NPI Rankings |
NPI Explanation
INDIANAPOLIS – The Slippery Rock University women's soccer team stayed fourth in the Atlantic Region NCAA Power Index Rankings after the second set of rankings were released Monday.
The NCAA Power Index (NPI) is a rankings system used in Division II and Division III to evaluate team performance. NPI considers game results and the strength of opponents to calculate a team's NPI value and ranking.
NPI calculations update throughout the season as teams play additional contests and opponent NPI values change. A team's final NPI is not determined until the final games and rankings of the season are complete.
The NPI takes place of the NCAA's previous regional rankings system and will determine the at-large teams selected to the championship after the automatic qualifiers have been decided.
For more information on the NCAA Power Index click
HERE.
The Division II women's soccer playoff field features 56 teams from across the nation, with each region receiving a pre-determined amount of berths based on access ratio.
The Atlantic Region has seven spots in the NCAA Tournament this season as the conference champions from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and the Mountain East Conference will earn automatic berths in addition to five at-large selections determined by the final NPI rankings.
The second set of rankings includes six teams from the PSAC and three from the MEC. Inside the PSAC, there were two schools in the rankings from the PSAC West and four from the PSAC East.
Slippery Rock enters its game Wednesday versus Gannon University with a 12-2-1 overall record and the fourth-best NPI among all teams in the region. The three teams ahead of SRU are No. 21 Fairmont State University (62.245 / 13-0-2), No. 4 Kutztown (60.087 / 12-1-2) and No. 17 West Chester University (59.750 / 11-1-1). SRU is 1-1-1 against the top nine teams in the Atlantic Region in the first set of rankings, going 1-0-0 against Frostburg State University, 0-0-1 against Gannon and 0-1-0 against Fairmont State.
Outside of Kutztown and West Chester swapping position's, the top half of the Atlantic Region rankings stayed the same. Gannon jumped from eighth to fifth in the regional rankings, surpassing Frostburg State, Shepherd University and Point Park University.
The Rock are looking to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. Slippery Rock was a staple in the NCAA Tournament under current head coach
Noreen Herlihy during her first stint at SRU. She led the program to the national playoffs nine times between 2001 and 2013.
Slippery Rock is currently locked in a tight battle with Gannon for the top spot in the PSAC West standings with each team having just three games remaining in the regular season. The Rock enter the week ahead of the Golden Knights by three points in the division with the two teams facing off 3 p.m. Wednesday. Slippery Rock would clinch the PSAC with a win against Gannon.
A look at the top nine teams based on NPI in the Atlantic Region can be seen below.
ATLANTIC REGION RANKINGS
Oct. 19, 2026
| Rank |
Team |
NPI |
Record |
| 1 |
Fairmont State |
62.245 |
13-0-2 |
| 2 |
Kutztown |
60.087 |
12-1-2 |
| 3 |
West Chester |
59.750 |
11-1-1 |
| 4 |
Slippery Rock |
58.637 |
12-2-1 |
| 5 |
Gannon |
57.165 |
11-2-2 |
| 6 |
Frostburg State |
57.134 |
11-2-2 |
| 7 |
Shepherd |
54.854 |
10-4-1 |
| 8 |
Millersville |
54.479 |
8-3-3 |
| 9 |
Point Park |
54.373 |
9-5-1 |
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