HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's soccer team continued its ascent up the national rankings and now sits at No. 12 in both the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and D3Soccer.com Poll. The Fords were ranked No. 18 and No. 14 in those respective polls a week ago.
The Fords have won a program-record 12 straight games going into this weekend's Centennial Conference Tournament which will be held on Walton Field. This string of success is currently tied with Trinity (Texas) for the third-longest active winning streak across all of Division III. Only Calvin and Daniel Webster have longer streaks with their 18 and 14-game stretches, respectively.
The team has also played the toughest schedule in its region as of last week's regional release. Haverford has played seven teams that were represented in the D3Soccer.com Poll and six in the NSCAA poll at the time of their meetings. Each of those last four contests have been Haverford victories. Each of Haverford's three defeats, all suffered during the first five games of the season, have been single goal deficits.
Haverford possesses the highest ranked offense in the Centennial Conference as it is averaging 2.76 goals per game. That mark ranks 28th across all of Division III. The Fords also ranked 23rd in Division III in assists per game (2.24) and points per game (7.76). Both of those marks also lead the way in the Centennial Conference. The team is also third in the conference in defense, allowing just 0.99 goals per game. Eight of the team's 14 victories have come via the shutout, including each of this past week's wins behind Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week Sam Miller.
Among the nation's offensive leaders, Sam Yarosh and Will Corkery are both in the top 15 in game-winning goals. Yarosh has tied the program record with six game-winning goals this season and ranks sixth in Division III. He is also ranked 23rd nationally with his Centennial Conference-leading 15 goals overall. Corkery has five game-winning goals on the year. He is also 15th in Division III with his 11 assists on the season.
After becoming the first men's soccer team to finish Centennial Conference play a perfect 9-0 since Johns Hopkins in 2006, the Fords will now prepare to host the conference tournament for the second time in three seasons. Haverford will take on the winner of Swarthmore and Johns Hopkins this Saturday on Walton Field at 11 a.m. with the second semifinal to follow at 1:30 p.m. Swarthmore and Johns Hopkins start the Centennial Conference Tournament with their first round matchup Wednesday at 7 p.m.