Division III: Ohio Wesleyan, Messiah top preseason polls
Ohio Wesleyan and Messiah top the preseason men’s and women’s National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division III polls, respectively.
The Battling Bishops are the defending Division III national champions–the second national title for the men’s soccer team in school history.
Ohio Wesleyan won the North Coast Athletic Conference championship with a 9-0 record, the Bishops’ 20th title in the 28 seasons of NCAC competition, and finished the season with a 23-2 overall record.
Coach Jay Martin, the NSCAA Division III Coach of the Year in 2011 and the all-time leader in victories by a college men’s soccer coach, opens his 36th season at Ohio Wesleyan when the Bishops visit Christopher Newport on Aug. 31.
| Rank | School | Prev. | W-L-T |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio Wesleyan | 1 | 23-2-0 |
| 2 | St. Lawrence | 8 | 18-1-1 |
| 3 | Messiah | 15 | 18-1-1 |
| 4 | Rutgers-Camden | 5 | 19-3-2 |
| 4 | Trinity (Texas) | 17 | 14-2-2 |
| 6 | Amherst | 10 | 16-2-2 |
| 7 | Stevens Institute Of Technology | 6 | 17-3-1 |
| 8 | SUNY Oneonta | 3 | 18-3-2 |
| 9 | Texas-Tyler | 7 | 18-3-2 |
| 9 | University of Redlands | 12 | 20-3-2 |
| 11 | Montclair State | 4 | 19-4-3 |
| 12 | Ohio Northern | 11 | 20-3-2 |
| 13 | Christopher Newport | 20 | 17-1-1 |
| 13 | Calvin | 2 | 19-6-2 |
| 15 | Loras | 19 | 17-4-2 |
| 16 | St. Olaf | 20 | 17-4-1 |
| 17 | Dominican (Ill.) | 20 | 19-3-0 |
| 18 | Babson | 13 | 16-3-4 |
| 19 | Luther | 14 | 17-4-2 |
| 20 | Hope | 9 | 17-5-4 |
| 21 | Washington (Mo.) | 23 | 15-4-1 |
| 22 | Neumann | NR | 14-5-1 |
| 23 | Western New England | 24 | 16-4-1 |
| 24 | Wesleyan | 24 | 15-4-1 |
| 25 | Pacific Lutheran | NR | 15-4-0 |
2011 final record and ranking shown.
Also receiving votes: Trinity (Conn.), Dickinson (Pa.), Case Western Reserve (Ohio), DeSales (Pa.), SUNY Brockport, Eastern Connecticut State, Whitworth (Wash.)
| Rank | School | Prev. | W-L-T |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Messiah | 1 | 23-0-1 |
| 2 | William Smith | 3 | 20-1-1 |
| 3 | Johns Hopkins | 6 | 21-1-0 |
| 4 | Wheaton (Ill.) | 2 | 23-2-2 |
| 5 | Trinity (Texas) | 7 | 22-1-0 |
| 6 | Emory | 8 | 17-1-2 |
| 7 | Amherst | 4 | 20-1-0 |
| 8 | Middlebury | 10 | 13-4-2 |
| 9 | Washington (Mo.) | 9 | 18-5-0 |
| 10 | Hardin-Simmons | 12 | 20-2-0 |
| 11 | Illinois Wesleyan | 17 | 14-4-2 |
| 12 | Ohio Northern | 13 | 19-3-2 |
| 13 | Williams | 11 | 13-5-3 |
| 14 | Concordia-Moorhead | 16 | 13-4-6 |
| 15 | Lynchburg | 18 | 19-3-1 |
| 16 | California Lutheran | 14 | 20-2-1 |
| 17 | Case Western Reserve | 19 | 13-4-3 |
| 18 | Stevens Institute Of Technology | RV | 14-3-4 |
| 19 | Ithaca | 5 | 15-4-3 |
| 20 | Virginia Wesleyan | 21 | 18-4-0 |
| 21 | College of New Jersey | 23 | 13-4-2 |
| 22 | SUNY Cortland | 15 | 14-6-3 |
| 23 | Wisconsin-Whitewater | NR | 14-5-3 |
| 24 | Centre | 24 | 14-5-3 |
| 25 | Springfield | 25 | 15-4-3 |
2011 final record and ranking shown.
Also receiving votes: St. Benedict (Minn.), University of Chicago, Ohio Wesleyan, Wheaton (Mass.), SUNY New Paltz, Haverford (Pa.), Nazareth (N.Y.)
