The Richland College men’s soccer team finished last season as the No. 1 team after winning the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III championship.

So far, according to the first NJCAA poll of the season that was released last week, nothing has changed as the defending champs were ranked No. 1, while the Lady Thunderducks – also 2006 champions – are No. 7.

Despite coming off a 3-2 loss to Tyler on Saturday, the men are 5-2-1 on the season.

“We have had a really tough schedule to prepare us for the season and for our boys to be ranked No. 1 is a huge accomplishment,” men’s head coach Sean Worely said after the polls were released. “We need to continue to work hard and [hopefully] we can be No. 1 at the end of the season.”

On the season, the men have beaten Lon Morris (6-2), Tyler (3-2), De Anza College (3-2), Morton (5-2) and Kansas City (2-1) while its other loss was to Marshalltown (2-1).

Forward David Freeland leads the Thunderducks in scoring with 19 points, having scored nine goals and assisting on one.

“We have some big games coming up,” Worely said. “We need to continue to get better and prepare for the playoffs.”

The men will host Mountain View College on Wednesday at 8 p.m. before hitting the road Sunday, Sept. 23 to face Sun Hill College.

Meanwhile, the women will play two homes and one away this week.

The Lady Thunderducks will be at home Tuesday against Eastfield at 4 p.m. and Saturday against Cisco College at 7 p.m while their away game is Friday against Brookhaven.

“Our trip to California [Sept. 7-8] … the teams were a little bit better than anticipated,” Lady Thunderducks coach Rex Rayfield said. “But since we have come back, I have been happy with the way we played.”

The women enter Tuesday’s matchup with a 2-3-1 record and the Lady Thunderducks are coming off a 2-1 win against Navarro College, having stopped a three-game losing streak.

Karina Almendarez leads the Lady Thunderducks in scoring with three goals.

“It [the win against Navarro College] builds confidence as we go into conference play,” Rayfield said. “It was a quality win against a good team.”