Tested Statesmen Receiving Votes in First Poll
Oskaloosa–The William Penn men’s soccer team weathered quite the schedule storm last fall and the national raters took notice as the NAIA’s first top-25 poll was released Wednesday.
WPU (8-7, 8-4 Heart) is unofficially 33rd in the nation with 26 points. The team is seeking to return to nationals after making its first-ever trip last year.
The Statesmen faced arguably the toughest schedule in the nation during its traditional campaign with six of its seven losses coming to programs ranked in the top 17. That list includes Heart of America Athletic Conference schools Central Methodist (now #1), Missouri Valley (now #5), and MidAmerica Nazarene (now #17). William Penn also took on a formidable non-conference slate, coming up short against Columbia (Mo.) (now #4), Morningside (now #10), and Bellevue (now #15).
A closer look at the prowess of some of WPU’s opponents shows Central Methodist defeating NCAA Division I Creighton 4-1 last week and Columbia dropping NCAA Division #17 Saint Louis 1-0 Tuesday.
Central Methodist, Columbia, and Missouri Valley are joined by Oklahoma Wesleyan (#2) and Mobile (#5) in the top five.
In their expedited spring season, the Statesmen are set to host Northwestern on March 27, travel to #19 Briar Cliff on April 3, and then host Benedictine (Kan.) in the Heart Quarterfinals on April 10.