By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina is back atop the women’s college soccer world.
For the first time in over a year, the Tar Heels are No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll released Tuesday afternoon. In addition, UNC is No. 1 in the first RPI list of the season and has played two teams in the top five.
Redshirt senior left back Maycee Bell is the ACC Defensive Player of the Week, earning the honor for the fourth time in her career. Tar Heels have won the award four of five weeks, previously won by Savy King (Aug. 22 and Sept. 5) and Sam Meza (Aug. 29).
In the poll, UNC (6–0–3, 1–0 ACC) supplanted Brigham Young (7–1–1), which lost Saturday 1–0 on the road to unranked Utah State. The Cougars, No. 12 in the RPI, fell to No. 6. The Tar Heels got even of eight first-place votes, with the other going to Florida State, which moved up one spot to No. 3.
It’s the Tar Heels’ first time at No. 1 since they were the top-ranked team for the second (Aug. 23) and third (Aug. 30) polls last season before falling to No. 2 after losing to eventual national champion UCLA. UNC was No. 1 for the first eight weeks of the 2020–21 season.
Carolina’s schedule, rated the toughest in the country, offers more challenges this week as the Tar Heels visit No. 22 Virginia (5–0–3, 0–0–1; down two spots) at 7 p.m. Thursday (ESPN3) and host No. 3 Florida State (6–0, 1–0) at noon Sunday (ESPNU).
The Bruins, who were No. 1 this season before losing to BYU 3–1 on Aug. 31, stayed at No. 5, with Stanford moving up one spot to No. 2.
Other ACC teams in the poll are No. 8 Clemson (unchanged), No. 10 Notre Dame (up three spots) and No. 16 Duke (down 1 spot).
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Top 25
| Rank | School | Previous | 1st-place votes | Poll points | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina | 2 | 7 | 199 | 6–0–3 |
| 2 | Stanford | 3 | 0 | 189 | 7–0–1 |
| 3 | Florida State | 4 | 1 | 184 | 6–0–0 |
| 4 | Penn State | 6 | 0 | 172 | 7–0–1 |
| 5 | UCLA | 5 | 0 | 170 | 6–1–0 |
| 6 | Brigham Young | 1 | 0 | 156 | 7–1–1 |
| 7 | South Carolina | 9 | 0 | 150 | 7–1–1 |
| 8 | Clemson | 8 | 0 | 135 | 6–1–2 |
| 9 | Alabama | 7 | 0 | 133 | 6–0–4 |
| 10 | Notre Dame | 13 | 0 | 114 | 5–1–2 |
| 11 | Arkansas | 11 | 0 | 104 | 5–2–1 |
| 12 | Memphis | 14 | 0 | 96 | 7–1–0 |
| 13 | Santa Clara | 12 | 0 | 94 | 6–1–2 |
| 14 | Texas | 16 | 0 | 92 | 7–1–1 |
| 14 | Princeton | NR | 0 | 92 | 5–1–1 |
| 16 | Duke | 15 | 0 | 85 | 5–2–0 |
| 17 | Georgetown | 10 | 0 | 73 | 4–1–3 |
| 18 | Northwestern | 18 | 0 | 67 | 7–0–2 |
| 19 | Michigan | 19 | 0 | 52 | 5–1–2 |
| 20 | Colorado | 22 | 0 | 47 | 8–1–0 |
| 21 | Gonzaga | 21 | 0 | 38 | 7–1–1 |
| 22 | Virginia | 20 | 0 | 30 | 5–0–3 |
| 22 | Georgia | 23 | 0 | 30 | 4–1–3 |
| 24 | Washington State | 24 | 0 | 21 | 7–1–0 |
| 25 | Texas Tech | RV | 0 | 19 | 7–0–2 |
Also receiving votes: Saint Louis (16), SMU (15), Central Florida (14), Xavier (9), Iowa (2) and Pittsburgh (2).
Top 10 in RPI
| Rank | Team | League | Record | Road | Home |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina | ACC | 6-0-3 | 1-0-2 | 5-0-1 |
| 2 | Penn State. | Big Ten | 6-0-1 | 1-0-0 | 5-0-1 |
| 3 | Florida State | ACC | 6-0-0 | 4-0-0 | 2-0-0 |
| 4 | Stanford | Pac-12 | 7-0-1 | 3-0-1 | 4-0-0 |
| 5 | Alabama | SEC | 6-0-4 | 4-0-1 | 2-0-3 |
| 6 | Clemson | ACC | 6-1-2 | 2-0-1 | 4-1-1 |
| 7 | Mississippi St. | SEC | 6-1-2 | 1-0-2 | 5-1-0 |
| 8 | Georgia | SEC | 4-1-3 | 1-1-1 | 3-0-2 |
| 9 | Texas Tech | Big 12 | 7-0-2 | 0-0-2 | 6-0-0 |
| 10 | Missouri | SEC | 5-1-2 | 2-1-1 | 2-0-1 |
| Date | Month/day | Time/ score | Opponent (current rankings) | Record/ TV |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August | ||||
| 5 | Wednesday | W, 1–0 | vs. No. 11 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. 4 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 | W, 5–0 | vs. NJIT | 7–1 |
| 17 | Thursday | W, 4–2 | vs. No. 12 Duke | 8–1, 2–0 |
| 20 | Sunday | W, 5–0 | vs. Alcorn State | 9–1 |
| 25 | Friday | W, 3–1 | at No. 10 Virginia | 10–1, 3–0 |
| October | ||||
| 2 | Friday | W, 4–1 | vs. No. 4 Notre Dame | 11–1, 4–0 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 1–0 | at Clemson | 12–1, 5–0 |
| 18 | Sunday | L, 3–1 | at No. 6 Wake Forest | 12–2, 5–1 |
| 23 | Friday | W, 1–0 | vs. No. 16 Stanford | 13–2, 6–1 |
| 29 | Thursday | W, 2–0 | vs. SMU | 14–2, 7–1 |
| November | ||||
| 5 | Thursday | W, 3–2 | at Louisville | 15–2, 8–1 |
| ACC tournament | Cary | |||
| 12 | Thursday | 2 p.m. | Semifinal: vs. No. 12 Duke | ACCN |
| 22 | Sunday | noon | Final (with win): No. 10 Virginia or No. 4 Notre Dame | ESPN |
| 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; graphic via @uncwomenssoccer
