Patriots remain top ten in newest NAIA rating

10/29/2025 2:48:32 PM

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Cumberlands (Ky.) Patriots landed 10th in the fifth NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll, NAIA officials announced on Wednesday.

With their three consecutive wins since the last iteration of the national rankings, the #10 Patriots outscored their opponents 17-0. They concluded their season with a 11-3-3 record and a 4-2 performance in Mid-South Conference play. They await the #7-seed Georgetown (Ky.) Tigers in the quarterfinals of the MSC Tournament Wednesday night.

The #14 Phoenix secured their MSC Regular Season Championship and a first-round bye in the tournament. They went undefeated in conference play and now await the winner of the quarterfinal match between the #4-seed Campbellsville Tigers and the #5-seed Bethel Wildcats.

The #18 Blue Raiders round out the three MSC teams ranked nationally entering the postseason. Lindsey Wilson were also undefeated in the MSC at 5-0-1 and have posted back-to-back shutouts, outscoring Bethel (Tenn.) and Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 10-0 in their most recent contests. They will host those Freed-Hardeman Lions in the first round on Thursday.

There was a new team atop the poll with William Carey (Miss.) receiving ten first-place votes (and 502 voting points), edging out #2 Marian (Ind.) who garnered eight first-place votes (and 498 points). Third was previous #1 Keiser with 461 votes, then #4 Missouri Valley with 447, and, rounding out the top five, Oklahoma Wesleyan with their 431 points.

The final women's soccer poll is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 12th.

Poll Methodology

  • The national poll is for publicity purposes only and does not influence the selection process for national championship consideration.
  • A panel of head coaches representing each conference and the Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) votes in the poll.
  • The Top 25 teams are selected using a points-based system:
    • 30 points for a 1st-place vote, 29 for 2nd, 28 for 3rd, and so on.
  • The highest and lowest rankings received by each team are discarded before final tallying.
  • Teams receiving only one point are not listed as “receiving votes.”
  • For the Preseason Poll, there is no "previous ranking" column since it is the initial poll and differs from the prior rating system.