Graceland at #7 and William Jewell at #21

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - In the first regular-season edition of the 2010 NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll, Concordia (Ore.) has claimed its first-ever No. 1 ranking, the NAIA announced on Tuesday. The Cavaliers were awarded 14 first-place votes for 643 points. Also earning first-place nods were second-ranked Azusa Pacific (Calif.) with four and third-ranked Lee (Tenn.) with five. Indiana Wesleyan and Martin Methodist (Tenn.) round out the top-five teams at Nos. 4 and 5, respectively.

The Golden State Athletic Conferences leads all leagues with five teams earning a Top-25 ranking: Azusa Pacific, No. 8 California Baptist, No. 19 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.), No. 11 Vanguard (Calif.) and No. 22 The Master's (Calif.). The Southern States Athletic Conference boasts four ranked clubs in No. 3 Lee, No. 13 William Carey (Miss.), No. 17 Mobile (Ala.) and No. 23 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.). In all, 13 conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups were represented in the poll.

Since the preseason poll (Aug. 17), all but two teams, No. 7 Graceland (Iowa) and No. 8 California Baptist, have shifted rank. Thirteen teams improved their position in the poll and six dropped to a lower ranking. No. 14 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) jumped 10 spots, followed by Oklahoma City's seven-spot move from No. 25 to 18 and Indiana Wesleyan moved up six from No. 10 to 4. Tabbed No. 13 in the preseason poll, Auburn Montgomery dropped back 10 to No. 23 and Point Loma Nazarene fell from No. 2 to 10. Sixth-ranked Lindsey Wilson's fall from No. 4 snaps the Blue Raiders' 40 consecutive weeks of owning a top-five ranking dating back to Sept. 20, 2006.

Four teams crack into their first regular-season poll: No. 17 Mobile, No. 19 Robert Morris (Ill.), No. 21 William Jewell (Mo.) and No. 25 Carroll (Mont.). Both William Jewell and Carroll were ranked during the 2009 season, but Robert Morris appears for the first time since being ranked 22nd to close out the 2006 campaign and Mobile was last ranked 19th in the preseason poll of 2007. These four squads replace previously ranked No. 15 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), No. 17 Baker (Kan.), No. 20 Trinity Christian (Ill.) and No. 22 Houghton (N.Y.).

Concordia's No. 1 ranking is the program's highest listing since the start of the 2009 season when the Cavaliers spent the first three weeks at No. 2. Head coach Grant Landy's team is off to a 4-0-0 start and has outscored its opponents 10-0. On the docket this week for Concordia is a pair of GSAC foes in Holy Names (Calif.) and Fresno Pacific (Calif.) at the Corban (Ore.) Classic on Friday and Saturday.

With four first-place votes and 628 points, Azusa Pacific improved three spots from the preseason poll, moving from No. 5 to 2. Dating back to a No. 1 ranking on Sept. 5, 2007, the Cougars have now spent 33 consecutive weeks ranked among the nation's top-five teams. Azusa Pacific (2-0-1) enters this week's action fresh off of a 1-0 win against NCAA Division II Colorado Christian on Sept. 3. The win marked the 18th-straight home field victory (regular and postseason) against non-GSAC opponents. Head coach Jason Surrell's team will next take to the field on Saturday against Kansas Wesleyan.

Defending national champion Lee's reign at the top of the poll was short lived after its 21-game winning streak came to a halt against NCAA Division III power Emory on Sept. 1. The Flames, who had not suffered defeat in nearly a year, were handed a 2-1 double-overtime loss. Head coach Matt Yelton saw his squad rebound with a 4-0 shutout of SCAD Savannah (Ga.) on Sept. 4. Despite the setback, Lee still earned five first-place votes and totaled 612 points in Tuesday's poll to earn a No. 3 ranking. The Flames will take their 2-1-0 mark into a Wednesday contest with NCAA Division III University of the South (Tenn.).

Indiana Wesleyan's upset of then-No. 4 Lindsey Wilson on Aug. 30 and a 5-0 blanking of NCAA Division II Minnesota-Crookston on Sept. 4 catapulted the Wildcats (3-0-0) to their highest ever ranking at No. 4 (568 points). NAIA Defensive Player of the Week Kristin Perrine led the Indiana Wesleyan defense in limiting Lindsey Wilson to just one goal, after the Blue Raiders averaged 4.29 goals per game last season, and held the Minnesota-Crookston offense to just one shot. As a team, the Wildcats own a pair of top-10 national statistical rankings, checking in at No. 7 in total assists (11) and No. 10 in assists per game (3.670). This week's schedule features a game with NCAA Division III foe Manchester.

Martin Methodist climbs to No. 5 (551 points) after a 2-0-1 start to the 2010 campaign. After a 1-1 season-opening double-overtime tie with then-unranked Mobile (Ala.), the RedHawks blanked Notre Dame (Ohio) 5-0 and Union (Ky.) 2-0 at the MMC Tournament. Those two shutouts have earned Martin Methodist a No. 3 ranking in total shutouts in the NAIA. In the pair of wins, Martin Methodist allowed only two shots on goal. Head coach Gerry Cleary's team will prepare for a top-10 collision with Lee at home on Saturday.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups. The next regular season Top 25 poll will be announced on Sept. 14.

Others receiving votes: Roberts Wesleyan College (N.Y.) 133; Trinity Christian College (Ill.) 114; Spring Arbor University (Mich.) 83; Northwood University (Fla.) 68; Baker University (Kan.) 61; Lyon College (Ark.) 54; Saint Ambrose University (Iowa) 28; Science and Arts (Okla.) 24; Siena Heights University (Mich.) 23; Trinity International University (Ill.) 19; Missouri Baptist University 19; Faulkner University (Ala.) 17; Houghton College (N.Y.) 15; Kansas Wesleyan University 12; Holy Names University (Calif.) 7; University of Texas at Brownsville 6; Bryan College (Tenn.) 5; Oklahoma Baptist University 3; William Jessup University (Calif.) 1; Lindenwood University (Mo.) 1; Georgetown College (Ky.) 1; Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.) 1; McPherson College (Kan.) 1; Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Ariz.) 1; Northwood University (Texas) 1; Notre Dame College (Ohio) 1; Park University (Mo.) 1; Southern Nazarene University (Okla.) 1; Texas Wesleyan University 1; Union University (Tenn.) 1; Benedictine College (Kan.) 1.

Source: NAIA Sports Information