STANDISH, Maine – The final United Soccer Coaches NCAA DIII national poll has been released and Saint Joseph's College (19-0-2) is ranked 25th in the country.
Saint Joseph's enters the United Soccer Coaches national ranking for the first time this year after posting a pair of impressive performances in the NCAA Tournament last month. The Monks opened with a 2-1 victory over Mitchell College – the first national tourney win in program history – on November 10th and dueled defending NCAA Champion Tufts University to 110 scoreless minutes before falling to the Jumbos, 4-2, in penalty kicks, the following day.
Under the watch of the coaching staff – which was chosen as the 2017 United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division III New England Region Coaching Staff of the Year - this fall, the Monks posted the finest season in the 29-year history of the SJC men's soccer program. St. Joe's went 19-0-2 with a 9-0-1 record in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) and, for the second-consecutive year, captured the conference championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In the first round, St. Joe's clinched the first national tourney win in team history with a 2-1 triumph over Mitchell College and held defending national champion Tufts University scoreless before falling to the Jumbos – on their home field - in penalty kicks in the second round.
Saint Joseph's was listed on the United Soccer Coaches New England regional poll for the majority of the season and closed the regular season ranked sixth in arguably the toughest region in the country. The Monks were also ranked 17th in the D3Soccer.com national poll on November 8th.
St. Joe's completed the 2017 campaign ranked first in NCAA DIII Men's Soccer in goals against average (.047), won-lost-tied percentage (.952), and save percentage (.983). The Monks are also second nationally in shots per game (22.76) and shots on goal per game (11.57), fifth in assists per game (2.95) and total assists (62), and sixth in points per game (9.33) and total goals (67).
Saint Joseph's established new NCAA Men's Soccer records for consecutive shutouts (20) and longest shutout minutes streak (1,802:54) this fall and closed out the year riding a 21-game undefeated streak.
UNITED SOCCER COACHES FINAL POLL
NCAA DIII MEN'S SOCCER TEAM/INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
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Saint Joseph's College is Maine's only Catholic liberal arts college, providing a supportive, personalized and career-focused education for more than 100 years. From its 474-acre campus on the shores of Sebago Lake, the College offers more than 40 undergraduate programs to a population of approximately 1,000 students. Saint Joseph's College Online provides certificates, undergraduate and advanced degrees for working adults through an online learning program. For more, visit www.sjcme.edu.
