After a four-week stay at the No. 6 ranking, the Butler women's soccer team moved up one spot to fifth in the NJCAA Division I Top 20 National poll. The No. 5 ranking matches Butler's highest ranking this season.
Butler (19-2-0 overall, 13-0-0 conference), who received 79 votes in this week's poll, defeated Hesston 4-0 in Region VI first-round play on Saturday. With the win, the Grizzlies advanced to the semifinals where they will face fifth-seeded Hutchinson (12-4 overall) on Thursday at Topeka's Hummer Park at 11 a.m. Hutchinson defeated Coffeyville 2-1 in double overtime on Saturday.
The Grizzlies moved ahead of Tyler (Texas), who defeated Butler 3-1 back on Sept. 20. Tyler dropped two spots to seventh after a 1-0 loss to No. 3 Navarro (Texas).
Iowa Western moved back into the top spot after a three-week hiatus, while previously top-ranked Paradise Valley (Ariz.) moved down to No. 2. Only one vote separates the two teams, as Iowa Western has 96 votes to Paradise Valley's 95. Both teams received two first-place votes. The other first-place vote went to Navarro, who received 90 votes. Darton State (Ga.) stayed ranked fourth.
Other KJCCC schools featured in the national poll this week were Johnson County and Barton. Johnson (16-2-1) moved up to ninth, marking the third straight week the Cavaliers have been ranked in the top 10. Barton (13-3-1) moved up one spot to 17th. Johnson and Barton will square off in Thursday's other Region VI semifinal game at 1:30 p.m.
The Butler-Hutch winner will face the Johnson County-Barton winner in the Region VI Championship game on Friday at 10 a.m. in Topeka. The winner of the title game will advance to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Melbourne, Fla., which starts on Nov. 19.
| NJCAA Top 20 National Poll | November 6, 2013 | |||||
| Rank | College | Record | Points | 1st place votes |
Previous Rank |
| 1. | Iowa Western | 17-2-0 | 96 | 2 | 3 |
| 2. | Paradise Valley, Ariz. | 20-1-1 | 95 | 2 | 1 |
| 3. | Navarro, Texas | 14-3-1 | 90 | 1 | 2 |
| 4. | Darton State, Ga. | 20-1-0 | 89 | 0 | 4 |
| 5. | Butler | 19-2-0 | 79 | 0 | 6 |
| 6. | Lewis & Clark, Ill. | 18-1-0 | 75 | 0 | 8 |
| 7. | Tyler, Texas | 16-3-1 | 64 | 0 | 5 |
| 8. | College of Southern Maryland | 16-1-0 | 62 | 0 | 9 |
| 9. | Johnson County | 16-2-1 | 59 | 0 | 10 |
| 10. | Laramie County, Wyo. | 17-2-1 | 50 | 0 | 11 |
| 11. | Monroe, N.Y. | 11-1-0 | 43 | 0 | 12 |
| 12. | Jones County, Miss. | 17-1-0 | 38 | 0 | 14 |
| 13. | Owens, Ohio | 17-2-0 | 37 | 0 | 19 |
| 14. | Monroe Community, N.Y. | 13-4-0 | 29 | 0 | 18 |
| 15. | Iowa Central | 13-3-1 | 26 | 0 | 13 |
| 16. | Barton | 13-3-1 | 21 | 0 | 17 |
| 17. | Cisco, Texas | 11-4-1 | 14 | 0 | 20 |
| 18. | Eastern Florida State | 10-2-1 | 11 | 0 | RV |
| 19. | College of Lake County, Ill. | 15-3-0 | 5 | 0 | NR |
| 20. | St. Louis, Mo. | 14-5-1 | 2 | 0 | NR |
Dropped from rankings: Georgia Perimeter (7), Schoolcraft, Mich. (15), Cape Fear, N.C. (15).
