There's a new No. 1 in women's college soccer Week 5's Power Ranking. FSU surges to the top spot and UCLA is back in the mix. The former leader, BYU is out after scraping by their Big-12 opener with a tie against TCU and falling to Utah State in a 1-0 upset.
A special mention goes out to the Princeton Tigers who knocked down No. 10 Georgetown in an unusual upset that saw two own goals.
Here's the breakdown of Andrew McDevitt's Power 5 Rankings.
5. UCLA | 6-1 (Prev. UR)
The Bruins have claimed three straight shutouts following their only loss of the season and come out of nonconference play allowing only two teams to score against the. Their most recent blank came on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Pepperdine. The game-winner came from Freshman Val Vargas who launched a rocket of a shot from 25 yards out. UCLA will open Pac-12 play on Friday, Sep. 22 as they travel to Colorado.
💥 GOLAZO ALERT! 💥
— UCLA Women's Soccer (@UCLAWSoccer) September 16, 2023
Val Vargas left-footed rocket from long distance puts UCLA up 2-0 over Pepperdine.
📲: https://t.co/RhLYOjRhv7 #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/wa3chxNDTd
4. UNC | 6-0-3 (Prev. 5)
The Heels stay undefeated and continue their steady dominance at home packing the stands at Dorrance Stadium. UNC opened ACC play with a 1-0 win over Virginia Tech that saw a goal from graduate forward Emily Moxley just 30 seconds after subbing in. Next up, the Heels travel to Virginia Thursday, Sep. 21 where they will look to expand in ACC success.
3. Penn State | 7-0-1 (Prev. 4)
What better way to commemorate your seniors than a crushing 4-0 shutout extending a seven-game win streak? The Nittany Lions did not allow a single shot on Friday evening as they hosted Maryland on the squad's Senior Night. The Blue and White demonstrated their dominance outshooting the Terps 27-2. Penn State will continue Big Ten play on the road against Rutgers on Thursday.
2. Stanford | 7-0-1 (Prev. 2)
The Cardinal settled the battle of Bay Area rivalry with a 1-0 win over Santa Clara, adding to their advantage of outscoring the opposition 21-4 this season. Stanford scored a beautiful game-winner in the first half with a cheeky back-heel pass into the box and a rocket over the keeper by Andrea Kitahata. The Cardinal will open Pac-12 play on Friday, Sep. 22 as they travel to Washington State.
33’ » GOALLLLLLL 🌲
— Stanford Women's Soccer (@StanfordWSoccer) September 18, 2023
The takeaway by @MayaDoms.
The back heel from Jasmine Aikey.
The finish from @andreakitahata.
Perfection. 🤌
📺 » @Pac12Network
💻 » https://t.co/3K7HbJnugT#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/3botTcsZtE
1. Florida State | 6-0-0 (Prev 3)
The Seminoles showed serious moxie in their Top-10 showdown at No. 8 Clemson where they came back from a two-goal disadvantage by burying four unanswered balls into the net to finish 4-2. The rally marks FSU's largest comeback since 2014 and this season's second Top-10 road wins.
The Noles will look to add to their ACC road success as they head to Syracuse on Thursday, Sep. 21, and then to No. 3 UNC on Sunday, Sep. 24.MARRIIIIAAAAAAAA‼️‼️‼️
— FSU Soccer (@FSUSoccer) September 15, 2023
She scores the equalizer right before halftime🍢🍢#OneTribe pic.twitter.com/tZNMfROy5f
