Women's Division I Top 25: Holding strong

by ESNN

October 21, 2013

No Morgan Brian? No problem for No. 1 Virginia.

Squaring off against North Carolina on Sunday, the Cavaliers got goals from Brittany Ratcliffe and Makenzy Doniak to pick up a 2-0 victory, extending their winning streak to 16 games.

Brian was on duty with the U.S. Women’s National Team alongside Tar Heel star Crystal Dunn, leaving both sides without their best player on the day. But the Cavaliers had enough quality remaining to blank UNC, becoming the first team to win at Fetzer Field in three consecutive seasons.

The win keeps Virginia in firm control of the top spot, and North Carolina drops down to No. 6. Staying in the ACC, Virginia Tech continued its impressive season, picking up an overtime win against Wake Forest on Thursday, following that up with a 4-0 win over Pittsburgh on Sunday.

Struggles continued for Notre Dame, as the No. 22 Fighting Irish lost its fourth straight game in a row, falling to Duke by a 2-1 score in overtime.

It was an impressive weekend for Florida, which came away with a pair of crucial SEC victories. First, the Gators swept past Kentucky on Friday night by a 3-0 score, then followed that up with another 3-0 win against LSU, powered by a pair of Savannah Jordan goals. The Gators, along with Penn State, forced their way back into the top 10.

Making strides up the rankings are No. 14 West Virginia, which extended its winning streak to eight games with a 2-0 defeat of Kansas, No. 17 UCF, which won both its games over the weekend, and No. 18 Santa Clara. The Broncos are winners of six straight and have recovered from an early season wobble.

Returning to the Top 25 this week was Nebraska (No. 24). The Cornhuskers are making a run at an unlikely Big Ten regular season tittle, and the winning continued over the weekend. On Friday night, Caroline Gray’s goal in the game’s last second provided the full points against Wisconsin, while Jordan Jackson provided the winning margin in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat of Minnesota.

To view the full Top 25 rankings, click here.