The Central Methodist men’s soccer team returned to the No. 1 spot in the NAIA Men's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 poll, which was released by the national office last Wednesday morning. 

Other Heart schools featured in the Top 25 are No. 8 Baker,  No. 10  Missouri Valley College, and No. 19 MidAmerica Nazarene. Other Heart teams receiving votes were William Penn and Grand View. 

Central returns to the No. 1 spot after holding that ranking for the entirety of the 2020-21 regular season. The Eagles finished at No. 3 in the NAIA Men's Soccer Coache’ Top 25 Poll after its third straight trip to the national semifinals.

Central currently boasts a 7-0 overall record including a 4-0 mark in conference play. CMU has opened the season with seven consecutive shutouts, and with 33 goals on the season, have averaged 4.7 goals per match in 2021.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, Association of Independent Institutions, and Unaffiliated Groups.

The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second place, and so on through the list.

The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed and the team's ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appear on.

Teams that receive only one point on the ballot are not considered “receiving votes.”

RANK  SCHOOL

1  Central Methodist

2  Keiser (Fla.)

3  Oklahoma Wesleyan

4  Columbia College (Mo.)

5  Mid-America Christian 6 Mobile (Ala.)

7  St. Thomas (Fla.)

8  Baker (Kan.)

9  Indiana Tech

10 Missouri Valley 11 Bellevue (Neb.)

12 Milligan (Tenn.)

13 Dalton State (Ga.)

14 Georgia Gwinnett

15 Cumberlands (Ky.)

16 William Carey 

     (Miss.)

17 Ottawa (Ariz.)1818 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)

19 Mid-America    

     Nazarene

20 Rio Grande (Ohio)

21 Bethel (Tenn.)

22 Morningside (Iowa)

23 Corban (Ore.)

24 McPherson (Kan.)

25 Embry-Riddle (Ariz.)

Central will put their undefeated record on the line tonight at 7:30 p.m. when they go up against Heart of America Athletic conference rival Benedictine. The Ravens come into the game sporting a 5-2-2 record overall and 2-1-1 in the conference.