By R.L. Bynum
Undefeated Carolina moved up in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 women’s rankings, and the Tar Heels’ dominant defense continues a stranglehold on the ACC Defensive Player of the Week honor.
The Tar Heels (4–0–2) went up one spot to No. 3 in the poll.
Reigning national champion UCLA lost 3–1 at Brigham Young (6–0), which jumped six spots to No. 1 on the strength of that victory.
The Bruins (3–1), who beat UNC during the regular season and in the NCAA championship game last season, fell from No. 1 to No. 4. Florida State (3–0) fell three spots to No. 5 after beating South Florida 5–1 in its only game. Stanford moved up one spot to No. 2 after rolling to a 4–0 home victory over Duke, which fell four spots to No. 14.
Other ranked ACC teams are No. 9 Clemson (up two spots), No. 11 Notre Dame (up four spots), No. 18 Virginia (down six spots) and No. 22 Pittsburgh (down one spot).
The ACC Defensive Player of the Week is a Tar Heel for the third time in as many weeks.
Freshman center back Savy King is the honoree for the second time this season (also on Aug. 22) after Sam Meza (who missed both games last week) earned the honor a week earlier.
UNC coach Anson Dorrance said that King, a West Hills, Calif., native, “continues to be the final bastion of the UNC defense. She was all over the back solving problems for us, and she is an absolute magnificent defender.”
UNC’s defense was strong again last week in a 5–0 win over Gardner-Webb, when the Bulldogs got off only one shot, and in a 3–1 victory against Arkansas, which moved up one spot to No. 7.
Carolina’s six opponents have combined to score only two goals and Tar Heels goalies have recorded four shutouts.
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Top 25
| Rank | Team | Previous rank | 1st-place votes | Poll points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brigham Young | 7 | 8 | 200 |
| 2 | Stanford | 3 | 0 | 187 |
| 3 | North Carolina | 4 | 0 | 182 |
| 4 | UCLA | 1 | 0 | 175 |
| 5 | Florida State | 2 | 0 | 170 |
| 6 | Penn State | 6 | 0 | 161 |
| 7 | Arkansas | 8 | 0 | 141 |
| 8 | Santa Clara | 8 | 0 | 137 |
| 9 | Clemson | 11 | 0 | 135 |
| 10 | South Carolina | 13 | 0 | 121 |
| 11 | Notre Dame | 15 | 0 | 108 |
| 12 | Alabama | 5 | 0 | 102 |
| 13 | Georgetown | 14 | 0 | 100 |
| 14 | Duke | 10 | 0 | 98 |
| 15 | Washington State | 17 | 0 | 83 |
| 16 | Memphis | 16 | 0 | 79 |
| 17 | Texas | 18 | 0 | 66 |
| 18 | Virginia | 12 | 0 | 62 |
| 19 | USC | 19 | 0 | 60 |
| 20 | Northwestern | 20 | 0 | 48 |
| 21 | Xavier | 25 | 0 | 44 |
| 22 | Pittsburgh | 21 | 0 | 32 |
| 23 | Gonzaga | 24 | 0 | 30 |
| 24 | Nebraska | NR | 0 | 23 |
| 25 | TCU | RV | 0 | 15 |
Also receiving votes: Saint Louis (13), Georgia (12), Colorado (6), Long Beach State (4), Wake Forest (3), Iowa (1), Kansas (1), Vanderbilt (1).
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent (current rankings) | Record/ TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | ||||
| 5 | Wednesday | W, 1–0 | vs. South Carolina | Exhib. |
| 13 | Thursday | W, 4–0 | vs. Fairfield | 1–0 |
| 16 | Sunday | W, 8–0 | vs. Quinnipiac | 2–0 |
| 20 | Thursday | W, 2–0 | at Arkansas | 3–0 |
| 23 | Sunday | L, 3–2 | vs. No. 5 Michigan State | 3–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 3–0 | at Shelbourne FC | Friendly |
| September | ||||
| 3 | Thursday | W, 2–1 | at Arizona | 4–1 |
| 6 | Sunday | W, 1–0 | at Arizona State | 5–1 |
| 10 | Thursday | W, 3–0 | vs. California | 6–1, 1–0 ACC |
| 13 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. NJIT | |
| 17 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. No. 3 Duke | ACCN |
| 20 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Alcorn State | |
| 25 | Friday | 7 p.m. | at No. 10 Virginia | |
| October | ||||
| 2 | Friday | 6 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ACCN |
| 9 | Friday | 7 p.m. | at No. 18 Florida State | ESPNU |
| 15 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | at No. 24 Clemson | ACCN |
| 18 | Sunday | 3:30 | at No. 3 Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 23 | Friday | 6 p.m. | vs. No. 1 Stanford | ACCN |
| 29 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. SMU | |
| November | ||||
| 5 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Louisville | |
| 8, 12, 15 | Sunday, Thur., Sun. | ACC tournament | Semifinals, final in Cary | |
| NCAA tournament | (first four rounds at campus sites) | |||
| 20-22 | Fri.-Sun | First round | ||
| 26 | Thursday | Second round | ||
| 29 | Sunday | Third round | ||
| December | ||||
| 4, 5 | Fri., Sat. | Quarterfinals | ||
| 10, 13 | Thur., Sun. | Women’s College Cup Cary |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications
