After an eventful opening week in Division I women's college soccer, the United Soccer Coaches poll has been updated with six new teams breaking into the top 25.
One of the most notable changes is reigning national champion Santa Clara dropping out of the top five, formerly holding the No. 2 spot in the rankings before dropping to No. 10. This change comes after Santa Clara posted a double-overtime tie to previously unranked Cal.
PLAYERS TO WATCH: 5 players that could make an impact this season
Florida State remains No. 1, followed by North Carolina, which jumped up a spot from last week after beating two ranked opponents. Virginia comes in at No. 3, with next UCLA at No. 4, and then Duke rounds out the top five. Senior Mackenzie Pluck has been a big contributor for the Blue Devils, earning her side two penalties in its opening match against then-No. 13 Arkansas, scoring one herself, and scoring the game-winner against previous No. 19 Washington on Sunday. Thanks to two back to back wins over ranked teams, Duke climbs to No. 5.
TCU and Penn State take spots 6 and 7, while Pepperdine shot up in the rankings to No. 8 after missing from the preseason top 25. The Waves find themselves breaking into the top 10 after defeating preseason No. 14 USC 2-0. Pepperdine is the highest ranked of the six new top 25 teams.
Texas A&M receives its new ranking of No. 21 after two losses last week to No. 1 Florida State and No. 8 TCU, falling from No. 9. The Aggies were barely edged out in the final moments against Florida State, conceding a goal to the Seminoles in the 89th minute. Against the Horned Frogs, Texas A&M went down early, and despite cutting the deficit in half late in the match, the Aggies couldn’t complete the rally.
Here's the new Top 25
United Soccer Coaches Top 25
| Rank | School | Points | Record | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida State (26) | 837 | 2-0-0 | 1 |
| 2 | North Carolina (4) | 818 | 2-0-0 | 3 |
| 3 | Virginia (1) | 765 | 2-0-0 | 4 |
| 4 | UCLA (2) | 743 | 2-0-0 | 5 |
| 5 | Duke | 697 | 2-0-0 | 6 |
| 6 | TCU | 664 | 2-0-0 | 8 |
| 7 | Penn State | 615 | 2-0-0 | 10 |
| 8 | Pepperdine | 587 | 2-0-0 | NR |
| 9 | Clemson | 557 | 2-0-0 | 7 |
| 10 | Santa Clara (1) | 492 | 1-0-1 | 2 |
| 11 | Georgetown | 474 | 1-0-1 | 11 |
| 12 | West Virginia | 433 | 1-1-0 | 12 |
| 13 | Stanford | 419 | 1-0-0 | 24 |
| 14 | Auburn | 399 | 2-0-0 | NR |
| 15 | South Florida | 370 | 2-0-0 | 20 |
| 16 | South Carolina | 303 | 1-0-0 | 17 |
| 17 | Tennessee | 273 | 1-0-0 | NR |
| 18 | Michigan | 253 | 2-0-0 | NR |
| 19 | UCF | 215 | 1-0-0 | NR |
| 20 | Cal | 193 | 1-0-1 | NR |
| 21 | Texas A&M | 154 | 0-2-0 | 9 |
| 22 | Rutgers | 133 | 1-0-0 | 25 |
| 23 | Rice | 127 | 2-0-0 | 22 |
| 24 | BYU | 82 | 1-1-0 | 15 |
| 25 | Southern California | 61 | 0-1-0 | 14 |
Records are through games of Aug. 22, 2021
Also receiving votes: Pittsburgh (53), Arkansas (41), Memphis (38), Mississippi (33), Wisconsin (29), Hofstra (29), Arizona State (28), Gonzaga (24), Oklahoma State (24), Iowa (16), Xavier (13), Vanderbilt (13), Colorado (10), Washington (10), SMU (9), North Texas (5), Denver (4), LSU (4), Nebraska (2), Virginia Tech (1).
2021 NCAA women's soccer: 5 things to know this season
Looking ahead to Week 2, two headliners feature a pair of ranked teams: No. 9 Clemson vs. No. 21 Texas A&M on Saturday and No. 25 Southern Cal will visit No. 24 BYU on Thursday.
