BALTIMORE, Maryland, Thursday, October 20, 2016 - Maryland received 23 of 24 first place votes in the latest college soccer rankings released by the National Soccer Coaches Athletic Association. The Terps, 12 wins, 0 defeats and 2 draws, have a whopping 9 point lead in the Big Ten soccer race, and Maryland has already clinched first place and a number one seed in the conference tournament. Maryland has 19 points in the Big Ten, where their conference record stands at 6 wins, 0 defeats and 1 draw. Indiana, Michigan State and Wisconsin are all tied for second with ten points. Amazingly, Indiana, ranked No. 7 in the NSCAA poll, has a Big Ten mark of 2 wins, 0 defeats and 4 draws. Maryland played Indiana (8-1-5 overall) in Bloomington, with the match ending in a 1-1 draw. Michigan State, ranked No. 20 in the poll, also has ten points. The Spartans are 3-2-1 in the Big Ten and 10-3-1 overall. Wisconsin is the third team in the second place Big Ten tie. The Badgers are unranked and received only 3 points in the latest NSCAA poll. By comparison, Radford University is ranked no. 25 in this poll, with 70 points. Yet, just six days ago Wisconsin held a one goal lead at No. 1 Maryland with under three minutes to play. Then, the Terps scored a goal to send the match into overtime, then struck again in the opening minutes of the first extra frame to claim the win.
Notre Dame received the only other first place vote, even though the Irish have been defeated twice. They are ranked at No. 4. Wake Forest is No. 2 in the poll and North Carolina is No. 3.
Maryland hosts Hofstra on Friday night in College Park. The match is set for a 7:30 pm start. The Terps then close out the home portion of the regular season schedule on Tuesday night at 7 pm against Delaware, a team that beat them last season at the same venue, in case anybody in College Park has forgotten. The last regular season match - which is also the last Big Ten Match - is a week from Sunday, October 30, at Michigan. The kickoff in Ann Arbor is set for 1 pm and will be carried live on the Big Ten Network. The two upcoming home games are set to be televised on BTN Plus.
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