HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College men's soccer team checked in at No. 7 in the second release of the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Region rankings which were released on Wednesday afternoon. The Fords (8-5-3, 4-3-1 CC) have played the third-toughest strength of schedule statistically in the region, just fractions of percentage points away from the toughest schedule. These rankings ultimately lead up to the selection of at-large bids for the NCAA Tournament.
Regional rankings will also be released next 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.
Factored into the rankings this week for the first time is a team's record vs. regionally-ranked opponents. The Fords are 2-2-2 against regionally-ranked opponents to date this season. The Fords currently own victories against Johns Hopkins (No. 1 in Mid-Atlantic) and Muhlenberg (No. 8 Mid-Atlantic last week) while also playing to draws with Gettysburg (No. 5 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). Dickinson checked into the rankings this week at No. 6 in Mid-Atlantic Region and will be counted in the RvR during week three's release.
The Centennial Conference boasts six of the top seven teams in the regional rankings. 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.
In addition to the Centennial Conference teams, Messiah (No. 3 ranking) is the only team outside of that conference to claim a spot inside the top seven. Haverford has another regionally-ranked matched against Swarthmore (No. 4 ranking) this coming Saturday. Not included in this week's ranking was Haverford's thrilling 3-2 win against Ursinus on Wednesday afternoon.
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 tied for the fifth place overall and clinch can clinch a spot in the playoffs with a win against the rival Garnet.
Saturday's regular season finale at Swarthmore will also be Senior Day for the five members of the team's graduating class. The matchup, which also has Hood Trophy implications, is slated for a 2:30 p.m. start on Walton Field.