Kansas City, Mo. - For the third consecutive week, the Central Methodist men's soccer team claimed the top spot in this week's edition of the NAIA National Men's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 poll, announced by the national office Wednesday morning.
Other Heart schools featured or mentioned in the Top 25 include; No. 7 Missouri Valley, No. 10 Baker, No. 17 MidAmerica Nazarene and (RV) Grand View.
The Eagles have opened the 2021 campaign with a perfect 9-0 overall record and a 6-0 mark in conference play. Highlighting the schedule is a Top 25 win over MidAmerica Nazarene, and NCAA DI and DII wins over Western Illinois and Truman State.
Central's defense has been a staple in their success this season, as they opened the fall with eight consecutive shut outs. Overall in 2021, CMU has scored 37 goals compared to just two for the opposition, both coming against No. 17 MNU on Tuesday.
Sophomore goalkeeper Stefano Camerlengo is ranked nationally in multiple national statisical categories, most notably No. 2 in both save percentage (.920) and goals against average (0.26).
CMU continues Heart play with a Top 10 matchup against No. 10 Baker Saturday, Oct. 9 at 5:00 p.m. at Boonville High School in Boonville, Mo.
To the view the poll methodology and the complete Top 25 poll, please see below.
Poll Methodology
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, Association of Independent Institutions and Unaffiliated Groups.
- The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second place and so on through the list.
- The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed and the team's ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appear on.
- Teams that receive only one point on the ballot are not considered "receiving votes"
| RANK | LAST | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Central Methodist (Mo.) [15] | 8-0 | 496 |
| 2 | 2 | Keiser (Fla.) | 6-0 | 476 |
| 3 | 3 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 8-1 | 464 |
| 4 | 4 | Mid-America Christian (Okla.) [3] | 10-0 | 456 |
| 5 | 5 | Columbia (Mo.) | 7-1 | 433 |
| 6 | 6 | Mobile (Ala.) | 9-1 | 417 |
| 7 | 10 | Missouri Valley | 7-2 | 391 |
| 8 | 8 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 5-0-2 | 386 |
| 9 | 9 | Indiana Tech | 9-1 | 380 |
| 10 | 7 | Baker (Kan.) | 8-3 | 340 |
| 11 | 11 | Bellevue (Neb.) | 8-2-1 | 338 |
| 12 | 12 | Milligan (Tenn.) | 8-1 | 327 |
| 13 | 13 | Georgia Gwinnett | 6-2-1 | 311 |
| 14 | 16 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 5-1-1 | 275 |
| 15 | 15 | William Carey (Miss.) | 7-2 | 263 |
| 16 | 14 | Dalton State (Ga.) | 7-3-1 | 255 |
| 17 | 18 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 8-2 | 250 |
| 18 | 19 | Rio Grande (Ohio) | 7-2-1 | 223 |
| 19 | 17 | Ottawa (Ariz.) | 8-2 | 201 |
| 20 | 21 | McPherson (Kan.) | 7-3 | 176 |
| 21 | 23 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 9-1-1 | 147 |
| 22 | NR | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 7-0-1 | 123 |
| 23 | 25 | Hope International (Calif.) | 8-0 | 119 |
| 24 | NR | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 8-0 | 118 |
| 25 | NR | Southwestern Christian (Okla.) | 6-2-1 | 90 |
Dropped from the poll: Cumberland (Tenn.); Science & Arts (Okla.); Cumberlands (Ky.)
Receiving Votes: Cumberland (Tenn.) 66; Corban (Ore.) 58; Bethel (Ind.) 54; Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 38; Houston-Victoria (Texas) 33; Grand View (Iowa) 24; Southeastern (Fla.) 21; Science & Arts (Okla.) 20; Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) 19; Southern Oregon 17; Arizona Christian 14; Madonna (Mich.) 11; Lyon (Ark.) 8; Tennessee Wesleyan 7; UC Merced 6; Indiana Wesleyan 5; Georgetown (Ky.) 5; Cumberlands (Ky.) 3
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