BYU has joined the party. After knocking off then-No. 14 Kansas and Kansas State, the Cougars were bumped up from No. 7 into the top 5 of the United Soccer Coaches poll. Aside from BYU, Virginia, Stanford, Southern Cal and North Carolina round out spots 1-4.
Virginia held onto the top spot after last-minute heroics from Anna Sumpter in the 90th minute to notch a 1-1 tie against Wake Forest in the Hoos' ACC opener. This combined with USC also tying last week, against Baylor, allowed Stanford to sneak into the No. 2 spot, and kept UVA No. 1 overall.
Here's a look at that equalizer in the 90th minute from Anna Sumpter off the pass from Courtney Petersen tonight at Wake Forest. #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/QgJn69xCFg
— Virginia Women's Soccer (@UVAWomenSoccer) September 21, 2019
Among other movements in the top-10, UCLA fell a couple of spots after a tie and a win versus Pepperdine and Hawaii respectively. Pepperdine was the squad that shocked Stanford earlier this month.
Duke dropped from No. 8 to No. 10 after opening ACC play with a tie versus North Carolina State. In other ACC news, Clemson moved up a ring after beating Notre Dame. The Tigers remain undefeated but will be challenged in their next match, as they face defending champion Florida State.
ACC PREVIEW: ACC conference play has started. Here's what you need to know.
SEC power South Carolina fell a spot even after beating conference foe Georgia earlier in the weekend. The Gamecocks are back in action on Sept. 26 when they face Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Check out the full rankings below:
|
RANK |
SCHOOL |
TOTAL POINTS |
W-L-T |
PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virginia (28) | 838 | 8-0-1 | 1 |
| 2 | Stanford (4) | 795 | 7-1-0 | 3 |
| 3 | Southern California | 765 | 7-0-1 | 2 |
| 4 | North Carolina | 760 | 8-1-0 | 4 |
| 5 | BYU (2) | 687 | 8-0-0 | 7 |
| 6 | Florida State | 679 | 7-2-0 | 6 |
| 7 | UCLA | 664 | 6-1-1 | 5 |
| 8 | South Carolina | 588 | 7-1-0 | 9 |
| 9 | Clemson | 567 | 7-0-1 | 10 |
| 10 | Duke | 481 | 5-1-2 | 8 |
| 11 | Memphis | 470 | 8-1-0 | 11 |
| 12 | Georgetown | 462 | 6-2-1 | 12 |
| 13 | Arkansas | 434 | 7-1-1 | 16 |
| 14 | Texas A&M | 392 | 7-1-2 | 15 |
| 15 | Vanderbilt | 314 | 8-1-0 | 17 |
| 16 | Virginia Tech | 313 | 9-0-0 | 18 |
| 17 | Kansas | 290 | 8-2-0 | 14 |
| 18 | Oklahoma State | 266 | 7-0-2 | 25 |
| 19 | Wisconsin | 230 | 6-2-1 | RV |
| 20 | Rutgers | 217 | 7-1-1 | 13 |
| 21 | Washington State | 212 | 7-1-0 | 24 |
| 22 | Louisville | 134 | 7-1-0 | 20 |
| 23 | SMU | 103 | 7-1-1 | RV |
| 24 | Colorado | 85 | 8-1-0 | RV |
| 25 | Texas Tech | 58 | 8-1-0 | RV |
Out of those seven, only two remain perfect in these rankings — BYU and Virginia Tech.
Virginia tied Wake Forest while USC drew Baylor. Iowa's dream of perfection ended when Purdue took them down, 1-0. Louisville got knocked down by North Carolina and California fell to Portland.
Of those remaining in the top 25, BYU has an easier path to reach the end of the season unbeaten. The rest of BYU's schedule doesn't include another top 25 team, compared to Virginia Tech, who has to traverse a very tough ACC.
The Hokies will get their second taste of ACC play against No. 1 Virginia on Sept. 26.
Biggest risers
Oklahoma State had the biggest jump within the top 25, as they leaped from No. 25 to No. 18, up seven spots. The Cowgirls are coming off of a victory and a draw, first prevailing against Kennesaw State before tying SMU.
SEC PREVIEW: SEC conference play has kicked-off. 5 things you need to know about the conference.
In the top-10, BYU made the biggest leap, jumping from No. 7 to No. 5.
There are some newcomers to the United Soccer Coaches poll as well. Wisconsin, SMU, Colorado and Texas Tech joined the top 25 this week.
Dropped out
California (21), Iowa (19), South Florida (22) and Penn State (23) fell from the rankings after each of those teams lost a game in the past week.
Looking ahead
Conference play is already underway for the SEC, ACC and Big Ten, but the Big 12 and Pac-12 begin the battle for their respective crowns this week.
The Pac-12 will feature a top-5 matchup this week between Southern Cal and Stanford on Sept. 28. This match will be one of the more important league matches all season, as both Stanford and USC will look to compete for women soccer's ultimate prize come late November and into early December.
It also features some of the top talent conference-wide as defending MAC Hermann trophy award winner Catarina Macario faces off against the Trojans' high-flying attacking duo of Penelope Hocking and Tara McKeown. Hocking and McKeown have combined for 36 points so far this season.
The quest for a 5th straight Pac-12 🏆 begins Saturday when we take on USC in Los Angeles!!! 🌲⚽️ #NextStartsNow #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/vbhRXqW6ed
— Stanford Women's Soccer (@StanfordWSoccer) September 23, 2019
UCLA and Cal meet in another high-profile Pac-12 matchup. The Golden Bears were on a tear before dropping their first game of the season to Portland last week. UCLA notched a win and a tie, drawing Pepperdine 2-2 before beating Hawaii 4-0 at the Rainbow Wahine Shootout. Cal's defense will be put to the test when they face Ashley Sanchez and Jesse Fleming of UCLA. The Golden Bears have only allowed 3 goals this year.
The Big 12 features one of the conference's best defenses versus its best offense when Texas Tech faces Oklahoma State. The Red Raiders are led by Kirsten Davis, who leads the Big 12 with 10 goals, tied for the Division I lead. The Cowgirls hope to slow down Davis up-front and have the means to do so. Oklahoma State has allowed 5 goals this season, owning the Big 12's lowest goals allowed average of .52.
In the ACC, a pair of top-25 matchups highlight the second week of conference play. Clemson will host defending champ Florida State and Virginia will meet an undefeated Virginia Tech squad in a highly-anticipated Commonwealth Cup clash. The Hokies are one of the few teams who have a perfect record, with no ties or losses, at 9-0-0. They'll be coming off of their first ACC win, knocking off Miami 2-0 last Saturday. The Hoos will be coming off of their first non-win of the season, as they tied Wake Forest 1-1 last week.
No. 18 Tech starts ACC with a 2-0 victory over Miami@emily_gray04 scores twice (📹 86' insurance goal) @mandykmcglynn ties school record #Hokies remain perfect
— Virginia Tech Women's Soccer (@HokiesWSoccer) September 22, 2019
📰 https://t.co/i1hgUOgDwg pic.twitter.com/EgxLprypKy
Other teams with perfect records that are in action this week include BYU and Oregon State. BYU, who still has another week before they start conference play will take on Long Beach State on Thursday. Oregon State will get its first in-conference test at Washington State on Saturday -- a match that should test the Beavers perfect record.
