Columns in order:
Adjusted RPI's 2015-17 (conference rating at top),
2018 non-conf. average RPI's and SOS's based on 2017,
2018 pre-season poll rankings
The Atlantic Coast Conference sent a record nine teams to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, with four teams advancing to the Sweet 16 and three to the Elite Eight. North Carolina advanced to the College Cup to mark the 17th straight year at least one ACC team reached that stage. The ACC has been the #1 conference in RPI three consecutive seasons, and all 12 schools finished in the top 60 in RPI in 2017.
North Carolina is the ACC coaches' pick to win both the Coastal Division and the overall regular-season title. The Tar Heels will be vagabonds for a second straight season as Fetzer Field is still under construction..."home" matches will be held in Greensboro (Bryan Park), Durham (Koskinen Stadium) and Cary (WakeMed Soccer Park). Sophomore defender John Nelson has been named to the 2018 Preseason Best XI team by Top Drawer Soccer after starting all 22 games as a freshman.
Wake Forest, the two-time ACC Tournament defending champion, is ranked No. 5 nationally by United Soccer Coaches and is the ACC coaches' selection to win the Atlantic Division for a 4th consecutive season. The Demon Deacons will have to find some faces to score, as five of the top six scorers left for the pros. The top returning scorer is Omir Fernandez, who totaled six goals and five assists in 2017.
Clemson gets a boost from graduate transfer goalkeeper Jonny Sutherland, a Hermann Trophy candidate who was twice the Southern Conference Goalkeeper of the Year while at ETSU. The Tigers' recruiting class was ranked No. 2 in the country by Top Drawer Soccer, while United Soccer Coaches pegs their pre-season ranking at No. 11.
Louisville returns six starters from a squad that finished 2nd in the Atlantic and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the fifth time in eight seasons. The Cardinals are ranked No. 6 in the USC poll and boast senior forward Tate Schmitt, who led Louisville in 2017 with nine goals -- four of which were game-winners.
Virginia earned a No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, but was stunned by Fordham at home. The Cavaliers return 19 letterwinners including all-freshman honoree Joe Bell of New Zealand. Virginia, which begins 2018 ranked No. 15 in the USC poll, plays the 7th-toughest non-conference schedule in the nation -- hosting New Hampshire, Elon, FIU, Denver and Radford and former ACC rival Maryland at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.
Duke is ranked 9th nationally by College Soccer News, 10th in the USC poll and 13th by Top Drawer. Midfielder Seth Kuhn, part of Duke's 5th-ranked recruiting class, was voted to Top Drawer Soccer's pre-season Best XI Freshman team. Notre Dame plays the 4th-toughest non-conference schedule in the country. The Irish host Saint Louis, Indiana, Michigan State, Xavier and Akron, travel to Michigan and meet Dartmouth in Bloomington. Notre Dame returns 22 players from last year's team.
More previews to come...follow links to rpiupdate.blogspot.com's daily scoreboards, team schedules, conference standings, NCAA Tournament projection and the most updated, accurately adjusted Division I men's soccer RPI rankings available.
The Atlantic Coast Conference sent a record nine teams to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year, with four teams advancing to the Sweet 16 and three to the Elite Eight. North Carolina advanced to the College Cup to mark the 17th straight year at least one ACC team reached that stage. The ACC has been the #1 conference in RPI three consecutive seasons, and all 12 schools finished in the top 60 in RPI in 2017.
North Carolina is the ACC coaches' pick to win both the Coastal Division and the overall regular-season title. The Tar Heels will be vagabonds for a second straight season as Fetzer Field is still under construction..."home" matches will be held in Greensboro (Bryan Park), Durham (Koskinen Stadium) and Cary (WakeMed Soccer Park). Sophomore defender John Nelson has been named to the 2018 Preseason Best XI team by Top Drawer Soccer after starting all 22 games as a freshman.
Wake Forest, the two-time ACC Tournament defending champion, is ranked No. 5 nationally by United Soccer Coaches and is the ACC coaches' selection to win the Atlantic Division for a 4th consecutive season. The Demon Deacons will have to find some faces to score, as five of the top six scorers left for the pros. The top returning scorer is Omir Fernandez, who totaled six goals and five assists in 2017.
Clemson gets a boost from graduate transfer goalkeeper Jonny Sutherland, a Hermann Trophy candidate who was twice the Southern Conference Goalkeeper of the Year while at ETSU. The Tigers' recruiting class was ranked No. 2 in the country by Top Drawer Soccer, while United Soccer Coaches pegs their pre-season ranking at No. 11.
Louisville returns six starters from a squad that finished 2nd in the Atlantic and advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals for the fifth time in eight seasons. The Cardinals are ranked No. 6 in the USC poll and boast senior forward Tate Schmitt, who led Louisville in 2017 with nine goals -- four of which were game-winners.
Virginia earned a No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, but was stunned by Fordham at home. The Cavaliers return 19 letterwinners including all-freshman honoree Joe Bell of New Zealand. Virginia, which begins 2018 ranked No. 15 in the USC poll, plays the 7th-toughest non-conference schedule in the nation -- hosting New Hampshire, Elon, FIU, Denver and Radford and former ACC rival Maryland at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.
Duke is ranked 9th nationally by College Soccer News, 10th in the USC poll and 13th by Top Drawer. Midfielder Seth Kuhn, part of Duke's 5th-ranked recruiting class, was voted to Top Drawer Soccer's pre-season Best XI Freshman team. Notre Dame plays the 4th-toughest non-conference schedule in the country. The Irish host Saint Louis, Indiana, Michigan State, Xavier and Akron, travel to Michigan and meet Dartmouth in Bloomington. Notre Dame returns 22 players from last year's team.
