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 Northeast Conference has been dominated by the Brooklyn schools over the last 3 seasons, and that is expected to continue as St. Francis and Long Island are the expected 1-2 picks in the circuit for 2018. St. Francis is undefeated in conference play over the last two seasons, winning both regular-season titles outright and earning the auto bid both times in the 4-team conference tournament.
St. Francis Brooklyn returns 2017 NEC Tournament MVP Ali Tounkara, a now-senior forward from France who scored half of his 8 goals in the NEC tourney. Expect great defense from the Terriers, who only allowed 2 goals in 9 NEC contests last season.
LIU Brooklyn was the last team other than St. Francis to win the title, running the table in 2015. Rasmus Hansen of Denmark is a 3-time 1st-team conference selection and is the returning Player of the Year, having tallied 9 goals and 22 points in 2017. The Blackbirds will face a tough road trip to AEC powers New Hampshire and Vermont on the 2nd weekend of the season.
My general rule on non-conference scheduling is that the better teams should challenge themselves more, while the weaker teams should schedule lightly. St. Francis Brooklyn has one of the weakest non-conference schedules in the Northeast, while Bryant is going to struggle in September if the polls are right. The Bulldogs visit Massachusetts and host Rhode Island and Fordham, all top 40 in the RPI in 2017.
The Mount St. Mary's men's soccer program was dormant for five seasons but returns this season.
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 Mount St. Mary's men's soccer program was dormant for five seasons but returns this season.
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.
