NCAA Regional Rankings (Men / Women)
Oct. 21, 2009 – The NCAA released its weekly regional soccer polls on Tuesday and Wednesday, and both Truman teams found themselves in different spots following last week’s results. The Bulldog men slipped one spot to No. 3, while the Bulldog women jumped one spot to No. 5 in their respective polls.
After dropping a 1-0 home decision to Lewis (Ill.) University last week, the Bulldog men (10-2-1 prior to Wednesday afternoon’s win against Texas-Permian Basin) flipped places with Midwestern (Texas) State. West Texas A&M (11-1-1) maintained its hold on the top spot with fellow Lone Star conference member MSU (10-1-2) moving into the second seed. Truman and the University of Incarnate Word (6-4-3) rounded out the four-team poll, as the top two receive tournament berths.
This weekend will prove key for future movement in the region, as WTAMU and MSU are set to battle on Sunday afternoon at West Texas A&M’s campus. The two squads tied earlier this season at MSU.
Meanwhile, the Bulldog women (10-2-2 prior to Monday afternoon’s win against Northwest Missouri) jumped to 5th in their regional rankings and are once again the only MIAA team in the top-six. Six women’s teams get berths to the NCAA tournament from the South Central region with the three conferences that make up the region – the MIAA, the Lone Star and the Heartland – each receiving automatic bids for their conference champions.
The Bulldogs are one of four MIAA squads in the top-ten, as Truman is followed by Nebraska-Omaha (7th), Central Missouri (9th) and Northwest Missouri (10th). Truman also holds a two-point lead in the regular-season conference standings on UNO with five matches to play.
Regional polls are set to be released every Tuesday and Wednesday until the final regular-season poll is published on November 4. Championship selections will take place November 9 as part of a webcast selection show on NCAA.com at 6 pm central time.