West Virginia and Akron break into Week 4’s men’s soccer Power 5 rankings

Two new teams enter Week 4’s men’s college soccer’s Power 5 rankings with our former number one, Stanford, out. The Cardinal fell to Oregon State 2-1 and tied with Washington, losing their grip in this week’s Power Rankings. With conference play underway, the Sun Belt conference stands out with three out of our top-5 teams representing the SBC.

Here’s the rundown of Andrew McDevitt’s Week 4 rankings:

5. Syracuse | 3-0-3  (Prev. 5)

Despite a pair of draws with No. 20 Wake Forest and former No. 7 Louisville, the Orange still have not yet tasted defeat this season. Scoring in the first 80 seconds, Syracuse surrendered a penalty late in the game allowing the Demon Deacons to walk away with their third draw this season. Syracuse takes a break from conference play this week as they travel to play Cornell on Tuesday, Sep. 19.

4. Akron | 5-0-2 (Prev. NR)

The Zips demonstrated a strong competitive spirit in their match against Providence where they rallied to a draw after trailing 3-1. The equalizer came in the 87th minute when a cross met sophomore Daragh Reilly’s head surpassing the line of Providence defenders and earning Reilly his first career goal. Akron faces a tough matchup at home against No. 10 Notre Dame on Tuesday.

3. UCF | 4-0-2 (Prev. 4)

The Knights displayed exemplary defense to hold West Virginia at a draw and keep their undefeated streak unblemished. Sophomore goalkeeper Juanvi Muñoz locked down the space between the posts making four key saves to keep the Mountaineers at bay. UCF will continue SBC play on the road as they travel to play Marshall on Saturday, Sep. 23. 

2. West Virginia | 5-0-1 (Prev. NR)

The Mountaineers are still riding high off their wild last-second upset over Portland last week and their most recent ranked road tie with No. 5 UCF lands them a spot at number two. The 2-2 draw saw sophomore Marcus Caldeira finish his seventh goal of the season in the first two minutes of play — Caldeira has now scored in every game this season. WVU will look to improve on Tuesday when they host Dayton. 

1. Marshall | 5-0 (Prev. 2)

The Herd does not lose. In their fifth straight win of the season, Marshall picked up a top-10 ranked victory over No. 9 JMU earning them a spot at the top. The squad dealt with two red cards in the matchup, going down a man in the 60th minute and then down another man in the 76th — holding on to the lead despite playing with eight field players. Up next, The Herd hosts UCF on Saturday to open SBC play.

Teams to keep an eye on ⬅️ 👀

Stanford | 4-1-1 (Prev. 1)
Louisville | 4-1-1 (Prev. 3) 
JMU | 4-1-2
Portland | 4-1