Women ranked nationally, men unranked

I was doing some research on the Internet this morning and came across the recently-released edition of the National Soccer Coaches Association of American (NSCAA) Division III Top 25.

While the UR men are unranked, the women are slotted at number 21. Ranked just below the women in the poll is the University of Chicago, UR's UAA counterparts who the Yellow Jackets play on 10/30 and come in ranked at number 20.

Check out the full rankings below:

Two other teams that the UR women play during the year are also ranked in the Top 25: #4 William Smith College (non-conference, play UR on 9/21 at William Smith) and #5 Emory University (UAA opponent, play UR on 10/16 in Rochester).

So right off the bat, it appears that the women have a very tough schedule, which should make the season a lot more interesting (especially if the Jackets win their big games).

As hard as the women's slate of games is, the UR men may have an even tougher schedule.

UR lost a number of key starters due to graduation, including
First-Team All-UAA and All-Region defender Misha Carrel-Tomas.

The men's team has four ranked opponents in the preseason Top 25 in #7 Calvin College (non-conference, play UR in first game of the season on 9/1 at Rochester), #19 Emory University (UAA opponents, play UR on 10/16 in Rochester), #20 Washington University (UAA opponent, play UR on 10/28 at Wash. U) and #22 St. Lawrence University (non-conference, play UR on 9/9 at St. Lawrence).

The UR men's opening game against Calvin is huge. What a matchup to kick off the season.

Due to graduation, the Jackets lost several key starters from last year's nationally-ranked team, so it will be very intriguing to see how the Jackets fare in an early-season contest against such a formidable opponent.

I should be calling the Calvin game from the press box at Fauver Stadium. You can hear all live broadcasts of soccer games on the website of UR's student radio station, WRUR 88.5.