Rio Grande Maintains No. 1 Ranking

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The University of Rio Grande remains at the top of the NAIA Men’s Soccer Coaches’ Top 25 Poll announced Tuesday afternoon by the national office.

The RedStorm received every first-place vote and totaled 467 points in the balloting of 17 head coaches representing each of the conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups.

Head coach Scott Morrissey’s squad, which takes a 10-0 record into Thursday night’s Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference match against league newcomer Ohio Christian, grabbed its 48th all-time No. 1 ranking and ties Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) for the most appearances in the poll’s top spot.

The RedStorm defeated the Blue Raiders, who slipped from sixth to seventh in this week’s poll, last Saturday.

Rio Grande, which currently enjoys the longest current winning streak in the country, has been ranked No. 1 in seven of the past nine polls dating back to last year and ranks second with 90 consecutive appearances in the Top 25.

Davenport (Mich.) remained No. 2 with 450 points, while Vanguard (Calif.) vaulted five spots into third place with 430 points.

Oklahoma Wesleyan (410 pts.), which slipped one position from last week, and Baker, Kan. (390 pts), which jumped five positions, round out the top five.

Two teams were newcomers to the poll this week – No. 23 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) and No. 25 Union (Ky.). Rio Grande will travel to Union on Saturday.

Holy Cross (Ind.) and Grand View (Iowa) were the two teams who dropped off the list.

Seventeen of the 19 conferences, Association of Independent Institutions (AII) and unaffiliated group were represented this week. The Heart of America Athletic Conference fields the most representatives in the Top 25 with three total: No. 5 Baker (Kan.), No. 9 Missouri Valley and No. 19 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.). Six other leagues landed a pair of ranked programs.