TU Women's Soccer Still at No. 25 Ahead of CL Tournament

TU Women's Soccer Still at No. 25 Ahead of CL Tournament
November 1, 2023

NAIA Women's Soccer Top 25 (November 1) | Crossroads League Championship Central

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Taylor women's soccer team (10-3-4, 5-2-2 CL) stayed put in the 25th spot in the ninth in-season edition of the NAIA Coaches' Top-25 Poll, released Wednesday, Nov. 1.

TU had an impressive week of play beginning with Wednesday, Oct. 25's 3-0 win at Bethel, Taylor's sixth shutout of the season. It followed that match up on Saturday with its highest-scoring game of 2023, a 6-2 win over Goshen at home. Goalkeeper Hannah Brackenbury played 140 minutes in net during the week, making 12 saves while allowing no goals to complement the offense's impressive performances. The two wins, combined with the plus-seven goal differential combined between those matches, lifted the Trojans from a tie for fifth in the Crossroads League standings all the way to the third seed.

With the way the seedings shook out, Taylor is set for a rematch with sixth-seeded Bethel (8-7-1, 4-5-0) in the CLT Quarterfinals on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m., with the Trojans this time serving as the hosts at Turner Stadium.

If TU can get past the Pilots on Saturday, it would face the winner of No. 7-ranked, second-seeded Indiana Wesleyan (13-1-4, 7-0-2) and seventh-seeded Grace (4-10-2, 2-5-2) on Nov. 8, hosted by the higher seed with a chance to advance to the CLT Championship on Nov. 11.

The winner of the CL Tournament receives an automatic bid to the first round of the NAIA National Championship, set to commence on Nov. 16.

On paper, the tournament looks set for the top two seeds, No. 2-ranked Spring Arbor (14-0-2, 7-0-2) and IWU, respectively, to collide in the championship match. The Trojans have statistically shown the ability to hang with the best teams, however, ranking first in the CL in shots per game with 23.9, second during league play in goals scored with 25, and tied-third with a 0.88 goals-against average. No. 25 TU also has experience on its side with a national tournament appearance in 2022, which should all make for an exciting week of championship action.