UIC men's soccer team enters Top 25 in all three major national polls; Butler ranked ninth in region

Sept. 5, 2006

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Chicago, Ill. -- It's still early in the season, but the University of Illinois at Chicago has already made waves in the collegiate soccer world. The Flames begin the week ranked among the nation's top 25 teams according to all three major polls.

UIC drew its first recognition Monday (Sept. 4) when Soccer America put John Trask's crew 18th in its weekly rankings. College Soccer News followed later Monday afternoon by installing the Flames 24th among its 30-team honor roll, while the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) capped the trifecta Tuesday (Sept. 5) when UIC earned the No. 22 position in its adidas rankings.

UIC had not appeared in the Top 25 rankings in nearly five years, since the NSCAA/adidas poll had the Flames 24th on Oct. 15, 2001. But a season-opening 1-0 victory at (then-24th ranked) University of Saint Louis on Aug. 26 and a 2-1 overtime triumph over traditional regional power Bradley University on Sunday (Sept. 3) earned the Flames a spot among the national elite with a 3-0-1 record.

The victory over SLU marked the third time UIC has toppled a Top-25 team on the road in the past two seasons. The Flames continued their early-season run with a scoreless draw versus intra-city rival DePaul University last Wednesday (Aug. 30) before a 3-0 victory over the University of Missouri-Kansas City on Friday (Sept. 1). UIC has allowed only one goal and 14 shots in its first four matches this season.

That standing gets a quick test on Friday night (Sept. 8) when UIC visits the University of California at Santa Barbara. UCSB's Gauchos are ranked 7th by CSN and 12th by Soccer America, with the NSCAA putting them 19th. Saint Louis is now ranked 18th by the NSCAA, 24th by Soccer America and 20th by College Soccer News.

The first two weeks of the regular season showed dramatic turnover from the preseason rankings, as the Flames were one of 12 teams entering the NSCAA/adidas poll, while SA's listings featured seven new entries. The top of all three polls remained relatively unchanged, however, with defending national champion University of Maryland (3-0-0) remaining atop the NSCAA and College Soccer News polls and the University of North Carolina (3-0-0) still leading the SA listings.

The remainder of the top five has a distinct Atlantic Coast Conference presence, as the University of Virginia (3-0-0) ranks second according to the coaches' association, followed by Southern Methodist University (4-0-0), Clemson University (4-0-0) and Wake Forest University (4-0-0). SMU and Virginia trade places in the SA standings, with Maryland fourth and Clemson fifth in that poll. CSN also has SMU second, with North Carolina followed by Virginia and Duke University (4-0-0).

UIC also is rated third in the Great Lakes Region by the NSCAA, behind the University of Notre Dame (eighth nationally) and Indiana University (tied for tenth), but the Flames aren't the only Horizon League entry in the regional poll. Butler University stands ninth in the region with a 2-1-1 ledger that includes a 2-0 victory over the University of Dayton last Friday (Sept. 1).

The Great Lakes Region top ten also includes the University of Wisconsin (3-1-0) in fourth place, followed by the University of Akron (3-1-0) and Michigan State University (3-1-0) tied for fifth. Northwestern University (2-1-0) is rated seventh, ahead of the University of Cincinnati (2-1-1), Butler and Northern Illinois University (2-2-0).