Unbeaten Florida State women drop
four places in women’s DI poll
By Official Florida FC
The depth of the Sunshine State Conference is evident in the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll.
Three men’s programs and two women’s programs were ranked in the Top 25 of the coaches rankings that were released Tuesday. On the men’s side, Palm Beach Atlantic (5-0-0) remained at No. 2 after beating No. 9 St. Leo on Saturday evening in its conference opener.
Harry Gardner scored his third goal of the season in the 87th minute to help Palm Beach Atlantic win 2-1 and remain undefeated.
Rollins leapt 14 places to No. 8 in the latest Division II men’s poll. The Tars beat perennial power Lynn 3-1 on Saturday to improve to 5-0-1. The Tars travel to Eckert and host St. Leo before a Sept. 24 showdown against Palm Beach Atlantic in Winter Park.
Elsewhere in the SSC, Florida Tech (3-0-2) dropped three places after a 2-2 home draw with Barry. Florida Tech led twice, but Barry (3-1-1) found equalizers both times.
Undefeated Embry-Riddle soaring under new coach
Embry-Riddle’s women’s soccer program has breezed through its non-conference schedule under first-year coach Liam McIlhatton. The longtime assistant has the Eagles 5-0 heading into their Sunshine State Conference opener this week.
Embry-Riddle moved up one spot to No. 3 in the United Soccer Coaches poll following a 3-0 win over Valdosta State on Sept. 8.
Liam McIlhatton is an Embry-Riddle alumnus who was a longtime assistant to head coach Samantha Bohan. She took the head coaching position at Florida and he was promoted in June.
Embry-Riddle is unbeaten in its last 12 regular season matches. Barry beat the Eagles 2-1 in double overtime on Oct. 2, 2021. Embry-Riddle hosts Tampa (3-2) on Wednesday night at Barry (5-1) on Saturday.
Two other Florida programs were ranked in the second Women’s Division II poll: Rollins College and Flagler College.
Rollins dropped three places to No. 21 after producing a scoreless draw against Georgia Southwestern and holding on for a 2-1 win over Lynn on Sept. 10. Meanwhile, Flagler returns to the poll at No. 23 after consecutive draws against Florida Tech and Columbus State.
Seminoles remain unbeaten
At the Division I level, Florida State is the only program ranked in the United Soccer Coaches poll. Despite remaining unbeaten, Florida State fell four places to a tie for No. 12 with St. Louis (7-1).
The Seminoles thumped Rice 5-0 on Sunday afternoon in Houston to improve to 4-0-2.
Florida State has won three straight matches by a 15-0 aggregate. The Seminoles’ competition will stiffen on Friday night when they open ACC play against Boston College (4-1-3).
