KANSAS CITY, Mo. – For the second consecutive year, the Central Methodist University men's soccer program has claimed the No. 1 spot in the postseason release of the NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
The decision was unanimous as the Eagles collected all 17 of the first place votes, tallying 467 points with a final record of 25-1-0. As a team, the squad closes out the season leading the nation in total goals (123). They also finished 2nd in assists per game (3.73), total assists (97), and total shutouts (15) while outscoring opponents at a 123-17 margin on the season.
After six seasons with Central, head coach Alex Nichols now becomes the winningest coach in program history with an overall record of 93-26-8. The two-time Heart Coach of the Year has led the program to back-to-back national championships, back-to-back regular season titles, and the program's first-ever conference tournament title.
Top 25 Highlights
- The Eagles were well-deserved champions, finishing the season 25-1-0 a program best.
- No. 1 Central Methodist outscored its five postseason opponents by a combined score of 18-2, with each game decided by at least two goals.
- No. 2 Hastings (Neb.) were runner-up in the 2019 NAIA National Championship. The Broncos bear the No. 4, No. 5 and No. 2 seeds to reach the championship game.
- Missouri Valley made a huge leap in the postseason poll moving from No. 24 to No. 7. The Vikings appeared in the quarterfinals where they fell to Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 1-0.
- University of Northwestern Ohio also made huge improvement jumping from No. 21 in the final regular-season poll to No. 8 in the postseason poll.
- Joining the postseason poll: Madonna (Mich.), UC Merced (Calif.), Keiser (Fla.) and John Brown (Ark.)
- Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) holds the record as the longest consecutively ranked active school at 139-straight polls, dating back to the first installment of the Top 25 in 2007. Rio Grande (Ohio) is second on the list with 129 consecutive polls.
2019 NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll – Postseason (Dec. 11)
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL [1ST PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Central Methodist (Mo.) [17] | 25-1-0 | 467 |
| 2 | 15 | Hastings (Neb.) | 20-3-3 | 451 |
| 3 | 2 | Columbia (Mo.) | 22-1-0 | 432 |
| 4 | 7 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 16-4-1 | 428 |
| 5 | 8 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 19-5-0 | 398 |
| 6 | 5 | William Carey (Miss.) | 15-1-5 | 395 |
| 7 | 24 | Missouri Valley | 15-7-0 | 374 |
| 8 | 21 | University of Northwestern Ohio | 14-4-6 | 366 |
| 9 | 3 | Mobile (Ala.) | 17-2-2 | 336 |
| 10 | 16 | Baker (Kan.) | 13-7-3 | 321 |
| 11 | 4 | Westmont (Calif.) | 14-3-1 | 317 |
| 12 | 6 | Spring Arbor (Mich.) | 16-3-2 | 289 |
| 13 | 9 | WVU Tech | 17-1-2 | 270 |
| 14 | NR | Madonna (Mich.) | 15-5-3 | 262 |
| 15 | 10 | Rio Grande (Ohio) | 16-4-1 | 246 |
| 16 | 20 | Georgia Gwinnett | 13-4-3 | 235 |
| 17 | NR | UC Merced | 16-4-2 | 231 |
| 18 | 12 | Bethel (Tenn.) | 14-5-2 | 214 |
| 19 | 11 | William Penn (Iowa) | 15-5-1 | 211 |
| 20 | 14 | Corban (Ore.) | 17-0-3 | 166 |
| 21 | 17 | Indiana Tech | 17-5-1 | 135 |
| 22 | NR | Keiser (Fla.) | 12-6-1 | 124 |
| 23 | 13 | Grand View (Iowa) | 15-6-0 | 121 |
| 24 | 18 | Tennessee Wesleyan | 15-4-2 | 116 |
| 25 | NR | John Brown (Ark.) | 17-4-1 | 95 |
Dropped out: Life (Ga.), Houston-Victoria (Texas), Southeastern (Fla.) and Menlo (Calif.)
Receiving votes: Life (Ga.) 86, Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 46, Houston-Victoria (Texas) 44, Southeastern (Fla.) 39, Menlo (Calif.) 39, Huntington (Ind.) 31, Morningside (Iowa) 26, Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 23, LSU Shreveport (La.) 16, St. Thomas (Fla.) 15, Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) 14, Friends (Kan.) 9, Lyon (Ark.) 7, Mid-America Christian 6, Cumberlands (Ky.) 5, Dalton State (Ga.) 3
