Carolina men’s soccer power rankings: October 26
Once again, a team gave Wake Forest a scare. And, once again, Wake Forest somehow pulled it out.
Another incredible comeback performance from the Demon Deacons, another chapter written in the Tobacco Road rivalry, and a new Carolina program making its way into the top 25 for the first time this season: It sure was a crazy week for men’s college soccer in the Carolinas.
Here are this week’s SNST Power Rankings.
#1 — Wake Forest Demon Deacons
The Deacs made their one game this past week quite the nail-biter. Despite going up early in the first half, Wake Forest allowed No. 6 Virginia to score twice in nine minutes midway through the second half to put Deacon backs against the wall. Wake Forest didn’t panic and scored twice in just over 90 seconds to get the 3–2 win.
The win was the 15th on the season for Wake Forest, the 10th time in program history that Wake has achieved 15 wins. The thrilling victory also gave the Demon Deacons the ACC Atlantic Division championship for the fourth straight season.
The Deacs only have a single game left this year: a home match versus No. 17 Louisville Oct. 26. They have not lost a regular season conference match at home since Nov. 2, 2013, when Notre Dame defeated Wake 3–1.
#2 — North Carolina Tar Heels
On the other side of the ACC, the North Carolina Tar Heels locked up the ACC Coastal Division for the fourth straight season, thanks to a win at Duke Oct. 23.
Jack Skahan played the hero, getting his fifth goal in three games for the Tar Heels courtesy of a 57th minute chip.
The Tar Heels look to close out the season with a win over No. 5 Virginia at home Oct. 26.
#3 — Duke Blue Devils
It is really difficult to criticize a team that is 9–5–1 on the year, especially when three of those losses were to teams ranked in the top 10. Duke easily has one of the toughest schedules this season, and Tuesday’s match against UNC was no exception. It was a tough loss to the Tar Heels, but Duke has to look past it as they have a tough finale coming up on Friday.
Duke will travel to Blacksburg to take on No. 10 Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. Oct. 26.
#4 — Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
While the Chanticleers are not ranked, they have done some pretty amazing things since their surprising loss at home to App State back on Oct. 13. Wins over Clemson at Historic Riggs Field, conference foe Howard, and an overtime stunner at Wilmington Wednesday night should be enough to put the Chants back into the Top 25.
The Chanticleers are now 8–4 on the year and look to continue their winning streak against Georgia State Oct. 27 in Atlanta.
#5 — High Point Panthers
High Point entered the Top 25 this past week, and I am not surprised. At 11–2–0 when the rankings came out, the Panthers took down Duke last week and were able to hold their own against Wake Forest the week before that.
While High Point managed to remain unbeaten in conference, they did suffer a slight setback getting a draw against a not-so-decent Campbell squad Wednesday night. High Point will certainly keep their Top 25 ranking should they get a big win over Radford on Saturday.
#6 — UNC-Wilmington Seahawks
The Seahawks really needed a win against Coastal Carolina Wednesday night after a rough 2–2 draw against Delaware on Saturday. Delaware was 4–9–1 and, for a team that came off a massive win over an ACC school, UNCW should have taken care of the Blue Hens easily.
The Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina, however, were a much tougher opponent and they certainly showed it on Wednesday night as Yazeed Matthews’ brace gave the Chants a 2–1 win over UNCW in OT.
The Seahawks will play their final home match of the 2018 season Oct. 27 against William & Mary before traveling to Northeastern on Halloween Eve.
#7 — North Carolina State Wolfpack
The Wolfpack closed out their home season with a draw against No. 24 and giant-killer Syracuse. N.C. State were unbeaten at home this season, going 6–0–3. That could be something that Wolfpack fans can cling to going forward should N.C. State get the chance to host an ACC tournament and/or NCAA tournament match.
N.C. State will close out the 2018 regular season on the road at Clemson OCt. 26.
#8 — Charlotte 49ers
The 49ers are on a three-match winning streak at the moment and aren’t planning to slow down anytime soon. Charlotte continued their dominance at home Tuesday night with a 3–0 win over USC Upstate.
Charlotte is 6–0 and has yet to allow a goal at home this season. The 49ers will look to keep the momentum going with all three remaining games at home. Their next match will be at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27 against UIC.
While some teams will be ending their seasons this weekend, there are several Carolina programs that will continue their regular season past Halloween. Will something spooky cause the power rankings to have a major switch up? Or will everything pretty much remain the same?
Be sure to come back next week for this year’s final edition of the SNST Carolina men’s soccer power rankings.
