Kansas City, Mo. - The Central Methodist women's soccer team is tabbed at No. 3 in the preseason edition of the NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 poll, which was announced by the national office Wednesday.
Other Heart programs featured in the Top 25 include; No. 21 Missouri Valley and No. 22 Benedictine.
This past season, CMU recorded one of its best finishes in program history, sweeping the regular season and conference tournament titles. Central also matched the school record for single-season wins (22), and tallied a program best 19 shut outs.
In addition, the Eagles made their deepest postseason run ever, appearing in their first NAIA National Championship Semifinal match. The highlight of the postseason for the Eagles came in a 2-0 shutout of the two-time defending national champions, Keiser, in the national quarterfinals.
This season, Central will return four NAIA All-Americans including, Sandra Jakobsen (1st Team), Laura Riesenbeck (2nd Team), Alicia Zamora (3rd Team) and Marcella Helena (3rd Team).
Jakobsen, the reigning Heart Player and Offensive Player of the Year, will lead the offensive push for Central. Riesenbeck, the two-time reigning Heart Defensive Player of the Year, will anchor CMU's defensive backline.
CMU Women's Soccer will preview the 2022 campaign as part of Heart Media Day on Friday, August 12 at 9:30 a.m. Fans may tune into the media day on the Heart Youtube page.
The Eagles will kick off their season with a non-conference matchup against Southwestern Christian Saturday, August 20th at 7:00 p.m. at Davis Field.
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, Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) 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 ratings) 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 appears on.
- Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered "receiving votes."
- For the complete ratings calendar, click here
2022-23 NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll – Preseason (August 10, 2022)
| RANK | LAST YEAR | SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] | 2021 RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Tennessee Southern [18] | 23-1 | 498 |
| 2 | 2 | William Carey (Miss.) | 22-1 | 482 |
| 3 | 3 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 20-2 | 466 |
| 4 | 4 | Oregon Tech | 20-3-1 | 448 |
| 5 | 5 | Spring Arbor (Mich.) | 18-2-1 | 433 |
| 6 | 6 | Keiser (Fla.) | 16-3 | 421 |
| 7 | 7 | Marian (Ind.) | 17-5-1 | 398 |
| 8 | 8 | Westmont (Calif.) | 13-2-5 | 386 |
| 9 | 9 | Aquinas (Mich.) | 21-2-1 | 369 |
| 10 | 10 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 16-6-2 | 352 |
| 11 | 11 | John Brown (Ark.) | 18-2 | 333 |
| 12 | T12 | Oklahoma Wesleyan | 20-2-1 | 318 |
| 13 | T12 | Indiana Wesleyan | 17-4 | 317 |
| 14 | 14 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 13-5 | 289 |
| 15 | 15 | Columbia (Mo.) | 18-4 | 272 |
| 16 | 16 | Cumberland (Tenn.) | 14-5-1 | 247 |
| 17 | 17 | Reinhardt (Ga.) | 18-3 | 243 |
| 18 | 18 | SCAD Savannah (Ga.) | 13-7-1 | 218 |
| 19 | 19 | Truett McConnell (Ga.) | 19-4 | 212 |
| 20 | 20 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 15-4 | 185 |
| 21 | 21 | Missouri Valley | 14-6-1 | 177 |
| 22 | 22 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 14-5-1 | 149 |
| 23 | 23 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 13-5 | 137 |
| 24 | 24 | Grace (Ind.) | 15-7-1 | 124 |
| 25 | 25 | Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) | 14-6-1 | 120 |
Dropped from Top 25: N/A
Others Receiving Votes: St. Thomas (Fla.) 67, Science & Arts (Okla.) 57, Georgia Gwinnett 53, Jamestown (N.D.) 48, Hope International (Calif.) 35, St. Ambrose (Iowa) 34, Northwestern Ohio 19, College of Idaho 15, Judson (Ill.) 7, Louisiana Christian 6, Briar Cliff (Iowa) 6, Southern Oregon 4, Trinity Christian (Ill.) 3, Middle Georgia State 3.
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