Evan Marinofsky | NCAA.com | August 27, 2021

Women's college soccer rankings: Florida State, Santa Clara lead preseason Top 25

Florida State v. Santa Clara: Full PK shootout

Florida State ranks No. 1 in the 2021 United Soccer Coaches preseason Top 25 poll after falling just short of winning the title last season. The Seminoles' lineup is headlined by Jaelin Howell, last season's Hermann Trophy winner.

Santa Clara, which took down Florida State in the championship game on penalty kicks, opens the season at No. 2. The Broncos did, however, garner more first-place votes than No. 1 Florida State, with 18 compared to the Seminoles' 11.

Rank	SCHOOL	POINTS	PREV
1	Florida State (11)	794	2
2	Santa Clara (18)	788	1
3	North Carolina (3)	763	3
4	Virginia (1)	723	4
5	UCLA	672	9
6	Duke	628	7
7	Clemson	608	6
8	TCU	587	5
9	Texas A&M	539	8
10	Penn State	500	11
11	Georgetown	452	10
12	West Virginia	435	13
13	Arkansas	412	12
14	Southern California	365	18
15	BYU	353	17
16	Oklahoma State	307	14
17	South Carolina	298	22
18	Vanderbilt	258	21
19	Washington	253	15
20	USF	216	19
21	Saint Louis	175	20
22	Rice	150	16
23	Mississippi	123	23
24	Stanford	73	NR
25	Rutgers	58	24

UCLA also brings back Reilyn Turner, who won Pac-12 Freshman of the Year last season. Goalkeeper Lauren Brzykcy won Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year last season.

An interesting point to note: Santa Clara was in the "also receiving votes" section of last year's first poll before going 10-1-1 and winning the national title. The Broncos open their 2021 season against San Jose State on Thursday, Aug. 19. Top-ranked Florida State also begins its season that day, when No. 9 Texas A&M visits.

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