HAVERFORD, Pa. – Following its win over then-No. 1 Franklin & Marshall on Saturday, the Haverford College men's soccer team now finds itself in the national rankings. The National Soccer Coaches of Association of America (NSCAA) has the Fords as the No. 18 team in the country, while D3Soccer.com has Haverford at No. 14. The team started out receiving votes in the NSCAA Preseason Poll.
The Fords defeated the consensus No. 1 team in the country across both polls this past weekend with a 3-1 victory against the Diplomats. The win was Haverford's second in program history over a No. 1 team as the 1988 team bested then-No. 1 Elizabethtown by a 2-1 score to secure the Middle Atlantic Conference Championship.
Haverford has now won 10 straight matches for just the fifth time in program history. A streak of 10 straight outright victories was also achieved during the 1977, 1984, and 1992 seasons, along with a combined streak from the 1944-45 campaigns.
The Fords have gone unbeaten in their last 11 home conference matchups during the regular season, including 10 outright victories in a row. The Fords will look to tie the program record for longest conference home winning streak that was set during the 1970-72 seasons later this week. The current home streak dates back to the 2013 season. Sitting at 7-0 in the conference, Haverford has also set the record for longest conference winning streak as a member of the Centennial Conference. This current streak ranks fourth overall in program history.
Men's soccer now has the inside track to host the Centennial Conference Tournament for the second time in the past three seasons. The Fords can officially clinch home field advantage for the conference tournament with a victory on Wednesday at Ursinus. That match is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. The regular season concludes with a home match Saturday at 3:30 p.m. against rival Swarthmore.
The regular season finale will also be Senior Day for the four members of the men's soccer Class of 2016: Ian Alers, Brady Seitz, Colin Seitz, and Sam Yarosh.