Published 9/19/2011 4:09:13 PM by Roberto Garcia from soccermogul

The 2011 college soccer season is about to enter the meat of the schedule as teams are winding down their non-conference schedules.  Of course the usual big boys are having solid early seasons.  Maryland is #1 and unbeaten as the ACC is once again the power conference along with the Big East.  The top four in the rankings come from these two conferences.

The Early surprises
Central Florida 6-0-1  Looking to make waves in Conference USA behind scoring leader McKauly Tulloch who already has notched 9 goals on the season.
Air Force 5-1-0  A stout offense is producing plenty of goals.
Creighton 6-0-0  Led by a defense that has yet to allow a goal in their six matches so far.  Road tests at Maryland and Indiana await though.
New Mexico 5-0-2  A resurgence in Albuquerque.  A good win over Santa Clara and a draw with champions Akron so far.
UC Irvine 7-1-0  The Big West Conference looks strong this year and UCI should be fighting for the title.
San Diego State 5-1-1  A soft schedule so far.  Can they compete in the Pac 12?
Alabama Birmingham 5-0-2  UAB should be a contender in Conference USA.  Have a quality win over Clemson.

The Early Disappointments
Both Michigan schools.  Michigan is limping along at 2-6-1 while Michigan State is even worse off at 1-5-1.
SMU 3-3-0  The once powerful program has fallen since Schellas Hyndman left for FC Dallas.
California 2-2-2  The one-time power is having a down year so far.
Duke 2-4-0  A difficult schedule so far but little to show for it.

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