Men's Soccer - Tuesday, October 15   |   Women's Soccer - Wednesday, October 16   |   Volleyball - Thursday, October 17
 
Note:     Top-Four make the G-MAC Championship Tournament   -  Top Overall Seed will host the G-MAC Championship Tournament
 

#	School	Conf.	Conference Opponents Remaining
1.	Cedarville	4-1	3 (at SIU; vs. TNU; vs. KWC)
2.	Davis & Elkins	4-1	4 (vs. AB; at OVU; at SIU; vs. SIU)
3.	Trevecca Nazarene	4-2	2 (vs. KWC; at CU)
4.	Salem International	2-1	6 (vs. CU; at OVU; vs. AB; vs. D&E; at AB; at D&E)
5.	Kentucky Wesleyan	2-4	2 (at TNU; at CU)
6.	Alderson Broaddus	1-3	5 (vs. OVU; at D&E; at SIU; at OVU; vs. SIU)
7.	Ohio Valley	0-5	4 (at AB; vs. SIU; vs. D&E; vs. AB)

 
With a majority of the conference hitting and surpassing the mid-point of their seasons this past weekend, the chase for the top seed in the Men’s Soccer Championship have become more crowded at the top, and the entire conference still has a chance to earn one of the top four seeds and a spot in the four-team championship field.
 
Cedarville entered the weekend in control of its own destiny for the top overall seed, but a loss to Davis and Elkins has created a tie at the top of the standings, and now Davis and Elkins - thanks to the unbalanced divisional alignment, now has control. If Davis and Cedarville both win out and finish with one loss, D&E would claim the top seed and host the conference tournament by percentage points, having one more conference victory.
 
One wild card in the remaining conference schedule is the fact that Salem International, currently 2-1, has six games remaining, including two against Davis and Elkins and one against Cedarville. As for who will round out the four-team tournament field, currently Trevecca Nazarene and Salem hold the #3 and #4 position, but again with Salem left to play 6 games, and Alderson Broaddus with five games remaining, everyone is still mathematically alive, including 0-5 Ohio Valley, who would need to win its final four games and get some help from the rest of the league.
 
G-MAC Tiebreakers:
 
On the men’s side, the divisional alignment has created an unbalanced schedule for the two divisions. The Southwest Division (Cedarville, Trevecca, and Kentucky Wesleyan) will play eight conference contests, while the Northeast Division (Ohio Valley, Alderson, Broaddus, Davis & Elkins, and Salem) will play nine conference games.
 
The standings rank teams by conference winning percentage because of the advantage of having a ninth game that would be given to the Northeast Division if ranked by points. For any tie in winning percentage that needs to be broken, the G-MAC will first look at head-to-head competition for two teams. If they split the season series, tied in their only meeting, or if there are three or more teams that need the tiebreaker broken - the G-MAC will proceed as follows.
 
Note: With the four tiebreakers listed, if one team plays a team in descending order once and the tied team played the same team twice, the match to be compared will be the contest in which both teams played the opponent at matching sites (ie. Team A & B Tied. Team A played Team C at home and Team B played Team C at home and away. The matches for Team A at home and Team B at home against Team C will be compared for purposes of the tiebreaker).
 
(1) Record against common conference opponents in descending order of standings; (2) Goal differential in conference games with a limit of +/- 4 in any one game; (3) Goals against in Conference games; (4) Goals scored in Conference games with a limit of +/- 4 in any one game. If the tie cannot be broken, a coin toss will be utilized to break all ties.
 
Mid-Point Review and Second Half Preview:
 
DAVIS & ELKINS (6-4-1 overall; 4-1 G-MAC) - The Senators started off the year just 0-3-1. However, their three losses all came on the road against Notre Dame, Tiffin, and Millersville. Those three teams are a combined 22-4-2 and all ranked in the top-25 in the nation as of last week - #4, #20, and #22 respectively. After the difficult start, D&E rattled off five-straight wins before losing its only conference game of the season to Trevecca Nazarene. The Senators bounced back after some time off and handed Cedarville its first loss of the season in G-MAC play. The win, placed D&E in a tie for first place, and gave them the advantage in the standings by percentage points and the clearest path to the number one seed and the right to host the G-MAC Championships.
 
The Senators are led offensively by the NCAA’s top scorer, James Pucci, who has been named G-MAC Men’s Soccer Athlete of the Week twice this season. Pucci, as of October 13, leads all of Division II in total goals with 15 and total points with 36. He is tied for 10th in assists. In goals and points per game, he is second in the nation behind Kenny Hogg of Palm Beach Atlantic who has 13 goals and 31 points in eight games played.
 
What Davis and Elkins Needs to Clinch the Number One Seed? For the Senators, the easiest path to hosting the G-MAC Championships is to win out. Only Salem and D&E can reach eight wins in conference, which would give either of them the highest winning percentage. Of course, Salem and D&E play each other twice, so by winning out D&E would make it so that Salem could not reach eight wins. If the Senators were to tie a game, then they would have to rely on Cedarville to either lose or tie a game as well. If the Senators lose a game, then they would need a Cedarville loss. If D&E were to have a loss and a tie, or two ties or two losses, then a lot more help would be needed to keep Cedarville, Trevecca, or Salem out of that top spot.
 
CEDARVILLE (9-2-2 overall; 4-1 G-MAC) - The Yellow Jackets began the year 4-0-2, which included a 1-1 tie on the road at NCAA Division I Xavier. The team’s first loss came to Slippery Rock on the road, who is ranked #15 in the nation currently. Cedarville responded and won its next five games in a row by a combined score of 18-1. The Jackets stood at 4-0 in conference, before losing a home contest to Davis and Elkins in the team’s most recent outing. The loss moved Cedarville into second place by only a few percentages - as both teams have one loss. 
 
Cedarville has been guided by Connor Gilmour on the offensive attack, as he has scored a team-high nine goals, and is tied for the team lead in assists with four. His 22 points are double that of teammate Christian Alexander, who is second on the team in points and goals (5). In the net, Ethan Dewhurst has started all 12 games and posted six shutouts and one additional combined shutout. He has allowed only seven goals in 12 games and 1,042 minutes played, making 22 saves.
 
What Cedarville Needs to Clinch the Number One Seed? The Yellow Jackets have a few options that could earn them the top overall seed. Easiest path is for Cedarville to win their remaining three games and have Davis and Elkins lose or tie one of their remaining four games. If Cedarville plays to a tie in one of its final games, then Davis and Elkins would have to either tie twice or lose once and tie once. If Cedarville drops on of its final three games, then Davis would have to at least lose once and tie once.  Not to mention in most of these scenarios, Cedarville would have to win its game over Trevecca.
 
TREVECCA NAZARENE (7-5-1 overall; 4-2 G-MAC) - The Trojans have had a season that hasn’t featured any extended streaks in either direction. The team has won two in a row three times this season and lost two in a row once this season, and have never won or lost three or more in a row on their way to a 7-5-1 record and 4-2 record in conference. When looking at the conference schedule, they are riding a three-game winning streak in conference, but posted a loss to Shorter University in between two of those conference wins.
 
TNU has been led by a balanced scoring attack as Jeremiah Wright and Connor Inman are tied for the team lead with five goals, Matt Raines has four goals, and Matthew Esquivel has three. Wright leads the team with four assists and with 14 points. Inman is second with 11 points and Raines has 10. Nine different players have recorded a goal, 11 players have at least one assist, and 12 players have at least one point. On the season, TNU has scored 23 goals and given up 22, showing how close they have battled throughout the season.
 
What Trevecca Nazarene Needs to Clinch the Number One Seed? The Trojans need some help as Davis and Elkins and Cedarville both have only one loss, compared to Trevecca’s two losses. The Trojans do have a chance to even up the season series with Cedarville with their season-finale on the road at Cedarville, which if they could win - both teams could end at 6-2, pushing the ranking to a tiebreaker. TNU needs more help from Davis and Elkins, who would need to lose one game and earn a tie or a second loss in order to pass the Senators. With a tie or a loss from TNU, they would most likely be eliminated from contending for the number one seed.  As for making the field of four, Trevecca is in good shape, but is also a long way from securing their seeding in the tournament. With Salem having two wins and six games remaining, and Alderson Broaddus having one win and five games remaining and having beat TNU, those two teams have the opportunity to surpass Trevecca.
 
SALEM INTERNATIONAL (6-5-0 overall; 2-1 G-MAC) - The Tigers have had a slow start in regards to number of contest in the G-MAC schedule. SIU opened the season at home with a 4-0, and followed it up with five-straight road contests before opening their G-MAC schedule at home with a win over Ohio Valley. The Tigers conclude their schedule with eight-straight conference games in 24 days, having played two of those games to this point, going 1-1. The final ten days of the regular-season, SIU will take on Alderson Broaddus and Davis & Elkins two times each, which could do a lot of damage to the conference seedings, or could restrict any or all of the three teams from earning a spot in the G-MAC Championships.
 
Salem has been led by Tomas Szabo’s six goals and 12 points. Mohamed Bakayoko is second with five goals and 10 points. Mehmet Dogan and Carlos Rodriguez each have three goals, while Rodriguez has three assists for nine points. Michael Brunton has a team-best five assists. The Tigers have had four different players start in goal this season, with Abdul Kamara and Elliot Cook each going 2-1 in three starts and each one had a shutout.
 
What Salem International Needs to Clinch the Number One Seed? Salem has six conference games remaining, including a game tonight against Cedarville, and two games at the end of the season with Davis and Elkins, all of which gives SIU the opportunity to still run the table and claim the top spot in the conference. With just one loss, Salem can finish 8-1 in conference a host the Conference Championships, but with so many games left in such a short span of time, the ability to get rest between games may become a factor as they make a run at securing a spot in the top-four. If Salem can win 4 of their remaining six games in conference, and win the right games, they most likely can secure in a spot in the postseason tournament.
 
ALDERSON BROADDUS (2-9-0 overall; 1-3 G-MAC) - The Battlers stand at 1-3 on the season with a win over TNU and losses to D&E, Cedarville, and Kentucky Wesleyan, yet they have five games remaining and can still control their own destiny in earning a spot in the G-MAC Tournament. AB began the season with a 1-1 record before dropping six-straight, capped by their G-MAC opener against Davis and Elkins. Their schedule was organized in 2013 with seven non-conference games to start the season, in which they went 1-6, followed by nine-straight G-MAC contests to end the season.
 
The Battlers have been led almost solely by Jose Noriega, who has scored eight of the team 12 goals this season, totaling a team-high 17 points. Three goals have been scored by Peter McMenemy, and Sat Dhaliwal has the teams only other goal, but leads the team with three assists. Noriega’s 17 points ranks fifth in the conference, while his eight goals rank fourth, and second in goals per game.
 
What Alderson Broaddus Needs to Earn a Sport in the G-MAC Tournament? With five games remaining, the Battlers still have the opportunity to climb the G-MAC standings, but would more than likely win all of its remaining games against OVU (2), SIU (2), and D&E. Currently the top three teams in the conference all have four wins, the next two each have two wins, while AB has one. With SIU having six games remaining and AB having five - a lot can happen to assist AB in earning the chance to play in the G-MAC Championships.
 
KENTUCKY WESLEYAN (4-7-2 overall; 2-4 G-MAC) - The Panthers began the season 1-4-1, including a conference loss at Cedarville. Since then, KWC has shown some improvement with a 3-3-1 record, including a 2-3 record in conference with wins over Alderson Broaddus and Ohio Valley. KWC has just two conference games remaining, both on the road against Trevecca Nazarene this weekend and Cedarville the following weekend.
 
KWC has been led by C. Agisilaou’s team-high ten goals, six assists, and 26 points, which ranks him second in the conference in points, points per game, goals, and assists per game. He is actually tied for the conference lead in assists with James Pucci (D&E) and Jeremiah Wright (TNU), while his goals per game is third. The trio of Gary McMeekin, Ryan Brewer, and Travis Foreman each have four goals scored, while Foreman and McMeekin are tied for second on the team with 11 points each. In goal, Travis Rowlan has started all 13 games, making 59 saves, which is the most in the conference. His 1,225 minutes in net is also the most by any goalkeeper this season, by almost 200 total minutes.   
 
What Kentucky Wesleyan Needs to Earn a Sport in the G-MAC Tournament? The Panthers will need some help, but their first requirement is to end the season winning its two remaining G-MAC games against Cedarville and Trevecca. If they can sweep the two road contests, they will finish the season 4-4 and will need a lot of help from Salem, AB, and OVU.
 
OHIO VALLEY (0-12-0 overall; 0-5 G-MAC) - The Fighting Scots have had a difficult year, but with four games to go in the season, still are mathematically alive in the opportunity to secure the number four spot in the conference tournament. OVU has scored just seven goals in their 12 games, four coming in the first two games of the season in a 9-2 to Point Park, and a 12-2 loss to Malone. They have been shutout seven times this season, including four times in conference. The closest game came against Salem International, a 1-0 win by the Tigers in which Salem need a penalty kick in the second half to earn the win. In the win, SIU outshot OVU 22-6, as D’Arcy Turner recorded seven saves.
 
Leading the way for Ohio Valley, Matthew Firestine and Alexander Einsmann each have a pair of goals, while Christian Breaux, Ibrahim Wadi, and Christian Huffman round out the scoring for OVU on the season. In goal, D’Arcy Turner has made 11 starts, with Kyle Bugden has made one start and six appearances. Turner has made 55 saves, second most in the conference, while Bugden has made 14. As a team, OVU has made the most saves in the conference with 69 saves.
 
What Ohio Valley Needs to Earn a Sport in the G-MAC Tournament? Mathematically still alive, OVU would need to win its final four games of the season to get to 4-5 and would require a lot of help from the rest of the conference. With Salem and AB having so many remaining games, they would need to win the right games, but stay under four wins in order to have AB sneak into that final number four seed spot. At 0-12 on the season, it is unlikely that they would rattle off a four-game win streak in conference, but the opportunity is available for the Fighting Scots to make a run.
 
Postseason Preview:
 
Nothing has been set in regards to who the number one seed will be, where the tournament will take place and who will be the top four seeds. However, assumptions can be made in order to analyze what may happen the weekend of November 7-9.
 
Currently it appears Cedarville and Davis & Elkins will battle for the two top spots. With their strength of schedules and their conference and overall records, it appears they are the top two teams to beat in the G-MAC. And one thing is certain, the number three and four seeds will have their opportunity to do just that. With the tiebreaker advantage and the unbalanced schedule, Davis and Elkins can win out and secure the top spot. However, this weekend’s game against Alderson Broaddus will be an important game for AB if they intend to make a move for the #3 or #4 seed, and with two games remaining with Salem, played on back-to-back Saturday’s, it could be difficult for either team to sweep those games.
 
Cedarville needs Davis and Elkins to trip up, but also must look to win its remaining conference games. They will have one advantage and that’s rest and limited travel. They will travel to Salem tonight in what could be either the start of a run from Salem, or the beginning of a season-ending run for Cedarville in an attempt to not only win the G-MAC regular-season, but the Championship Tournament and hopefully earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament from the Midwest Region.
 
The more interesting battle that will take place will be the battle for the #3 and even more, the #4 seed in the tournament. With all teams still alive for the #4 spot, and two teams that still have half their schedule remaining, but only 24 days to complete it, it will be a race to the finish and after each game, things could get a little more clear, but more than likely will continue to cloud things until the final week of action.
 
Trevecca is in a good position to earn the #3 or #4 position, but they cannot afford any set backs at this point of the season, while Salem and Alderson Broaddus need to rattle off a winning streak with the amount of conference games they have left. If one or both of those teams slip up, it could be an opening for Kentucky Wesleyan to finish its final two games strongly, despite the difficult matches they face against Cedarville and Trevecca.
 
Preseason Predictions revisited:
 
In late August, the coaches’ preseason poll was released, and if you voted today, more than likely it would turn out the same. The Coaches tabbed Davis and Elkins as the team to beat with Cedarville just behind them in points. D&E earned four first place votes, with Cedarville taking two.
 
TNU earned one first place vote and was predicted third, a spot they currently have a solid hold on. Alderson and Salem were predicted to fight for that number four seed, and with those two having a lot of games to play, that is exactly what they will be doing over the next three weeks.
 
 Kentucky Wesleyan and Ohio Valley were predicted to round out the rankings and that’s where they could end up given a late-season turnaround. One thing the voters most likely didn’t see coming was the improvement of Kentucky Wesleyan. Last season the team was 0-18, and this season they have improved dramatically with four wins and a pair of ties, including two conference wins. So to say their season has already been a success is completely accurate.