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Simon Fraser's 2008 Ranking

Posted:
Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:01 pm
by Dr. Jason Stockton
After defeating #14 Lindenwood, #18 Texas A&M, and pre-season #18 Illinois. . .where should Simon Fraser be ranked?
I think it's obvious SFU was under-rated in the pre-season poll, and now they have a mighty climb to get back to nationals. . .but those 3 wins should go a long way to earning them the respect they deserve.
I think they should obviously be rated ahead of Lindenwood, A&M and Georgia (who lost to Lindenwood). . .
Maybe it's two different questions. . .where SHOULD they be ranked and where do you think they WILL be ranked?

Posted:
Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:15 pm
by AndyP
I think next week's game vs #10 Sonoma will be a good litmus test to see on which side of the #10 fence SFU should be placed.

Posted:
Sun Mar 09, 2008 9:51 pm
by PNWLaxer
A lot has happened in the last two weeks from the top to the bottom of the top 25. Based on what has happened I have SFU in the 13-18 slot. The SELC is a mess similar to the PNCLL-2 except there is no clear #1 like UPS.
18 seems like too low to me (I have them in anywhere between 13 and 15) but it will depend on what the voters think:
a)Was Lindenwood too high - drop LU and not elevate SFU as much
b)Was SFU too low - elevate SFU how high though
c)How to rank the following log jam in my opinion - I have SFU jumping them all but will others do the same
BC (close losses to CSU and UMD and lost to UGA)
UGA (beat BC and FSU lost to Lindenwood, Florida and VTech)
Florida (beat UGA but lost to LMU)
Lindenwood (beat UGA but lost to SFU)
d)How high does CPSLO go they were 19 but beat Northeastern and Arizona but 1 goal lost to ASU, 5 goal loss to SSU and 6 goal loss to UCSB
e)How far does Northeastern drop - they lost to 3 strong WCLL teams as well as Stanford
Those are just 5 of the factors I think my influence the new rank come Wednesday but there are more.
SFU has done themselves well winning some quality OOC games, with SSU on the 22nd and Oregon in April they can continue to prove they once again belong in the upper echelon of teams in the MDIA Div I.

Posted:
Mon Mar 10, 2008 3:10 pm
by Ballin'
i dont think they deserve to be called a top 10 team but would say they move to maybe 13, they will get their shot at being top 10 though with oregon and ssu

Posted:
Mon Mar 10, 2008 3:29 pm
by Adam Gamradt
Sorry to nit pick.
"BC (close losses to CSU and UMD and lost to UGA)"
This loss was not close. UMD took them apart, allowing only one goal in approximately the last three quarters.

Posted:
Mon Mar 10, 2008 3:39 pm
by primetime21
this was a great trip of SFU, however i don't think they will be satisfied untill they can beat their nemisis oregon. untill someone can beat them i don't see us sending two teams. i do think SFU has a great chance at capturing the league title again.

Posted:
Mon Mar 10, 2008 4:44 pm
by GrizLens
primetime21 wrote:this was a great trip of SFU, however i don't think they will be satisfied untill they can beat their nemisis oregon. untill someone can beat them i don't see us sending two teams. i do think SFU has a great chance at capturing the league title again.
I don't know... I think SFU's performance this weekend marks a HUGE step towards securing an at-large. A win over Sonoma should seal that deal. However, I agree that Fraser is hungry for roast duck.

Posted:
Mon Mar 10, 2008 5:04 pm
by Hi-Line Lax
I'd have to say I agree with the insight of our photographer... Oregon will likely be a Top 5 team when they play SFU so if they are in the Top 10-15 (which should be secured now, if not with a Sonoma win) they shouldn't fall really even if they lose that game. I'd love to be at the Duck/Clan game in person, but somebody please tape it... should be a great game.

Posted:
Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:31 pm
by PNWLaxer
This loss was not close. UMD took them apart, allowing only one goal in approximately the last three quarters.
A 5 goal loss to a top 5 team when the loser is in the range of 15-20 is not a bad result for said 15-20 team.
A team towards the bottom of the top 25 poll is not supposed to beat a top 5 team that is why there is a difference in rankings. A 5 goal loss though does not hurt the losing team in this situation all that much though.
If UMD took them apart then why did they only win by 5. BC must have played decently at to keep the score close especially if they did not score themselves in 3 quarters of play.
I will note though when no box scores are filled in it makes it hard to determine the flow of game.

Posted:
Mon Mar 10, 2008 7:56 pm
by Adam Gamradt
I'm just trying to help with perspective, take my opinion for what it's worth.
I was at the game, and UMD was dominant, albeit after starting slowly.

Posted:
Wed Mar 12, 2008 10:26 am
by Dan Wishengrad
And the answer is....
#11
Congrats to the Clansmen on an impressive OOC road-trip and a big jump in the newly-released poll.

Posted:
Wed Mar 12, 2008 1:01 pm
by primetime21
they are deserving of this ranking, they have proved they can compete and beat other top teams this year, a top ten?? not yet, if they can get by sonoma that should be their ticket into the top ten. the only problem i see is if they get into the top ten and lose to an unranked pncll team or a lower seeded ooc team will that drop them out of contention for an at large, or are they better being middle of the pack and risk voters keeping them their even after a loss to a closer ranked team or top five team?

Posted:
Wed Mar 12, 2008 1:24 pm
by Timbalaned
Definitely good for the league and any out of conference opponents that play SFU, mainly Noma. Now that trip up to Seattle has a huge game with Noma and SFU. Also if any teams in the league can knock off SFU they can say they have beat a top 15 team. Helps the strength of the league and everyone's power rankings.

Posted:
Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:23 pm
by Laxfan87
primetime21 wrote:they are deserving of this ranking, they have proved they can compete and beat other top teams this year, a top ten?? not yet, if they can get by sonoma that should be their ticket into the top ten. the only problem i see is if they get into the top ten and lose to an unranked pncll team or a lower seeded ooc team will that drop them out of contention for an at large, or are they better being middle of the pack and risk voters keeping them their even after a loss to a closer ranked team or top five team?
If SFU beats Sonoma, I think it will be a safe bet that SFU will get an at large bid if they can avoid an upset vs a lower ranked team. (Washington comes to mind as the most likely candidate) Because a potential loss to Oregon would not hurt them in the polls at all. (or at least it shouldn't)
It's pretty impressive what SFU has done this year with a team that is mainly Freshman and Sophomore's with a few juniors. Especially when you consider they lost two of their top scores from last year in Christians (grad) and Crowley.( no idea, he was only a Freshman i think)

Posted:
Wed Mar 12, 2008 2:29 pm
by primetime21
it's pretty impressive what SFU has done this year with a team that is mainly Freshman and Sophomore's with a few juniors.
i completely forgot about that!! that is really scary. wonder if this talent surge or recent success is the beginning of something new in the league