Kansas City, Mo. - The Central Methodist men's soccer program climbed to No. 2 in this week's NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 poll, as announced by the national office Wednesday afternoon.
Reigning NAIA National Champion and Heart foe Missouri Valley College remains at No. 1, while Baker jumps to No. 12 after knocking off three top 25 opponents last week. MidAmerica Nazarene drops three spots to No. 22 while both William Penn and Grand View are receiving votes.
The Eagles have opened the 2021 campaign with a perfect 4-0 mark, including wins over NCAA Division I Western Illinois and NCAA Division II Truman State University.
Central's offense has averaged three goals/game while the defense has recorded four consecutive clean sheets. Alessandro Salvadego leads CMU with three goals while both Isaac Johnson and Stefano Campisi have dished out two assists.
The Eagles continue conference action with a road matchup in Cedar Rapids, Iowa against Mount Mercy Saturday, Sept. 18 at 4:30 p.m.
To 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 WEEK | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Missouri Valley [18] | 4-0 | 498 |
| 2 | 3 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 3-0 | 482 |
| 3 | 4 | Keiser (Fla.) | 3-0 | 457 |
| 4 | 2 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 2-1 | 439 |
| 5 | 5 | Columbia (Mo.) | 3-1 | 438 |
| 6 | 7 | Mid-America Christian (Okla.) | 5-0 | 422 |
| 7 | 6 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 3-0-1 | 404 |
| 8 | 9 | Mobile (Ala.) | 6-1 | 392 |
| 9 | 13 | Milligan (Tenn.) | 4-0 | 351 |
| 10 | 8 | Bellevue (Neb.) | 5-1-1 | 344 |
| 11 | 10 | Indiana Tech | 4-1 | 321 |
| 12 | NR | Baker (Kan.) | 4-2 | 309 |
| 12 | 10 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 1-2-1 | 309 |
| 14 | 12 | Bethel (Tenn.) | 4-0 | 285 |
| 15 | 15 | Dalton State (Ga.) | 3-2 | 275 |
| 16 | 14 | Georgia Gwinnett | 3-2-1 | 269 |
| 17 | 17 | William Carey (Miss.) | 6-2 | 263 |
| 18 | 16 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 1-1-1 | 225 |
| 19 | NR | Ottawa (Ariz.) | 5-1 | 198 |
| 20 | 18 | Rio Grande (Ohio) | 3-2-1 | 163 |
| 22 | 19 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 3-2 | 141 |
| 21 | NR | Morningside (Iowa) | 3-1 | 131 |
| 23 | 21 | Corban (Ore.) | 1-2 | 129 |
| 24 | 23 | University of Northwestern Ohio | 1-2-1 | 126 |
| 25 | 24 | McPherson (Kan.) | 3-2 | 96 |
Dropped from the poll: Lyon (Ark.); Union (Ky.)
Receiving Votes: UC Merced (Calif.) 83; Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 60; Lyon (Ark.) 57; Union (Ky.) 40; Grace (Ind.) 30; William Penn (Iowa) 21; LSU Shreveport (La.) 21; Southeastern (Fla.) 20; Vanguard (Calif.) 20; Southwestern Christian (Okla.) 16; Grand View (Iowa) 11; WVU Tech 10; Tennessee Wesleyan 9; Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 7; Hope International (Calif.) 6; Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) 6; Northwestern (Iowa) 5; Bethel (Ind.) 5
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