Rio men slip from NAIA Top 25

Rio Grande Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - When the NAIA released its latest men's soccer coaches' Top 25 poll last week, there was a familiar name missing from the list of the nation's top teams.
After consecutive narrow losses at home to Tennessee Wesleyan and Grace (Ind.), the University of Rio Grande slipped out of the Top 25 for the first time in more than 19 years.

Head coach Scott Morrissey's squad, which had been ranked No. 13 in the previous poll, dropped to 26th - the first team among the others receiving votes - with 92 points in the balloting of a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, Association of Independent Institutions and Unaffiliated Groups.
The RedStorm missed the Top 25 for the first time since Sept. 11, 2001 - a streak of 131 consecutive polls topped only by Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) College's 141 consecutive rankings.
Rio Grande (10-4), which rebounded from the back-to-back losses with a 6-0 rout of Oakland City University last Saturday, is scheduled to play at Point Park University on Saturday in its River States Conference season finale.
Central Methodist (Mo.) remained No. 1 in the poll after claiming 17 of the 18 first-place votes and tallying 539 points. William Carey (Miss.), which had the remaining first-place vote, was second with 518 points.
Columbia Mo. (495 pts.), Oklahoma Wesleyan (484 pts.) and Missouri Valley (468 pts.) rounded out the top five.