are on a perfect five-game run of form since. Three wins last week by a combined 10-2. |
Division III
| RANK | PREV | TEAM | RECORD | COMMENTS |
| 1 | 1 | Messiah | 8-0-0 | No slowing down for the Falcons this week. Convincing wins over Dickinson and Montclair State keep Messiah's hammerlock on No. 1 a certainty. |
| 2 | 3 | Amherst | 4-0-1 | Huge week for Amherst, which obliterated then-No. 7 Williams 4-1 last week to take firm control in conference. This team appears to be for real. |
| 3 | 2 | Middlebury | 4-0-1 | Middlebury racked up a pair of victories this week, one of which was in conference, but a huge week from Amherst precipitates their slide. |
| 4 | 5 | Loras | 7-1-1 | Loras went 1-0-1 last week and moved up in the rankings by virtue of its double OT win over Chicago and holding serve against Oshkosh. |
| 5 | 6 | Emory | 7-0-1 | Emory's hard-fought 1-0 win against Berry over the weekend kept its record unbeaten and ran its winning streak to seven games. |
| 6 | NR | Brandeis | 7-0-0 | Brandeis streaks up to No. 6 this week from just outside the poll thanks to a huge win over then-No. 4 Tufts. That record is still perfect. |
| 7 | 9 | Franklin and Marshall | 6-0-1 | After a wild 3-3 draw with Alvernia last week, F&M straightened its back and smashed Swarthmore 2-0 to open conference play on a high note. |
| 8 | 4 | Tufts | 5-1-0 | Tufts beat then-No. 7 Wesleyan to knock them out of the top 10, but then lost to hard-charging Brandeis, now No. 6. Tough week. |
| 9 | 10 | SUNY Oneonta | 6-0-1 | The Red Dragons' perfect start is no more, but a 1-0 win to round out the weekend sent them into SUNYAC play this week as the league favorites. |
| 10 | NR | Kenyon | 7-0-0 | An impressive debutant this week, Kenyon may be one of Messiah's biggest challengers. Two wins last week kept the ball rolling. |
Women's
Division II
| RANK | PREV | TEAM | RECORD | COMMENTS |
| 1 | 1 | Cal State Stanislaus(w) | 7-0-0 | Another week and two more wins for one of the hottest teams in the land. It doesn't appear as though many teams can slow them down before the tourney. |
| 2 | 4 | University of Tampa | 6-0-1 | One of the nation's hottest attacks kept rolling last week with an incredible 14-0 win combined with a 2-0 victory over previously unbeaten Nova SE. |
| 3 | 3 | Western Washington | 5-0-1 | An 87th minute equalizer salvaged a draw against a very good Seattle Pacific side, and a 3-0 win over Central Washington continued the hot streak. |
| 4 | 5 | Saint Rose | 6-0-0 | Saint Rose began its march in the NE-10 last week with a pair of victories over Le Moyne and Southern New Hampshire. Can Adelphi provide a roadblock this week? |
| 5 | 6 | Minnesota State-Mankato | 6-0-0 | The Mavericks won twice last week after a seismic win over Grand Valley State cemented their status as arguably the hottest team in D2 right now. |
| 6 | 2 | Barry | 3-1-1 | Tough week for Barry, which didn't pick up a victory with a draw to Florida Tech and a loss to Florida Southern for its first setback of the season. |
| 7 | 7 | Grand Valley State | 4-1-0 | GVSU's only had one game since losing to MSU-Mankato, and it was a relatively unconvincing 3-2 win over 1-3-1 Ferris State. Trouble in paradise? |
| 8 | 9 | Rollins | 5-1-0 | Rollins smashed Lynn and Saint Leo, two respectible programs, a combined 10-0 last week. This is a team to be feared going forward. |
| 9 | 8 | Columbus State | 4-0-1 | What a week for Columbus State. After slogging through two overtimes in a draw vs. Lee, they did it again a beat Armstrong 3-2 in 2OT three days later. |
| 10 | NR | Sonoma State | 7-0-0 | The biggest challenger to Cal State Stanislaus' throne could be in its own league. All eyes will be on that Oct. 5 meeting between these two. |
Division III
| RANK | PREV | TEAM | RECORD | COMMENTS |
| 1 | 1 | Trinity (Texas) | 6-0-1 | With Emily Jorgens rolling early, Trinity is cutting through teams with impunity lately. Two shutout wins last week padded the resume. |
| 2 | 2 | Washington (Mo.) | 7-0-0 | Washington actually fell behind for a spell last week against unheralded Webster but rallied to win. Five ranked opponents still await. |
| 3 | 4 | Messiah | 7-0-0 | Previously unbeaten Misericordia provided a stern test last week that the Falcons passed with a Kayla Deckert header in double OT for a 1-0 win. |
| 4 | 5 | Carnegie Mellon | 5-0-0 | A 1-0 win in double overtime over Grove City kept Carnegie Mellon's unblemished season alive. Can't wait for that meeting with No. 2 Washington on Oct. 10? Neither can we. |
| 5 | 9 | Amherst | 5-1-0 | The biggest movers this week, Amherst clocked then-No. 6 Williams 2-0 before putting away Lasell a day later to cap an enormous week. |
| 6 | 3 | Wheaton (Ill.) | 7-1-0 | A giant goes down. Even a 2-0 win over Loras can't wash out the taste of a bad 3-0 loss to a three-loss Aurora team. Short memory? We'll see. |
| 7 | 7 | Johns Hopkins | 7-2-0 | A pair of wins kept Johns Hopkins rolling last week, and Hannah Kronick became the school's all-time leader in assists in the process. |
| 8 | 8 | Emory | 4-0-2 | Wins on consecutive days (a combined 6-1 no less) kept Emory from its first loss of the season. They still haven't slowed since drawing No. 1 Trinity. |
| 9 | 6 | Williams | 5-1-0 | Losing to Amherst isn't a sin, but it doesn't help the team's standing. Williams gets the benefit of the doubt thanks to a rebounding 4-0 win. |
| 10 | NR | Lynchburg | 7-0-0 | This week's only fresh face goes to Lynchburg, winners of their first seven including a 2-1 victory over No. 7 Johns Hopkins on Sept. 6. |
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