St. Ignatius, Noblesville start the fall ranked No. 1

In boys soccer, it's more of the same. For the girls, there's a new face in the top spot. St. Ignatius (Ohio) boys and Noblesville (Ind.) girls start the fall high school season as the Top 50 No. 1 teams. St. Ignatius finished as co-No. 1 with St. Benedict's (N.J.) in 2019 after the powerhouses tied a head-to-head meeting and then delivered undefeated seasons. St. Ignatius added a fourth Top 50 national title last fall following a 21-0 season that was great affected by COVID. A number of fall-playing states pushed high school soccer to the spring season, and some teams never did play. The Wildcats have claimed four Top 50 titles since 2010. St. Benedict's, which has not played a high school match since winning the New Jersey Prep A title in early November of 2019, starts at No. 2. These two teams are far above the rest of the field. On the girls side, Noblesville steps into No. 1 for the first time ever, ahead of last year's Top 50 fall champion Strongsville (Ohio). Noblesville carries a 38-match undefeated streak in the 2021 campaign. The Millers went 17-0-3 in 2019 and finished No. 3 in the Top 50. Last year, the Millers went 17-0-1 and finished No. 2 behind Strongsville. Strongsville, meanwhile, begins the season ranked No. 2, just in front of McDonogh (Md.). Strongsville and McDonogh are scheduled to clash on Oct. 2 in Maryland. VIEW THE COMPLETE PRESEASON Top 50s -- FALL BOYS | FALL GIRLS PRESEASON REGIONAL RANKINGS -- FALL BOYS | FALL GIRLS The Top 50 attempts to identify those legitimate state title challengers who have some combination of projected college-bound talent and/or a regional/national schedule that would prove a team's worth on the field. But sizing up the preseason Top 50, which starts its 23rd year, was more difficult than any previous season due to the ongoing pandemic that ravaged the high school scene last school year. For the fall states that played, only a handful completed an entire schedule capped by a state tournament. Nearly every state reduced the number of matches and restricted or outright banned non-league and out-of-state competition. Some states delayed the fall season to the spring, which resulted in smaller schedules. In some places, teams were reduced to a six-match season, and still, others never played a match. The net results were less media attention and fewer all-league/all-metro/all-state honors to identify underclass players. Factor in a modified club season, and it all added up to diminished opportunity to assess players that are returning for the 2021-2022 school year. Despite those obstacles, the process of selecting the preseason Top 50, along with the state and regional rankings, proved to be the same, which included hundreds of emails and phone calls to contacts across the country. Since the Top 50 is assembled during the summer months, there's not a 100 percent guarantee that some of the projected returners will play high school soccer due to club commitments. At the same time, a school could receive a surprise influx of club players that could change its fortunes. Over the next four months, teams' ranking positions will change as the preseason hype is replaced by regular-season results. BOYS When it comes to fall high school boys soccer, there are really only two national powers. Everyone else is playing for No. 3. St. Ignatius figures to have at least seven future NCAA Division I players in the starting 11 this fall. St. Benedict's boasts similar projections, which includes a recent transfer who has played in the top professional league in his country and has been called into that country's men's national team player pool. Unfortunately, these teams will not meet in 2021. A renewal of the rivalry is being discussed for 2022. But for the time being, St. Ignatius gets the preseason nod. Both teams play demanding schedules, so the battle for No. 1 will play itself out on the field. For the record, either St. Benedict's or St. Ignatius has finished No. 1 in the Top 50 every year since 2010 except for the 2013 season. Naperville North (Ill.), Brentwood (N.Y.) and Delbarton School (N.J.) start in the Nos. 3, 4 and 5 spots. Naperville North plays an exceptionally strong Chicago-based schedule and the competitive level of play makes it highly unlikely the team could go undefeated. But if it does, a spot at No. 3 or higher awaits the Huskies. Brentwood, the reigning New York AA champ from 2019 since there was no 2020 event, has the easiest path to an undefeated season among the Top 5, but even that will be a tall order. Delbarton has better control of its ranking destiny as the school will clash with St. Benedict's in mid-September. A win in that matchup will make Delbarton a No. 1 contender. A loss would pretty much eliminate it from No. 1 consideration. Overall, the Top 20 is stocked with perennial nationally ranked programs that tend to reload every season. GIRLS Noblesville graduated the state's player of the year from 2020, but the squad is primed for a run at a third straight state title. The lofty expectations were aided by a transfer as Noblesville added North Carolina commit Nona Reason to the roster. The US Youth National Team keeper moved from California to Indiana last school year, and the move solidifies what was already a solid lineup. Noblesville, unfortunately, will not play as strong of a regular-season schedule this fall as it could not participate in the Zionsville Lady Eagle Invitational, which brings together top programs from Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. Covid precautions limited the number of teams able to participate and Noblesville was one team that was not invited back, according to the program's head coach. Noblesville's lack of out-of-state competition leaves its No. 1 standing a little bit precarious. No. 2 Strongsville and No. 3 McDonogh clash in two months, and if the winner of that meeting delivers an undefeated season, it certainly could make a strong argument for the No. 1 spot. Perennial powers Eastern (N.J.) and Portland Jesuit (Ore.) hold down the Nos. 4 and 5 spots. Both are coming off undefeated seasons but lost key players to graduation. Eastern finished No. 2 in the fall Top 50 last year. Portland Jesuit was the Top 50 No. 1 team in 2018 and 2019 but saw its 2020 campaign pushed to the spring of 2021. Jesuit responded with a 10-0-1 campaign, which extended the program's undefeated streak to 69 matches. These five are the clear frontrunners when it comes to talking of the national title this season. Pretty much every team in the Top 20 features lineups with multiple NCAA Division I-bound players.