Virginia is No. 1 again. After their second week of ACC play, where they knocked off a perfect Virginia Tech squad and tied with No. 10 Duke, the Hoos remain atop women's college soccer for the third week in a row.
Rounding out the top 5 are Stanford, North Carolina, BYU and Southern Cal — the same teams who were in the top 5 last week, just in a different order. BYU remains the only perfect team in women's college soccer with a 10-0-0 record.
HIGHLIGHTS | The Hoos and Blue Devils battled to a scoreless draw on Sunday afternoon at Klöckner Stadium. #GoHoos pic.twitter.com/mYZ2DrqMjM
— Virginia Women's Soccer (@UVAWomenSoccer) September 29, 2019
There wasn't a lot of movement elsewhere in the top 10, as the only newcomer is Memphis who was bumped up to No. 9 after being ranked No. 11. The Tigers knocked off a pair of Florida schools this past week, beating UCF 1-0 and South Florida 2-1. Memphis will battle UConn and Temple this week continuing conference play.
South Carolina and Clemson both gained a spot after stellar weeks in their respective conferences. The Gamecocks beat Alabama 5-2 and knocked off a then No.-13 Arkansas team 1-0. Clemson lost to defending national champs Florida State 2-1 but battled back and beat Virginia Tech a couple of days later 3-1.
Check out the full rankings below:
|
RANK |
SCHOOL |
POINTS |
RECORD |
PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Virginia (22) | 830 | 9-0-2 | 1 |
| 2 | Stanford (7) | 812 | 8-1-0 | 2 |
| 3 | North Carolina (2) | 785 | 10-1-0 | 4 |
| 4 | BYU (2) | 724 | 10-0-0 | 5 |
| 5 | Southern California (1) | 712 | 7-1-1 | 3 |
| 6 | Florida State | 693 | 9-2-0 | 6 |
| 7 | South Carolina | 643 | 9-1-0 | 8 |
| 8 | Clemson | 583 | 8-1-1 | 9 |
| 9 | Memphis | 545 | 10-1-0 | 11 |
| 10 | Duke | 532 | 6-1-3 | 10 |
| 11 | Georgetown | 497 | 7-2-1 | 12 |
| 12 | Texas A&M | 475 | 9-1-2 | 14 |
| 13 | Wisconsin | 392 | 7-2-1 | 19 |
| 14 | Washington State | 386 | 8-1-0 | 21 |
| 15 | Arkansas | 361 | 8-2-1 | 13 |
| 16 | UCLA | 296 | 6-2-1 | 7 |
| 17 | Colorado | 269 | 9-1-0 | 24 |
| 18 | Texas Tech | 258 | 9-1-1 | 25 |
| 19 | Louisville | 249 | 9-1-0 | 22 |
| 20 | California | 203 | 9-1-0 | RV |
| 21 | Kansas | 180 | 9-3-0 | 17 |
| 22 | SMU | 153 | 7-1-1 | 23 |
| 23 | Virginia Tech | 121 | 9-2-0 | 16 |
| 24 | Michigan | 97 | 8-2-1 | RV |
| 25 | Oklahoma State | 83 | 7-1-3 | 18 |
BYU are the queens of perfection
The Cougars' streak of perfection has been extended another week. This 4th ranked BYU squad is looking really strong, and has a chance to finish the regular season without a loss or a tie as the rest of their schedule doesn't offer a ranked opponent.
ACC PLAY: 5 things to know as ACC conference play continues
BYU moved from No. 5 to No. 4 this week and look to be one of the strongest contenders for the crown so far this season.
There are only two other undefeated teams in Division I women's soccer — No. 1 Virginia and unranked Central Michigan. Virginia holds down the No. 1 spot with two ties on the season, against Wake Forest and Duke. Central Michigan, who hasn't been ranked all year, is 5-0-2 with draws against Northwestern and University of Illinois at Chicago.
BIggest risers, biggest fallers
Washington State, Colorado and Texas Tech all jumped seven spots from last week's rankings to this week's. Washington State, who ended Oregon State's perfect record of 8-0-0 beating them 2-1, jumped from No. 21 to No. 14. Colorado also made moves in the Pac-12 after beating Arizona 2-1 in double overtime. They moved from No. 24 to No. 17. The Red Raiders jumped from No. 25 to No. 18 after knocking off a surging Oklahoma State squad 1-0 and tying Oklahoma 1-1.
Another big jump in this week's rankings was from Wisconsin who moved six spots from No. 19 to No. 13. They beat Penn State 1-0.
As for the fallers, Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech both fell seven spots after tough weeks. The Cowgirls lost to Texas Tech and tied TCU. The Hokies lost perfection after losing to No. 1 Virginia and now-No. 8 Clemson.
UCLA had the biggest fall as they exited the top 10. The Bruins fell nine spots after dropping a match against Cal. Cal and Michigan are both newcomers to this week's standings.
Dropped out
Vanderbilt (15) and Rutgers (20) are the only two teams to fall from the rankings this week after they each went without a win or a tie this past week.
Looking ahead
All conferences are in the thick of conference play this week, as the Big 12 and Pac-12 joined the rest of the power 5 in conference play last week.
For the Big 12, one of the main movers in last week's poll will face its first consistent force in the Big 12 this year. No. 25 Oklahoma State will host No. 21 Kansas on Thursday, Oct. 3. The Cowgirls will hope to bounce back after dropping their first match in conference play last week versus Texas Tech and striking up a draw against TCU. Kansas hopes to win its second straight in-conference battle after beating Baylor 4-1 last week. The Jayhawks currently sit at 1-1 in Big 12 play after that Baylor victory. They dropped their first Big 12 match against Texas last week.
When you think about being 2-0 in the Big 12 and just can't hold it in anymore! 💃 #RAMPED pic.twitter.com/vHoaRGDb2B
— Texas Soccer (@TexasSoccer) October 1, 2019
Speaking of the Longhorns, they'll be in two big matches this week versus in-state foe TCU on Oct. 3 and then against defending Big 12 champs West Virginia. Texas was an early-season favorite to win the Big 12 but struggled in non-conference play. The 7-4 Longhorns will hope to get two wins this week and be ranked soon after that.
In the Big Ten, No. 24 Michigan and No. 13 Wisconsin — the two teams atop the Big Ten at the moment — will face each other Thursday, Oct. 3. The Badgers, who are the highest-ranked team in the Big Ten nationally, will also take on Purdue on Oct. 6.
Two teams looking for a bounce-back win, Rutgers and Penn State, will play each other on Oct. 3. Penn State, a team that was an early favorite to win the conference, fell flat in non-conference play. They've gone 2-2 in the conference so far. Rutgers has lost two straight in conference play.
PAC-12 PLAY: 5 things to know as Pac-12 conference play continues
The SEC features two high-profile games this week. The South Carolina Gamecocks, who sit atop the SEC with a 3-0 in-conference record and a 9-1 overall record, will face Missouri on Oct. 4. Another 3-0 in-conference team is Florida. The Gators will face a rising Texas A&M squad who is also 3-0 in the SEC and is ranked 12th nationally.
Virginia headlines the beginning of ACC play this week, as the Hoos will try to remain unbeaten when they visit Miami on Oct. 4. Clemson will visit North Carolina in a top-10 matchup on Oct. 5 that will feature an ACC powerhouse hosting a team trying to break-through a tough conference in the Tigers, who are 8-1-1. Virginia Tech, who this time last week was one of three remaining teams without a loss or a tie on their record, will look to bounce back after two straight losses against a No. 10 Duke squad — who recently tied with Virginia.
Many Pac-12 teams will be embarking on their second in-conference match this week, as the Washington State Cougars looks to maintain their momentum when they take on No. 2 Stanford and No. 20 California. California, Stanford and Washington State are all 1-0 to start Pac-12 play.
Another match to keep an eye on is Colorado vs. Oregon State. Similar to Virginia Tech, Oregon State was one of three perfect teams remaining in the DI women's soccer this time last week. After dropping its first game of the year to Washington State, the Beavers will look to bounce back against No. 17 Colorado.
A look back at last night’s win over Oregon State to open Pac-12 play. #CougsVsEverybody | #GoCougs pic.twitter.com/F3OdLXFcWU
— Washington State Soccer (@WSUCougarSoccer) September 29, 2019
Outside of the power 5, keep an eye on BYU. The Cougars are the only remaining perfect team left in DI women's soccer, as they sit at 10-0. The No. 4 Cougars will face Santa Clara, a team that already upset UCLA on Oct. 5. Georgetown is another team to keep an eye on, as the No. 11 Hoyas continue Big East play against Villanova and Providence this week.
