Ranking System

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Ranking System Details

Why Do We Use This Ranking System?

The purpose of instituting a new ranking system in Fall 2013 was to have a system that more accurately ranks teams against other teams in the league. In previous seasons, if a team wins a game, they get 2 points towards their record – regardless of what team they play. There is no consideration for the strength of the opponent. This new system rewards teams who win or tie against the teams with stronger records. With this system we want to motivate teams to grow within the sport, and reward teams for playing above their level within a challenging schedule.

“A” vs. “B” Teams

All teams (new and returning) are categorized as either an “A” team or a “B” team. A full team can be an “A” or “B” team and an Honorary team can be an “A” or a “B” team. The A/B split is only used for ranking purposes.

“A” Teams: > 1.4 average game points per game from the previous fall season*
“B” Teams: ≤ 1.4 average game points per game from the previous fall season*

OR a team that played less than 5 games in the previous fall season
OR a new team to the league

*Note: the cutoff may change each year, depending on the number of teams in each category

The purpose of categorizing teams is so that we can assign different game points (for a win/loss/tie) based on the type of opponent you play. If you play and win/tie against an “A” team will earn you more game points (towards your current fall season ranking) than if you play and win/tie against a “B” team. Instead of the traditional 2 points for a win and 1 point for a tie, your team will be awarded a certain number of game points toward winning percentage according to whether you played and won/tied against an “A” or “B” team. Losses are always zero no matter which team you play.

How We Categorize Teams

Using the historical data from the previous year’s fall scores, all teams are ranked and their average game points per game are calculated.
Only teams that played 5 or more games in the previous season were analyzed when determining the split between A/B divisions. We did this because we felt we couldn’t accurately “rank” a team that played 4 or fewer games.
All new teams are categorized as a “B” team because we have no past scores for them.

Game Points Awarded

Teams are ranked by their average game points per game. Average game points per game is derived by taking the total number of points and dividing that by the total number of games played. Points are assigned as follows:

Teams will receive 3 game points if they beat an “A” team and 2 game points if they tie an “A” team.
Teams will receive 2 game points if they beat a “B” team and 1 game point if they tie a “B” team.
Losses are always zero no matter which team you play.
Forfeit wins are 2 points regardless of your opponent. Forfeit losses are 0 points.
All points would be divided by the number of games played.
All tie-breakers remain the same.

1st place goes to the team with the highest average game points per game. Average game points per game is derived by taking the total number of game points and dividing that by the total number of games played.

If there is a tie between teams, then the following is applied until the tie is broken:

Average Goal Differential – average goals scored for the season minus average goals allowed for the season
Average Goals Scored for the season – total number of goals scored divided by the total number of
games played.
Average Goals Allowed for the season – total number of goals allowed divided by the total number
of games played.
Head to Head – the two teams who are in a tie will have their games viewed for the season. Whichever team has the highest number of points in that outcome wins. For example, if Team A beats Team B during the season, in the event of a tie between Team A and Team B, Team A would advance.
Average Goals Scored for the season – total number of goals scored divided by the total number of
games played.
Average Goals Allowed for the season – total number of goals allowed divided by the total number of
games played.

The top 16 teams in the league will advance to the Fall Championship.

2019 "A" Teams

Boston College (A)
College of William and Mary (A)
Dartmouth College (A)
Drexel University (A)
George Washington University (A)
Georgetown University (A)
Harvard University (A)
James Madison University (A)
Lehigh University (A)
Liberty University (A)
Loyola University Maryland (A)
Messiah College (A)
Northeastern University (A)
Penn State University (A)
Providence College (A)
Saint Josephs University (A)
Temple University (A)
Towson University (A)
University of Connecticut (A)
University of Delaware (A)
University of Maryland (A)
University of Massachusetts Amherst (A)
University of Massachusetts Lowell (A)
University of North Carolina – Chap (A)
University of Pennsylvania (A)
University of Pittsburgh (A)
University of Virginia (A)
Villanova University (A)
Virginia Commonwealth University (A)
Virginia Tech (A)
West Chester University (A)

2019 "B" Teams

American University (B)
Auburn University (B)
Bloomsburg University (B)
Brown University (B)
Bucknell University (B)
Christopher Newport University (B)
Clemson University (B)
Coastal Carolina University (B)
College of the Holy Cross (B)
Duke University (B)
Duquesne University (B)
East Carolina University (B)
Elon University (B)
Emmanuel College (B)
Emory University (B)
Fairfield University (B)
Florida State University (B)
George Mason University (B)
Georgia Tech (B)
Grove City College (B)
High Point University (B)
Indiana University (B)
Jefferson University (B)
Johns Hopkins University (B)
Lafayette College (B)
Longwood University (B)
Merrimack College (B)
Miami University (B)
Monmouth University (B)
Montclair State University (B)
Mount Saint Mary’s University (B)
Old Dominion University (B)
Ohio State University (B)
Radford University (B)
Rowan University (B)
Rutgers University (B)
Sacred Heart University (B)
Saint Anselm College (B)
Salisbury University (B)
Stonehill College (B)
Stony Brook University (B)
The College of New Jersey (B)
United States Naval Academy (B)
University of Colorado Boulder (B)
University of Florida (B)
University of Georgia (B)
University of Lynchburg (B)
University of Maine (B)
University of Mary Washington (B)
University of New England (B)
University of New Haven (B)
University of North Carolina – Charlotte (B)
University of North Carolina – Wilmington (B)
University of Notre Dame (B)
University of Rhode Island (B)
University of Richmond (B)
University of South Carolina (B)
University of Southern Maine (B)
University of the Sciences in Philadelphia (B)
University of Tampa (B)
University of Texas at Austin (B)
University of Vermont (B)
University of Wisconsin Madison (B)
Wake Forest University (B)
Washington College (B)
Washington University in St. Louis (B)
West Virginia University (B)
Xavier University (B)