HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's soccer team is ranked fifth in the initial NCAA Mid-Atlantic Soccer Region rankings which were released on Wednesday afternoon. The Fords (7-4-3, 3-2-1 CC) have played the third-toughest strength of schedule statistically in the region to date. These rankings ultimately lead up to the selection of at-large bids for the NCAA Tournament.
Regional rankings will also be released on Wednesday, October 30 and Wednesday, November 6 before the final release on Monday, November 11 after the completion of all the conference tournaments around the country. That final ranking will be made public after the teams selected to the NCAA Tournament have been announced.
With this being the first rankings release of the year, one aspect that should add another strength to the Fords' resume will be the results vs. regionally-ranked opponents. That factor will be included during the second release. The Centennial Conference boasts six of the top eight teams in the NCAA regional rankings of the year. Six different automatic qualifying conferences make up the Mid-Atlantic Region. In addition to the Centennial Conference, the Colonial States Athletic Conference, Landmark Conference, Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth, Middle Atlantic Conference Freedom, and the North Eastern Athletic Conference are part of the Mid-Atlantic Region.
Haverford has played six of its first 14 matches against teams which are represented in the initial regional rankings and hold a 2-2-2 record in those matches. The Fords currently own victories against Johns Hopkins (No. 1 in Mid-Atlantic) and Muhlenberg (No. 8 Mid-Atlantic) while also playing to draws with Gettysburg (No. 6 Mid-Atlantic) and Rowan (No. 8 South Atlantic). Haverford has also played regionally-ranked foes Franklin & Marshall (No. 2 Mid-Atlantic) and Centre (No. 6 South Atlantic).
In addition to the aforementioned Centennial Conference teams, Messiah (No. 3 ranking) is the only team outside of that conference to claim a spot inside the top six. Haverford also has another regionally-ranked matched against Swarthmore (No. 4 ranking) on the final Saturday of the regular season.
Regardless of the rankings, Haverford holds its postseason fate in its own hands as the Centennial Conference Champion will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The top five teams in the Centennial Conference standings qualify for the conference tournament and the Fords are currently sitting in fifth place overall. Haverford is just three points behind both Johns Hopkins and Gettysburg as those squads are tied for second.
Men's soccer will have a chance to improve its conference positioning at Dickinson this Saturday as the Red Devils are currently in fourth place, just two points ahead of the Fords. Saturday's Centennial Conference clash in Carlisle is set for a 4:30 p.m. start. The Ford close the regular season the following week with home matches against Ursinus and Swarthmore.