Kansas City, Mo. - For the fourth consecutive week, the Central Methodist men's soccer team holds the top spot in the NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 poll.
Other Heart schools joining Central in the Top 25 include; No. 7 Missouri Valley College, No. 15 MidAmerica Nazarene, No. 17 Baker, and (RV) Grand View.
The Eagles have opened the 2021 campaign with a perfect 11-0 mark and a flawless 8-0 record in conference play. Central began the year with eight consecutive shut outs, and have outscored the opposition 45-4 so far this season.
Highlighting the schedule for the Eagles are Top 25 wins over, at the time, No. 22 MidAmerica Nazarene, No. 10 Baker, and (RV) Grand View. CMU has also notched victories over NCAA DI Western Illinois, and DII Truman State.
Junior forward Alessandro Salvadego has paced the Central offense with 10 goals scored, including two game winners and four assists. The trio of Billy Nzojyibwami, Marcos German and Theo Klein have each recorded five goals.
The Eagles travel north to face Graceland University Saturday, Oct. 16 at 8:30 p.m. in Lamoni, Iowa.
To view the poll methodolody 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] | 10-0 | 496 |
| 2 | 3 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 10-1 | 476 |
| 3 | 4 | Mid-America Christian (Okla.) [3] | 12-0 | 473 |
| 4 | 2 | Keiser (Fla.) | 7-1 | 436 |
| 5 | 6 | Mobile (Ala.) | 10-1 | 432 |
| 6 | 5 | Columbia (Mo.) | 8-1-1 | 427 |
| 7 | 7 | Missouri Valley | 9-2 | 409 |
| 8 | 8 | St. Thomas (Fla.) | 7-0-2 | 385 |
| 9 | 9 | Indiana Tech | 11-1 | 373 |
| 10 | 11 | Bellevue (Neb.) | 9-2-2 | 351 |
| 11 | 13 | Georgia Gwinnett | 7-2-1 | 332 |
| 12 | 14 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 7-1-1 | 324 |
| 13 | 15 | William Carey (Miss.) | 8-2 | 290 |
| 14 | 16 | Dalton State (Ga.) | 5-3-1 | 287 |
| 15 | 17 | MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) | 8-3-1 | 261 |
| 16 | 18 | Rio Grande (Ohio) | 9-2-1 | 255 |
| 17 | 10 | Baker (Kan.) | 8-5 | 229 |
| 18 | 12 | Milligan (Tenn.) | 9-2 | 225 |
| 19 | 24 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 10-0 | 196 |
| 20 | 20 | McPherson (Kan.) | 9-3 | 189 |
| 21 | 21 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 11-1-1 | 158 |
| 22 | 23 | Hope International (Calif.) | 9-1 | 156 |
| 23 | 22 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 8-0-2 | 141 |
| 24 | 19 | Ottawa (Ariz.) | 9-3 | 100 |
| 25 | 25 | Southwestern Christian (Okla.) | 7-3-1 | 93 |
Dropped from the poll: None
Receiving Votes: Bethel (Ind.) 62; Cumberland (Tenn.) 54; Oregon Tech 39; Houston-Victoria (Texas) 37; Vanguard (Calif.) 35; UC Merced 26; Tennessee Wesleyan 25; Florida National 25; Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) 22; Grand View (Iowa) 12; Corban (Ore.) 10; Lyon (Ark.) 7; Madonna (Mich.) 7; Oklahoma Panhandle State 6; Southeastern (Fla.) 6; Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 5
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