Roadrunners earn first-ever NCAA ranking

By Kyle Ringo
The Metropolitan

The beginning of a season is not usually a time for a team to be patting itself on the back, and though the Metro menās soccer team has reason to, it is not.

After earning an NCAA Top-25 Division II national ranking for the first time in the history of its program Sept. 8, the goals for this season have not changed for Metro.

The Roadrunners still are concentrating on winning the conference, coach Brian Crookham said.

|Metro, ranked No. 23 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Poll, earned the ranking on the strength of a victory over preseason top-10 West Texas A&M on Aug. 30 and a loss of all things.

The loss came against No. 3-ranked Cal State Bakersfield 3-0 on Sept. 7 in the Bakersfield tournament.

While a loss generally leads to a drop in the polls, the strength of Metroās performance against a highly rated opponent won it favor with the coaches.

Metro (2-1 at press time) totaled two less shots on goal than Bakersfield, which made the contest much closer than expected.

Three Metro players missed the game with Bakersfield. Injuries claimed midfielder Jorge Mena (sprained knee) and defender Kirk Ellsworth (pulled quadriceps), and defender Liam Barnes missed action after accumulating four yellow cards in two matches.

Two Metro players, Todd Padgett and Jared Zanon, were named to the all-tournament team.

The Roadrunners won their second game of the year and first in the Bakersfield tournament 2-1 over Cal Poly Pomona.

Senior Maher Kayali netted Metroās first score on a pass from Padgett. At the 85:00 mark, Zanon blasted his third goal of the season past the Pomona keeper for the game winner with an assist from sophomore Ben Hatfield.

Metro goalkeeper Stephen Babby played all 90 minutes of both games.

The Roadrunners will open the home schedule with two games against conference rivals University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (Sept. 14) and Regis (Sept. 17).