Ladies and gentlemen: say hello to your newest top-10 team. And no, it’s not the hockey team.
When the Boston University men’s soccer team upset the University of Connecticut last week, people wondered if it would push them into the national rankings.
The Terriers (4-1-1, 0-0-0 America East) didn’t just slip into the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Top 25, they exploded onto the national scene. Not even listed in last Monday’s poll as “also receiving votes,” BU jumped to the No. 9 position this week.
“We expected the UConn game to bump us up,” said senior back David Fahey. “We were expecting something between 10 and 20, and we would’ve been happy. But to be No. 9 is a huge boost for us and is a great moment for this team.”
The new rankings, released yesterday, look much different than they did last week. While Stanford University and St. John’s University remain Nos. 1 and 2, last week’s No. 3, the University of California at Los Angeles, fell all the way back to No. 16 after a loss to No. 17 Loyola-Marymount University. And while Loyola benefited, jumping 10 spots to No. 7, the Terriers still recorded the biggest leap of the week.
Moving up to fill in for UCLA at No. 3 is the University of South Carolina. Finishing the top 10 are the University of Maryland (No. 6 last week), Indiana University (No. 9), Southern Methodist University (No. 8), Loyola-Marymount, Wake Forest University (No. 10), BU, and the University of Notre Dame (No. 5).
It was a good week to move up, as seven teams went from unranked to the top 25, including three who moved all the way to the top 15. Bradley University and Penn State University are now tied for No. 12. BU was the only unranked team to break the top 10.
While a lot of teams gained ground, some plummeted severely. Of the teams ranked No. 18 through No. 25 last week, only the University of North Carolina remained in the rankings, going from No. 22 to No. 17.
While the Terriers cracked the top 25 last year, sitting as high as No. 18 late in the season, no one on the roster has ever experienced the top 10.
“No one on this team has even been in the top 10,” Fahey said. “None of us know the feeling yet, it’s just starting to set in. We like the feeling and want to do everything we can to keep it up.”
With the move, the Terriers now will play two of their next three games against lower-ranked teams — Wednesday at No. 21 Boston College, and next Friday against No. 14 University of San Diego. And while BU might be looking down in the rankings at upcoming opponents, wins in those games could boost them even higher in the polls.
“That would be fantastic [to move up higher],” Fahey said. “Obviously we have a little more confidence now and want to do everything we can to keep it, or even improve it.”
And what about a top 10 ranking going to the heads of players who have been thrust into the national spotlight?
“It really shouldn’t [go to our heads], and we’re going to try our best not to let it,” Fahey said. “As far as we’re concerned, we have to go into every game like we’re the underdogs. We have to go into every game that way in order to remain focused and win. We’re not going to let a number change the way we’ve been playing, because we’ve been playing so well.”
The Terriers were not treated as kindly in another major college soccer poll, as Soccer America Magazine placed them at No. 19 this week. The Terriers do get a little bit of justice however, as a certain B-line rival remains unranked by the publication.
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