Indiana and Notre Dame Both in Latest D1 Men’s Poll
Indiana men’s college soccer continues to make its presence felt nationally, with the latest United Soccer Coaches rankings featuring a major move by the Hoosiers and the return of Notre Dame to the Division I Top 25.
The newest rankings were released Tuesday, September 15, with Indiana climbing three positions to No. 2 in NCAA Division I and Notre Dame entering the poll at No. 20.
Division I: Indiana Climbs to No. 2
The Hoosiers are knocking on the door of the nation’s top spot.
Indiana moved from No. 5 to No. 2 after improving to 6-0-1. The Hoosiers trail only Stanford, which remains No. 1 at 6-0-1 and received all eight first-place votes.
Indiana has steadily climbed throughout the opening month.
The Hoosiers began the regular season ranked No. 14, moved to No. 6 on September 1, climbed to No. 5 last week and have now reached No. 2.
Division I Top 10
1. Stanford — 6-0-1
2. Indiana — 6-0-1
3. Ohio State — 5-0-1
4. South Carolina — 6-0-0
5. SMU — 6-0-1
6. Akron — 4-0-1
7. Wisconsin — 5-0-1
8. Maryland — 5-1-0
9. Georgetown — 5-1-1
10. San Diego — 5-1-1
The Hoosiers weren’t the only Indiana program making noise.
Notre Dame Enters at No. 20
Notre Dame jumped into the national rankings at No. 20 after being unranked last week.
The Fighting Irish are 3-1-2 and give Indiana two programs in the Division I Top 20.
Notre Dame is sandwiched between a pair of major programs, with Michigan State at No. 19 and Clemson at No. 21.
The move also adds another nationally ranked opponent to an already strong group of Midwest programs.
Indiana, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Michigan State and Notre Dame are all ranked nationally.
Big Movers
Akron made one of the largest moves of the week, jumping from No. 14 to No. 6.
Missouri State climbed from No. 19 to No. 12, while Old Dominion went from No. 22 to No. 13.
Louisville also made a significant move, climbing six spots from No. 21 to No. 15.
Kansas City, Notre Dame, Utah Valley, UNC Wilmington and Bryant are this week’s newcomers.
Maryland fell from No. 2 to No. 8, while Georgetown dropped from fourth to ninth.
Division II: Indiana Programs Look for Regional Recognition
The Division II men’s rankings are organized around regional polls in addition to the national picture.
For Indiana, the primary program to watch is UIndy, along with other Division II programs from the state competing for regional recognition.
The Greyhounds have not yet broken into the upper tier of the latest regional rankings, meaning Indiana does not currently have the same national presence at Division II that it enjoys in Division I.
With conference play beginning to take over the schedule, however, the coming weeks will provide opportunities for UIndy to build its résumé against regional competition.
Division III: Regional Rankings Begin
The first United Soccer Coaches Division III men’s regional rankings of the regular season were released September 15.
That is particularly important for Indiana’s Division III programs, including Wabash, Rose-Hulman, DePauw, Hanover, Anderson, Earlham, Franklin and Manchester.
Unlike the Division I national Top 25, the early Division III picture puts considerable emphasis on regional rankings, making results against other highly regarded regional programs increasingly important as September progresses.
Indiana’s Division III teams will now have an additional benchmark to follow as conference schedules begin and the postseason picture gradually develops.