Women's college soccer rankings: Virginia No. 1, Arkansas continues school-record rise

Knock knock. Hoos there? It's Virginia at No. 1 again and they are not joking around as this is the sixth week in a row the Cavaliers have claimed the top spot in the United Soccer Coaches rankings. Stanford, North Carolina, BYU and Florida State round out the top 5 this week. 

Arkansas continued its rise in the rankings after knocking off then-No. 18 Texas A&M last Friday, 3-1. This is the highest ranking in Razorbacks women's soccer history, beating their record of No. 8 last week. They are also the highest-ranked team in the SEC now, hopping No. 8 South Carolina. 

Just an absolute screamer from @parkergoins 🤯🤒🤭🤐 pic.twitter.com/W5Bm8qiPnr

— Razorback Soccer (@RazorbackSoccer) October 19, 2019

Washington State is back in the top-25, clocking in at No. 19, after a strong victory versus Oregon. The highest-ranking the Cougars have achieved so far this season is No. 13. They'll get a chance bump up their current ranking this week when they take on No. 7 Southern Cal and No. 18 UCLA. 

Check out the full rankings below:

A new face has emerged in the top 25, out of the Ivy League. The Brown Bears make their first appearance this season, clocking in at No. 24 with a 10-1-1 record. Their one loss came against Villanova on Sept. 22 and the tie was against a then-No. 13 Texas A&M squad. The Bears are 4-0 in conference play, and lead the Ivy League with Harvard and Yale right behind them, each at 3-1. 

Biggest risers, biggest fallers

Outside of Brown and Washington State, Virginia Tech is also back in the top 25. They have been in-and-out of the rankings all year. The Hokies will have three matches left in the ACC, including a date versus No. 3 North Carolina on Sunday, Oct. 27. 

Both Florida State and BYU gained a spot. The Seminoles cracked the top-5 once again, as BYU moved from No. 5 to No. 4. The Cougars still remain one of two undefeated teams left in the country, the other being No. 1 Virginia. Florida State will face its last major test of the season Thursday at Chapel Hill against the Tar Heels. 

Other notable risers include Michigan (No. 19 to No. 16) and Florida (No. 24 to No. 20). 

Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Southern Cal all dropped several spots. The Red Raiders fell to an unranked TCU squad this past week 1-2, pushing them from No. 13 to No. 17 in the rankings. The Aggies were handily beaten by Arkansas 1-3, making them fall from No. 18 to No. 22. And the Trojans were upset and shutout by the California Golden Bears in their lone match of the weekend 3-0. They fell from No. 4 to No. 7. 

Dropped out:

Santa Clara (No. 20), UCF (No. 21) and Washington (No. 25) all fell out of the rankings.

What's ahead for the Top 25

One of the last weekends of the women's college soccer's regular season will begin on Thursday when teams will make their final push to claim a top spot in their respective conference before post-season play begins. 

The top four teams in the ACC will face each other on Thursday. No. 12 Louisville will travel to Charlottesville to take on the top team in the land, No. 1 Virginia. The other two teams, who sit atop the standings in the ACC, are Florida State and North Carolina. The fifth-ranked Seminoles will travel to Chapel Hill to face No. 3 UNC on Thursday. This match will not only determine who will most likely go on to be the regular-season champion of the ACC, but it is also a rematch of last year's College Cup final. FSU won that match 1-0. 

🎥The Noles made it rain goals on the Hurricanes last night 💪🏼🌧#OneTribe pic.twitter.com/hYV1mOHXh2

— FSU Soccer (@FSUSoccer) October 19, 2019

Only two of the four top four teams in the Big 12 face each other this week. No. 17 Texas Tech faces in-state rival Texas on Oct. 27. The Red Raiders sit one point behind the Longhorns and five points behind conference leader No. 13 Oklahoma State, which will be in action Oct. 25 against Oklahoma. The other Big 12 team in the top four of the conference is Kansas, who will be playing West Virginia on Oct. 24. 

The big match of the weekend in the Big Ten comes Oct. 24 when No. 21 Rutgers visits Ann Arbor to take on No. 16 Michigan. The Scarlet Knights and Wolverines are fourth and tied for first in the Big Ten respectively. The other two teams in contention for the regular-season Big Ten crown? That'd be No. 10 Wisconsin and Penn State, who are both in action this week. The Badgers play Illinois on Oct. 24 and Northwestern on Oct. 27. The Nittany Lions are only in action once this weekend when they face Nebraska on Oct. 27. 

It's a big week for the conference of champions in the world of women's soccer. A pair of Washington teams will take on a pair of southern California schools this week, when both Washington and No. 19 Washington State travel to Los Angeles to take on No. 18 UCLA and No. 7 Southern Cal. The Bruins host the Huskies on Oct. 24 as the Trojans face the Cougars on the same day. They'll flip-flop on Oct. 27, as the two Washington teams maximize their trips to SoCal. 

This #GameWeek is going to be something special!

On Thursday, we will be hosting our first Pride Night. And before Sunday's game, we will be honoring our amazing senior class and recognizing our World Cup players.

🎟️: https://t.co/kVkkA2nwCE pic.twitter.com/1jGqBiIpGe

— UCLA Women's Soccer (@UCLAWSoccer) October 21, 2019

Elsewhere in the Pac-12, California will visit Boulder to take on Colorado. Cal will look to keep the momentum rolling after they beat then-No. 4 USC last Friday. 

In the SEC, No. 20 Florida will battle No. 8 South Carolina for a shot at the regular-season crown on Oct. 27. This is a crucial match for both teams, as Arkansas and Florida sit atop the standings with 18 points, followed by the Gamecocks who have 17. No. 6 Arkansas will face Auburn on Oct. 24 and Georgia Oct. 27. 

Elsewhere in the country, No. 4 BYU will look to remain undefeated when they face Portland on Oct. 23 and San Diego on Oct. 26.