Four teams in NSCAA regional men's soccer rankings; Englebrecht on National Team of the Week

Sept. 7, 2005

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Four Teams in NSCAA Region Rankings; UIC's Engelbrecht Named to National Team of the Week

INDIANAPOLIS -- If the first week of the season is any indication, 2005 might prove to be a long season for followers of Horizon League men's soccer. Long, as in lasting well past the League tournament in mid-November. As in, possible extended NCAA tournament play.

Half of the League's eight teams occupy positions among the top ten in their respective regions, according to the latest weekly NSCAA / adidas weekly poll announced Tuesday (Sept. 6). The surveys of area coaches place the University of Illinois at Chicago fifth in the Midwest Region, while Loyola University Chicago sits tenth on the same list. Neither team was ranked at the start of the year, but UIC's 2-0 victory in the season-opener versus Loyola Marymount University (24th in the national preseason balloting) lifted the Flames into the top ten even before a scoreless draw with the University of California at Irvine. Loyola's elevated status follows a 2-1 victory over Xavier University.

In the Great Lakes Region, Butler University moved into the eighth spot in the poll as the Bulldogs posted 1-0 shutouts of both Western Illinois University and Bradley University to win Bradley's Holiday Inn City Centre Classic. BU took over the position formerly held by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, which slipped to ninth despite a 3-3 draw versus Drake University and a 3-1 triumph over the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.

Honors also came from the editors of Soccer America magazine, who named UIC goalkeeper Jeff Engelbrecht to its National "Team of the Week" for the period ending September 4. The sophomore netminder from Peoria, Ill., posted nine saves in the contest versus LMU, and continued his successful run this week with another whitewash during a 0-0 scoreless draw with UC Irvine.

Engelbrecht and Butler goalkeeper Frank Peabody share the League lead with perfect 0.00 goals-against-averages, with Engelbrecht tallying 12 saves in 200 minutes and Peabody's slate featuring eight saves in 180 minutes of action.

The NSCAA/adidas national rankings are released each Tuesday evening and can be found at www.nscaa.com through the "rankings" tab at the top of the page. Soccer America publishes its weekly survey at www.socceramerica.com. Links are provided on the "headlines" section on the right side.

All four ranked teams return to action this weekend, with UIC (1-0-1) visiting the University of Missouri-Kansas City and Loyola (1-1-0) traveling to Creighton University on Saturday. Creighton starts the week 12th in the Soccer America poll and 16th according to the NSCAA/adidas listings. Butler (2-0-0) hosts Valparaiso University and UW-Milwaukee (1-0-1) hosts Oakland University in Friday afternoon contests before the Panthers entertain Fairleigh Dickinson University (12th on the NSCAA/adidas list, 21st according to Soccer America) on Sunday.

###

NSCAA / adidas Men's National Rankings
September 6, 2005

National Rankings
TeamRecordLW*
1.Indiana2-0-01
2.North Carolina2-0-017
3.New Mexico2-0-08
4.Santa Clara2-0-021
5.Virginia1-0-16
6.Duke2-0-03
7.St. John's1-0-15
8.Connecticut2-0-019
9.Akron2-0-0NR
10.California2-0-020
11.Missouri State2-0-0NR
12.Fairleigh Dickinson2-0-0NR
13.Clemson1-0-0NR
14.Maryland1-1-02
15.UCLA1-1-09
16.Creighton1-0-112
17.Notre Dame1-1-016
18.Wake Forest1-1-010
19.Seton Hall2-0-0NR
20.Binghamton1-0-1NR
21.Virgina Commonwealth1-1-011
22.Vermont2-0-0NR
T23.Oral Roberts3-0-0NR
T23.Boston College1-1-015
T23.Portland1-0-1NR

Midwest Region
TeamRecordLW*
1.Missouri State2-0-06
2.Creighton1-0-13
3.Oral Roberts3-0-09
4.Vanderbilt2-0-0NR
5.UIC1-0-0NR
6.Memphis1-0-02
7.Saint Louis1-1-05
8.Northern Illinois1-0-110
9.Bradley1-1-07
10.Loyola1-1-0NR

Great Lakes Region
TeamRecordLW*
1.Indiana2-0-01
2.Akron2-0-04
3.Notre Dame1-1-02
4.Kentucky2-0-04
5.Michigan2-0-0NR
6.Northwestern2-0-03
7.Wisconsin2-0-0NR
8.Butler2-0-0NR
9.UW-Milwaukee2-0-08
10.Michigan State1-0-07

* - Preseason ranking

Soccer America National Rankings
September 5, 2005

National Rankings
TeamRecordLW*
1.Indiana2-0-01
2.Duke2-0-03
3.Connecticut2-0-05
4.New Mexico2-0-07
5.North Carolina2-0-011
6.Santa Clara2-0-013
7.UCLA1-1-02
8.Maryland1-1-04
9.California2-0-023
10.St. John's1-0-110
11.Virginia Commonwealth1-1-012
12.Creighton1-0-114
13.San Francisco1-0-015
14.Virginia1-0-116
15.Northwestern2-0-017
16.Wake Forest1-1-018
17.Notre Dame1-1-019
18.UC sSanta Barbara0-1-19
19.Cal State-Northridge1-0-022
20.Seton Hall2-0-025
21.Fairleigh Dickinson2-0-0NR
22.Davidson2-0-0NR
23.Boston College1-1-021
24.UNC Greensboro0-1-06
25.Old Dominion1-0-0NR

* - Preseason ranking

Soccer America Men's "Team of the Week"
September 5, 2005

GKJeff EngelbrechtUIC
Stopped nine shots to lead the Flames to a 1-0 victory over Loyola Marymount

DDavid BooleNorth Carolina
Assisted on three of UNC's four goals in victories over VCU and Richmond

DGreg StevningIndiana
Anchored defense which allowed just two shots on goal to shut out SMU and Wake Forest

MAlejandro BedoyaFairleigh Dickinson
Scored two goals and one assist in wins over Boston College and Villanova

MEric EbertCalifornia
Scored the game-winning goal in UC's 2-0 upset at UC Santa Barbara

MDave LeungOral Roberts
Opened the year with a goal and an assist in a 3-1 upset over instate rival Tulsa

MBrian PlotkinIndiana
Scored match-winning goals in victories against SMU and Wake Forest

MSal ZizzoUCLA
Notched a goal and two assists in first collegiate start, a 4-0 victory over Maryland

FMichael CleggSt. Mary's
Posted a hat trick in 35 minutes of his college debut versus Sacramento State

FKeith DeVeySanta Clara
Tallied two game-winners, the first to defeat #2 UCLA. Later provided the winning margin versus Cal State-Fullerton

FJeff RowlandNew Mexico
Scored all three goals for his team in wins over Penn State (2-0) and Ohio State (1-0)

National Player of the Week:
Keith DeVey, Santa Clara