College Soccer Ranking: UNC still top

by ESNN

August 26, 2013

The women’s college soccer season for Division I has finally kicked off. Friday marked the beginning of the 2013 campaign with over 145 games going into the record books on the opening day.

Following the first weekend of action, the TopDrawerSoccer.com Top 25 has been updated. The rankings will be released every Monday for the rest of the season.

Preseason favorites North Carolina rolled to a pair of wins over Santa Clara and VCU to start the season. Senior star Crystal Dunn led the charge offensively with three goals in the two games. Kealia Ohai added two goals and an assist over the weekend.

Notre Dame looked like it was already in mid-season form with dominating wins over Illinois and Northwestern. Freshman Morgan Andrews stepped into the starting lineup and brought real quality to the center of the field. Junior striker Lauren Bohaboy wrapped up the pair of wins with three goals against the Big Ten foes. The Irish will get a big test this weekend when UCLA comes to town.

The Stanford Cardinal checks in at No. 3 following road wins over Boston College and Connecticut. Stanford squeaked out victories over both teams with the former coming in overtime. The defending Pac-12 champions return home for a game against Portland on Saturday.

Fellow Pac-12 program UCLA remains at No. 4 following a pair of comfortable wins to start the season. The Bruins had little trouble with Cal State Northridge(w) and Northeastern. The next four games for the Bruins will telling with games against Marquette, Notre Dame, North Carolina, and Duke.

Virginia rounds out the top five after a pair of convincing wins over VCU and Santa Clara. Steve Swanson’s side has enjoyed the contributions of sophomore Brittany Ratcliffe off the bench. Ratcliffe has three goals in 94 minutes of field action.

Outside of the top five, Wake Forest, Florida, and Denver all made the move up the rankings after solid opening weekends.

Check out where they ended up and the full TDS Top 25 here.