In a first, for the Collegiate Top 5, Army is no longer the unanimous top team, as North Carolina picked up a 1st place vote from one of the seven voters. Army is still undefeated in collegiate play, but has struggled a bit vs non-collegiate clubs and has a .500 record (9-1-9). While it can certainly be legitimately argued that this is reflective of competing against tougher competition, it can also be argued that this year’s squad is not as strong as Army has been in recent years. And, maybe, just maybe they might be vulnerable to a North Carolina squad that is having a solid season
North Carolina is hosting the Carolina Blue Cup this weekend and a strong showing could well impress additional voters. Also of note, this tournament will be the last for long time coach, Myles Bacon, who is moving to San Diego. Bacon has coached the Men’s team for 11 years and the Women’s program for 6 years. Mat Piec will be taking over the head coaching duties, with Johnny Massengale and Evan Gilbert assisting.
Rounding out the Top 5 are Ohio St, West Virginia and Virginia. Slipping out of the Top 5 was Air Force which went 0-0-4, at the Cal Cup in January. A poor performance, but arguably tougher competition than what Ohio St, West Virginia and and Virginia have faced. We’ll see in April at the Collegiate Championship as to whether Air Force is being judged too harshly.
Below the top 5, Auburn and James Madison will also be participating in the Carolina Blue Cup so a relative pecking order amongst those teams should be known after the completion of the tourney. James Madison, a relatively new program, even picked up a few votes and a solid performance could see them crack the top 5 next time.
W-D-L Records for Non-Ranked Clubs
Complete Database including all match results for the 2018-19 Season
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