NCAA Championship Bracket Template (PDF)
NCAA DII Super Region Rankings
INDIANAPOLIS – Headlined by No. 1 Lake Erie, five of the top 10 in the first NCAA Super Region 3 rankings for Division II men’s soccer were teams from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
A total of 12 teams by the national committee were ranked from a field of strong programs the Midwest Region and the Central Region.
Teams are ranked based on a number of criteria including overall win percentage, in-region win percentage, strength of schedule and the DII Performance Indicator, among others.
The Great Midwest is part of the Midwest Region along with the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference (GLIAC). The Central Region features a mix of schools competing in the eight-team standings of the Great American Conference, including some from the outside like Fort Hays State (MIAA) and Northeastern State (MIAA).
A total of three automatic qualifying bids are awarded to three conferences (G-MAC, GLIAC, GLVC), leaving seven at-large bids for NCAA Championship bracket seeding.
With six playoff bids still available in the Great Midwest Championship bracket, there will be plenty of storylines to unfold in the final weeks of the regular season.
Lake Erie (15-1-0, 11-1-0) now ranked No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, has been top 10 in the national rankings for three consecutive weeks. After two more wins in the past week vs. Findlay and Tiffin, the Storm solidified their elite status in Super Region 3.
Lake Erie has already clinched the regular season title and will host a first-round playoff game in Painesville on Saturday, November 9.
Also clinching a postseason bid is Ohio Valley (10-3-2, 8-2-2), ranked No. 3 in Super Region 3. The defending Midwest Region champion Fighting Scots can lock in a home playoff game as early as tomorrow with a favorable outcome or other variables in play.
Ohio Valley travels to face Lake Erie tomorrow in a prime matchup that will have ramifications in the region rankings.
After beating Cedarville, Walsh (9-4-2, 5-4-2) is also ranked in Super Region 3, placed by the committee at No. 8. That starts a string of three Great Midwest schools in a row followed by No. 9 Cedarville (7-2-6, 4-2-5) and No. 10 Tiffin (7-4-3, 5-4-2), last year’s top seed within the Midwest Region.
There is still plenty of time to move the needle as teams try to position themselves as best they can going into their respective conference tournaments.
The four quarterfinal winners of the Great Midwest Championship bracket will advance to Dayton, Ohio, to play at Roger Glass Stadium on the campus of Chaminade Julienne High School on Nov. 14 & 16.