MEN'S NEWS ... The second Men's Division I RPI index the NCAA released Tuesday underscores the parity in men's college soccer this year. The RPI -- Ratings Percentage Index -- includes teams from 14 different conferences among the top 28 teams and two major surprises. Not one of the 16 Big East teams is in the top 25, nor is any team from the Big West.

Three Big East teams are among the top nine teams in this week's Soccer America Men's Top 25: No. 5 Connecticut, No. 6 South Florida and No. 9 Louisville rank 30-34-44 in the RPI index. If the current RPI index were used to rank the 48 NCAA qualifiers -- the top-ranked teams from the 21 conferences whose champions get automatic bids and 27 at-large teams -- Louisville would not get in.

The two Big West teams in this week's Top 25 -- No. 7 UC Santa Barbara and No. 19 UC Irvine -- are No. 48 and No. 38 in the RPI index. Like Louisville, UCSB falls below the 42 teams who would get in as conference champions or at-large teams.

Also of note:
-- Two top 25 RPI teams -- No. 7 Indiana and No. 15 Loyola Marymount -- have .500 records.
-- Since the Mid-American Conference does not get an automatic berth this year, Northern Illinois (No. 46) and Hartwick (No. 61) have their work cut out. Akron (15-0-0) is No. 3 in the RPI Index and a shoo-in for an NCAA Tournament bid.

(Click here for the complete men's RPI.)

The Ratings Percentage Index is the most important of the criteria the NCAA uses to determine the 64-team field for the NCAA Division I Women's Tournament. The RPI is a mathematical formula designed to objectively compare results and strength of schedule.

2009 NCAA Men's Soccer RPI
1. Wake Forest, ACC
2. UCLA, Pac-10
3. Akron, Mid-American
4. Northwestern, Big Ten
5. San Diego, WCC
6. North Carolina, ACC
7. Indiana, Big Ten
8. North Carolina St., ACC
9. Duke, ACC
10. Princeton, Ivy
11. San Diego St., Pac-10
12. Charlotte, Atlantic 10
13. Butler, Horizon
14. Maryland, ACC
15. Loyola Marymount, WCC
16. Penn St., Big Ten
17. Stanford, Pac-10
18. Tulsa, Conference USA
19. Harvard, Ivy
20. Virginia, ACC
21. Monmouth, Northeast
22. South Carolina, Conference USA
23. Michigan St., Big Ten
24. Ohio St., Big Ten
25. American, Patriot

* TOP 25 ACTION. Corben Bone tied a career high with three assists to lead No. 2 Wake Forest to a 4-1 win over Davidson on Tuesday night. The victory extended the Demon Deacons' unbeaten streak to eight straight games. Only two other Top 25 games were played Tuesday. No. 11 N.C. State beat Centenary, 5-0. No. 13 Butler defeated Detroit, 3-0, in a game that had been rescheduled from last weekend because several Detroit players had been diagnosed with the flu, or flu-like symptoms. Elsewhere in the South, bad weather took its toll with four games cancelled, postponed or suspended. Among them was the game between No. 17 Duke and Presbyterian.

Tuesday Results

* CORRECTION. Connecticut's average attendance is 3,211, putting it second in the country behind only UC Santa Barbara.