Statesmen End Year at #19

Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s soccer team will go into the offseason a top-20 program as the NAIA released its postseason top-25 poll Wednesday.

WPU (15-5-1, 9-2 Heart) ended the 2019 campaign at #19 with 211 points. The navy and gold reached their first-ever NAIA National Championship, bowing out in the Opening Round to eventual national runner-up Hastings (Neb.) in a shootout.

The season was record-breaking for the Statesmen as they also set marks for wins and goals. They finished second in the Heart of America Athletic Conference regular season behind only Central Methodist. The Eagles went on to defend their national crown last week.

WPU and CMU were joined by #7 Missouri Valley, #10 Baker, and #23 Grand View in the top 25. All five squads qualified for nationals and at least reached the Opening Round final (top 32 teams).

CMU collected all 17 first-place votes, while Hastings ended up second. Columbia (Mo.), Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), and Oklahoma Wesleyan rounded out the top five.

NAIA Men’s Soccer Postseason Rating – December 11, 2019
(Number in parentheses is first-place votes)
1. Central Methodist (Mo.) (17)
2. Hastings (Neb.)
3. Columbia (Mo.)
4. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)
5. Oklahoma Wesleyan
6. William Carey (Miss.)
7. Missouri Valley
8. Northwestern Ohio
9. Mobile (Ala.)
10. Baker (Kan.)
11. Westmont (Calif.)
12. Spring Arbor (Mich.)
13. WVU Tech
14. Madonna (Mich.)
15. Rio Grande (Ohio)
16. Georgia Gwinnett
17. UC Merced (Calif.)
18. Bethel (Tenn.)
19. William Penn
20. Corban (Ore.)
21. Indiana Tech
22. Keiser (Fla.)
23. Grand View
24. Tennessee Wesleyan
25. John Brown (Ark.)

Others Receiving Votes: Life (Ga.) 86, Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 46, Houston-Victoria (Texas) 44, Southeastern (Fla.) 39, Menlo (Calif.) 39, Huntington (Ind.) 31, Morningside 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.