NCAA Midwest Region Rankings
INDIANAPOLIS – The women’s soccer programs from Findlay, Walsh and Cedarville, were in the top 10 of the first edition of the NCAA Midwest Region rankings published on Wednesday afternoon.
The Oilers are No. 2 in the Midwest Region after also getting a bump up in the United Soccer Coaches Poll with a national ranking of No. 21.
Walsh, the Great Midwest Athletic Conference preseason coaches poll favorite, is at No. 8, and Cedarville, rolling on a five-game win streak, is currently slotted in 10th.
The top eight seeds will ultimately qualify for the NCAA Championship bracket, with three automatic qualifying bids to the Great Midwest, Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
The other five at-large selections to the national tournament regional will be determined off the final list of Midwest Region rankings.
Grand Valley State leads the Midwest Region pack at the top of the list. The Lakers lead the GLIAC contingent along with No. 3 Ashland and No. 6 Ferris State. The GLVC has No. 4 Bellarmine, No. 5 Rockhurst, No. 7 McKendree and No. 9 UIndy in the mix.
Only a handful of games remain in the regular season for Great Midwest teams as four teams have already clinched their playoff spots.
Findlay was the first team to clinch and the Oilers are looking to secure a conference regular season title with their sustained play down the stretch. UF remains unbeaten at 11-0-1 and the defense has only permitted three goals to be scored all season.
Findlay broke into the national rankings two weeks ago at No. 23. Three road contests await the Oilers to conclude the regular season at Malone, Walsh and Tiffin.
Walsh and Cedarville locked in their postseason bids at the same time and Ohio Dominican was the most recent.
The Great Midwest Championship bracket will feature eight teams, including four first-round quarterfinal games played on campus sites on Saturday, Nov. 9.
The final four remaining teams will play for the AQ and the tournament title in Dayton, Ohio, in Roger Glass Stadium at Chaminade Julienne High School. The semifinals are Thursday, Nov. 14, and the championship game is Saturday the 16th.