By R.L. Bynum
Undefeated Carolina returned to its preseason United Soccer Coaches women’s soccer Top 25 position at No. 2 after winning a road game against one ranked SEC team and tying another in a big week for senior forward Avery Patterson.
UNC (4–0–2) was ranked No. 2 in the preseason poll but fell to No. 3 on Aug. 22 after a draw with No. 6 Penn State and dropped to No. 4 after a draw with Wisconsin. The Tar Heels slid up to No. 3 last week after a win over Arkansas (then No. 7, but now No. 11).
The rise in the poll comes after the Tar Heels won Thursday 2–1 at South Carolina (which is up one spot to No. 9) and tied 1–1 at Alabama (which jumped five spots to No. 7).
Patterson, who scored in both games last week and has goals in the last three matches, is the ACC Offensive Player of the Week.
“She always seems to rise to the occasion. She scores goals, she creates goals, she defends, she heads well and she is one of the kindest human beings on my roster,” UNC coach Anson Dorrance said. “Something I hope professional teams realize while they are sorting out who to draft and who to pay top dollar to sign: She can play any position on the field at a high level.”
Carolina opens ACC play at Dorrance Field at 3:30 Friday (ESPN3) when it takes on Virginia Tech (3–2–2).
Brigham Young (7–0–0) is No. 1 with all eight first-place votes for the second consecutive week.
Up one spot to No. 4 is Florida State (5–0). Other ACC teams in the poll are No. 8 Clemson (6–0–2, up one spot), No. 13 Notre Dame (4–1–2, down two spots), No. 15 Duke (4–2–0, down one spot) and No. 20 Virginia (5–0–2, down two spots).
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Top 25
| Rank | Team | Previous | Poll points | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BYU (8 1st-place votes) | 1 | 200 | 7-0-0 |
| 2 | North Carolina | 3 | 184 | 5-0-3 |
| 3 | Stanford | 2 | 182 | 6-0-1 |
| 4 | Florida State | 5 | 174 | 5-0-0 |
| 5 | UCLA | 4 | 171 | 5-1-0 |
| 6 | Penn State | 6 | 167 | 6-0-1 |
| 7 | Alabama | 12 | 151 | 5-0-3 |
| 8 | Clemson | 9 | 140 | 6-0-2 |
| 9 | South Carolina | 10 | 117 | 6-1-1 |
| 10 | Georgetown | 13 | 107 | 4-0-3 |
| 11 | Arkansas | 7 | 106 | 3-2-1 |
| 12 | Santa Clara | 8 | 105 | 6-0-2 |
| 13 | Notre Dame | 11 | 103 | 4-1-2 |
| 14 | Memphis | 16 | 91 | 5-1-0 |
| 15 | Duke | 14 | 88 | 4-2-0 |
| 16 | Texas | 17 | 83 | 6-1-1 |
| 17 | Xavier | 21 | 81 | 6-1-0 |
| 18 | Northwestern | 20 | 59 | 6-0-2 |
| 19 | Michigan | NR | 58 | 4-1-2 |
| 20 | Virginia | 18 | 47 | 5-0-2 |
| 21 | Gonzaga | 23 | 44 | 6-1-1 |
| 22 | Colorado | RV | 34 | 7-1-0 |
| 23 | Georgia | RV | 31 | 3-1-2 |
| 24 | Washington St. | 15 | 22 | 6-1-0 |
| 25 | Saint Louis | RV | 22 | 5-2-1 |
Also receiving votes: Pittsburgh (10), Texas Tech (6), Iowa (5), Liberty (4), SMU (3), TCU (2), Long Beach State (2), Wake Forest (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 | 2 p.m. ET | at Shebourne FC (Dublin friendly) | |
| September | ||||
| 3 | Thursday | 10 p.m. ET | at Arizona | ESPN+ |
| 6 | Sunday | 1 p.m. ET | at Arizona State | ESPN+ |
| 10 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. California | |
| 13 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. NJIT | |
| 17 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | vs. No. 2 Duke | ACCN |
| 20 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Alcorn State | |
| 25 | Friday | 7 p.m. | at No. 13 Virginia | |
| October | ||||
| 2 | Friday | 6 p.m. | vs. No. 8 Notre Dame | ACCN |
| 9 | Friday | 7 p.m. | at No. 3 Florida State | ESPNU |
| 15 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | at No. 24 Clemson | ACCN |
| 18 | Sunday | 3:30 | at 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
