Go WEST young man (and NORTH)

[Kuiper]

I think the first three make sense.  After that, it's a lot of inconsistency, but maybe that's just growing parity among D3 programs.

USC Region X Rankings Sept. 29, 2026

Region X - Poll 3 - September 29, 2026
Rank   School   Prev   W-L-T
1   Southwestern University   NR   8-1-0
2   University of Redlands   NR   5-1-3
3   Colorado College   NR   5-2-1
4   Pacific Lutheran University   NR   5-1-2
5   Whittier College   NR   2-0-2
6   Claremont-McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges   NR   4-2-3
7   Whitman College   NR   5-1-2
8   Occidental College   NR   3-2-2

Region X - Poll 4 - October 6, 2026
Rank   School   Prev   W-L-T
1   Southwestern University   NR   8-1-0
2   University of Redlands   NR   6-1-4
3   Colorado College   NR   7-2-1
4   Pacific Lutheran University   NR   7-1-2
5   Whittier College   NR   2-2-2
6   Whitman College   NR   7-1-2
7   Claremont-McKenna-Harvey Mudd-Scripps Colleges   NR   5-3-3
8   Occidental College   NR   4-2-3

Same order as last week, but I expect things will either change or solidify with Southwestern playing Trinity, Whitman playing Pacific Lutheran, Occidental playing CMS, and Redlands playing Whittier this week

EDIT: I also have no idea where they are getting Whittier's record in the USC rankings.  They are 3-3-5 overall and 2-2-1 in the SCIAC.  Frankly, their placement seems outdated based on beating CMS and tying Oxy and Redlands, but they probably should have fallen out of the rankings entirely after losing to La Verne and Pomona-Pitzer in the last two games.

[Kuiper]

St. Olaf and Saint John's keeps motoring along, but Grinnell is also worth keeping an eye on

USC Region IX Poll 3 Sept. 29, 2026

Rank   School   Prev   W-L-T
1   St. Olaf College   NR   9-0-0
2   Saint John's University   NR   9-1-0
3   University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire   NR   5-1-2
4   Macalester College   NR   3-1-3
5   Gustavus Adolphus College   NR   4-2-1
6   Loras College   NR   6-1-0
7   Luther College   NR   2-2-2
8   Grinnell College   NR   8-1-0

Also receiving votes: Augsburg, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, University of Wisconsin-Superior

Region IX - Poll 4 - October 6, 2026
Rank   School   Prev   W-L-T
1   St. Olaf College   NR   11-0-0
2   Saint John's University   NR   11-1-0
3   Gustavus Adolphus College   NR   5-2-2
4   University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire   NR   5-2-3
5   Luther College   NR   4-2-2
6   Macalester College   NR   3-3-3
7   Augsburg University   NR   3-1-5
8   Wartburg College   NR   4-2-3

Also receiving votes: Loras College, University of Wisconsin-Superior, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

The top looks the same, but lots of movement in the bottom of the top 8.  Grinnell drops out completely.

[SocMom]

Not sure if this is the best forum section for this (and maybe it's old news and I'm just late to the party), but Marcello Hernandez (of SNL fame) made a few different comments on Amy Poehler's podcastabout his time at John Carroll where he played for a year before pursuing comedy full time. Played in 7 games.  Sounds like he was also recruited / offered by Occidental.  Random fun fact. 

[Kuiper]

Not sure if this is the best forum section for this (and maybe it's old news and I'm just late to the party), but Marcello Hernandez (of SNL fame) made a few different comments on Amy Poehler's podcastabout his time at John Carroll where he played for a year before pursuing comedy full time. Played in 7 games.  Sounds like he was also recruited / offered by Occidental.  Random fun fact. 

That's pretty cool!  I mean, I'm old enough to have never heard of him.  My SNL/soccer connection is Will Ferrell, who refereed my kids' soccer games in AYSO back in the day, but I just looked up Hernandez on the John Carroll men's soccer website and he certainly looked the part. 

[stlawus]

Not sure if this is the best forum section for this (and maybe it's old news and I'm just late to the party), but Marcello Hernandez (of SNL fame) made a few different comments on Amy Poehler's podcastabout his time at John Carroll where he played for a year before pursuing comedy full time. Played in 7 games.  Sounds like he was also recruited / offered by Occidental.  Random fun fact. 

That's pretty cool!  I mean, I'm old enough to have never heard of him.  My SNL/soccer connection is Will Ferrell, who referred my kids' soccer games in AYSO back in the day, but I just looked up Hernandez on the John Carroll men's soccer website and he certainly looked the part. 

Chevy Chase scored quite a good amount of goals for Bard.

[mngopher]

UWP up 1-0 at halftime on St. Olaf.

Needless to say it's one the St. Olaf goalie will not want to watch back.
Swing and a miss on the changeup baseball style.

[Kuiper]

Trinity (TX) 0 - Southwestern 0 (33rd minute)

Pretty even game in Georgetown.  Trinity is bringing in the subs, which may help them.  I feel like their bench has been more potent offensively than their starters lately.

[stlawus]

The one player for St. Olaf is insane on throw ins.  I don't know if I've seen a player be able to throw it that long.  Directly responsible for both goals.

[Kuiper]

Trinity (TX) 0 - Southwestern 0 (33rd minute)

Pretty even game in Georgetown.  Trinity is bringing in the subs, which may help them.  I feel like their bench has been more potent offensively than their starters lately.

FINAL:  Trinity 0 - Southwestern 0

Stalemate in Georgetown. Trinity took more shots and its xG would probably be a little higher if you could calculate it in a D3 game simply because they had more corners, but they were equal in terms of shots on goal.  If the two teams can run the table in the SAA, this just defers the question until the conference tournament.

[Ron Boerger]

Trinity (TX) 0 - Southwestern 0 (33rd minute)

Pretty even game in Georgetown.  Trinity is bringing in the subs, which may help them.  I feel like their bench has been more potent offensively than their starters lately.

FINAL:  Trinity 0 - Southwestern 0

Stalemate in Georgetown. Trinity took more shots and its xG would probably be a little higher if you could calculate it in a D3 game simply because they had more corners, but they were equal in terms of shots on goal.  If the two teams can run the table in the SAA, this just defers the question until the conference tournament.

The Southwestern writeup stated Trinity is "ranked second in the national poll" (which hasn't been true for good reason since the first poll after the season got underway) and the story of their women's loss said their opponents were "#8" (that's where they are in NPI, not a ranking; USC has them #25 as of yesterday afternoon, the first time they've been ranked this season).

Just report the facts - seven straight clean sheets is darned impressive no matter the opponents and you don't need to make your opponents look better than they actually are (and yes, there is a rivalry between the two schools and it's rare that Southwestern ends up on top so even a tie is a big deal).

[Kuiper]

Crazy game in Orange, CA

Chapman 3 - Occidental 1 (28th minute)

Chapman scored three goals in 40 seconds

14:21
14:44
15:01

Hudson Weinberger got a brace for Chapman in 17 seconds!  Both of his goals came from giveaways by Oxy in its own half and great finishes by Weinberger to the left side of the box, with the second a chip over the GK.

Oxy then got one back in the 21st minute

[Kuiper]

FINAL:  Chapman 3 - Occidental 1

Chapman parlayed a flurry of goals in 40 seconds of the first half to a big victory over previously undefeated in the SCIAC) Oxy.

FINAL:  CMS 2 - Caltech 0

What is it with SCIAC goals coming in bunches today?  Maybe it's the heat.  Players can push for a minute at a time and then the mid-90s weather slows everyone down.  CMS scored two goals within 56 seconds of each other early in the second half to try to mount a climb back into the SCIAC title race.

[Kuiper]

Some other results from Region X today that caught my eye:

Redlands 3 - Pomona-Pitzer 0

Unlike Oxy, Redlands took care of business and is now in sole possession of the SCIAC lead as the only remaining undefeated team.  Much like the afternoon games, Redlands had a flurry of goals less than two minutes apart early in the second half, but it was really pretty dominant throughout.

Cal Lutheran 2 - Whittier 0

Cal Lu gets its first conference win of the year and Whittier drops its third straight game.  Despite tying Redlands and Oxy and beating Chapman and CMS, Whittier is maddeningly inconsistent.

Azusa Pacific 2 - La Verne 1

Unlike Saint Francis, which has fallen flat on its face after moving from D1 to DIII, Azusa Pacific has proven that it would probably be a contender for the SCIAC conference tournament if it was allowed to play in the postseason this year.  They now are tied for the most total wins among conference teams.

George Fox 2 -Lewis & Clark 1

Lewis & Clark was 16 seconds away from getting its second result of the season, but conceded a goal in the 90th minute to leave the field empty-handed.

[Kuiper]

Crazy game in Orange, CA

Chapman 3 - Occidental 1 (28th minute)

Chapman scored three goals in 40 seconds

14:21
14:44
15:01

Hudson Weinberger got a brace for Chapman in 17 seconds!  Both of his goals came from giveaways by Oxy in its own half and great finishes by Weinberger to the left side of the box, with the second a chip over the GK.

Oxy then got one back in the 21st minute

Apparently, the three goals were officially in 43 seconds, but it is still an NCAA D3 record!  Take a look to see all three.

[Kuiper]

Seems like order has been restored in the ASC

Hardin-Simmons 3 - East Texas Baptist 1

H-S wins two in a row for the first time this season and has won 3 of the last 4.  For a team that started the season 1-5, being 4-6 and 3-1 in the ASC is a pretty good spot for them.  East Texas Baptist, by contrast, which started the season 4-0, including a 3-1 win over Southwestern, is winless in its last 7 and sits at 4-5-2 and 0-2-2 in the ASC.

Mary Hardin-Baylor 6 - McMurry 0

UMHB has now won its 5th in a row and is 8-2 and 4-0 in the ASC.  With its only losses against Whitman and Trinity (TX), UMHB is once again aiming for the NCAA tournament if it can get by Hardin-Simmons.  In this game, UMHB had the lead well in hand by the 48th minute when it had a 4-0 lead, but when McMurry went down to 10 men in the 74th minute after a straight red card, UMHB tacked on two more goals.