Trio of League men's soccer teams hold regional rankings

Sept. 14, 2005

Three Teams in NSCAA Weekly Regional Rankings
Butler among 15 remaining unbeaten, untied teams

Indianapolis, Ind. - Three schools keep the Horizon League well represented in the latest round of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's weekly coaches' rankings.

Butler University, the University of Illinois at Chicago and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee remain among the top ten teams in their respective regions according to the weekly canvass of coaches, sponsored by adidas. Butler's 4-0-0 start (through Sunday's matches) helped BU climb three spots, putting the Bulldogs fifth in the Great Lakes region while UW-Milwaukee held steady at No. 9 with its 2-1-1 overall ledger through Sept. 11. UIC stayed at No. 5 in the Midwest region with a 2-0-1 mark.

Two-time defending national champion Indiana University (3-0-1) continues to hold the top spot in the national and Great Lakes region polls. The rest of the regional honor roll features the University of Akron (4-0-0), the University of Notre Dame (3-1-0) and Ohio State University (3-1-0) ahead of No. 5 Butler. The second five are the University of Kentucky (2-1-1), the University of Michigan (4-1-0), the University of Wisconsin (3-1-0), No. 9 UW-Milwaukee and tenth-ranked Marquette University (3-1-0).

Missouri State University tops the Midwest region list at 3-0-1, followed by Creighton University (2-0-1), the University of Memphis (3-0-0), Bradley University (3-1-0) and UIC. Northern Illinois University (3-0-1) holds the sixth spot, ahead of Southern Methodist University (2-2-1), Oral Roberts University (2-2-1), Saint Louis University (1-2-1) and the University of Tulsa (1-1-2).

The weekly rankings were released prior to Tuesday's action, which saw two of the League's rated teams post victories. UW-Milwaukee rallied to defeat Bradley University, 3-2, behind three goals in a 12-minute span midway through the second half. In the other match from Tuesday, Butler extended its best start in ten years with a 1-0 triumph over city rival IUPUI, improving to 5-0-0 on the season.

Butler is one of 15 remaining undefeated, untied teams in Division I, with only 19th-ranked University of Vermont able to match the Bulldogs' 5-0-0 ledger. Second-ranked University of North Carolina is one of 11 teams at 3-0-0, along with third-ranked University of New Mexico, No. 5 University of Connecticut, seventh-ranked Fairleigh Dickinson University, No. 9 Akron, 18th-ranked Seton Hall University and two teams tied at No. 23 in Memphis plus the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

Also unranked at 4-0-0 are the University of Syracuse, Elon College and the University at Buffalo, while the University of Central Florida and the University of Pennsylvania are 3-0-0.

The NSCAA / adidas national rankings are released each Tuesday evening and can be found at www.nscaa.com through the "rankings" tab at the top of the page.

Division I Men's Soccer Unbeaten and Untied Teams
Through Matches of Tuesday, September 13, 2005

TeamRecordRank-*Upcoming Matches

Butler5-0-0NRvs. James Madison (Fri.), vs. Wisconsin (Sun.)
Vermont5-0-019at Vanderbilt (Fri.), vs. Western Kentucky (Sun.)

North Carolina4-0-02at North Carolina State (Wed.), vs. #22 Old Dominion (Sun.)
New Mexico4-0-03vs. Wisconsin (Fri.), vs. James Madison (Sun.)
Connecticut4-0-05at Cincinnati (Fri.), at Louisville (Sun.)
Fairleigh Dickinson4-0-07vs. Loyola-Md. (Fri.), at Princeton (Sun.)
Akron4-0-09at Princeton (Fri.), vs. Loyola-Md. (Sun.)
Seton Hall4-0-018at South Florida (Fri.), at DePaul (Sun.)
Alabama-Birmingham4-0-023vs. UNC Greensboro (Fri.), vs. Evansville (Sun.)
Memphis4-0-023at #15 Creighton (Fri.), vs. Drake (Sun.)
Buffalo4-0-0NRat St. Bonaventure (Wed.), vs. Centenary (Sat.), vs. Western Illinois (Sun.)
Elon4-0-0NRat #22 Old Dominion (Fri.), vs. Mount St. Mary (Sun.)
Syracuse4-0-0NRat Marquette (Fri.), at #16 Notre Dame (Sun.)

Central Florida3-0-0NRvs. Davidson (Fri.), vs. Hofstra (Sun.)
Pennsylvania3-0-0NRat South Carolina (Fri.), vs. College of Charleston (Sun.)

* - National rank in Tuesday's (Sept .13) NSCAA / adidas national poll
Source: NSCAA Scoreboard (www.nscaa.com/scoreboard.html)