Eagles hold No. 6 spot in first wave of NCAA region rankings

NCAA Rankings

INDIANAPOLIS – In the NCAA's first region ranking release of 2018, No. 20 Carson-Newman Women's Soccer holds the No. 6 spot in the Southeast Region.

The top two teams in each region will host the first round of the NCAA Tournament when the conference tournaments come to a close in early November. No. 1 nationally ranked Columbus State, a team in which C-N faced to kick off the 2018 season, holds the top spot in the region sporting a 9-0-1 in-region record. North Georgia follows at No. 2 with a region record of 9-2, followed by Limestone at 11-1 in the third spot. The Eagles are scheduled to play the Saints next Wednesday, Oct. 24.

Lander (8-2-1) and Flagler (8-2-1) hold the spots at five and six respectively with C-N's 8-3 record in the region following the two. Georgia College (8-2-2) and Catawba (9-2) round out the top-eight with Belmont Abbey (9-2) on the outside looking in at No. 9. The top-eight teams in the region earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Following Tuesday's Southeast Region rankings released by the United Soccer Coaches, C-N sat at No. 3 behind Columbus State at the top and Limestone at two.

"We need to make sure we understand the importance of these last four games so we hopefully can climb in the NCAA regional rankings," Coach Simon Duffy said. "We've got some time to build on that but for right now it is one game at a time. You can't get too caught up in the first polls because they can easily change within just a couple days."

The NCAA updates its region rankings every Wednesday through the end of the season until the teams are announced during its selection show which is scheduled to take place Monday, November 5.