The University of Scranton men's soccer team continued its upward trend in the national rankings this week, moving to No. 14 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division III National Poll released Tuesday afternoon. The Royals were previously ranked No. 15.
Scranton earned the bump after another dominant week of play, recording back-to-back shutout victories — a 2–0 win over Lycoming on Tuesday and a 5–0 rout of Elizabethtown on Saturday at Weiss Field. Following a 1-0 victory against Moravian last night, the Royals currently sit at 10-0-3 overall and 5-0-0 in Landmark Conference play.
Under head coach Andy Loughnane, Scranton has been nothing short of elite defensively and statistically ranks among the nation's best in nearly every category. The Royals lead all of Division III in:
Scranton is also the only team in the country to allow just one goal this season and has outscored its opponents by a combined 28–1 margin through 14 matches.
Senior goalkeeper Charlie Smith has been at the heart of that dominance, leading all Division III goalkeepers in goals against average (.08), save percentage (.969), and shutouts (9).
In addition to their national recognition, the Royals also rank second in the NCAA Region V Rankings, trailing only Dickinson, and sit 25th in the NCAA NPI Rankings.
With just a few weeks remaining in the regular season, Scranton remains atop the Landmark Conference standings and continues to build one of the most impressive defensive campaigns in program history.
