INDIANAPOLIS --- The Tusculum College men's soccer team is second in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region rankings, which were released Wednesday afternoon.

NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Regional Rankings

Earlier in the week, the Pioneers learned they had slipped to 25th in the latest National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Division II Top 25 poll and fourth in the NSCAA regional rankings.

Tusculum was the top-ranked team in last week's initial NCAA Southeast Region rankings, but dropped behind Wingate following last week's defeats. The remainder of the top eight in the region remains unchanged, with Pfeiffer, Limestone, Lenoir-Rhyne, Lander, Montevallo and Lincoln Memorial comprising the rest of the survey.

The NCAA regional rankings are the official poll utilized by the NCAA in the championship selection process and will continue to be released each week by the NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Committee up to the NCAA Championship selections. A total of six teams will be selected on an at-large basis by the committee to participate in the NCAA Southeast Region tournament.

The Pioneers had been ranked in the top 10 after opening the season with 12 straight victories, but suffered back-to-back losses to Carson-Newman (2-1 in double overtime) and Catawba (3-0) to fall from seventh in last week's coaches survey. Wingate remains at number one in the NSCAA national poll, followed by LIU Post, Simon Fraser, Charleston and Lynn. In the region, Tusculum trails Wingate, Limestone and Pfeiffer.

Tusculum defeated Coker 2-0 on Tuesday to improve to 13-2-0 overall and 8-2-0 in the South Atlantic Conference heading into Saturday's showdown at Wingate, which begins at 6:30 p.m. The Pioneers have clinched second place in the conference and will host a SAC Tournament quarterfinal match on Tuesday night against an opponent to be determined.