By R.L. Bynum
North Carolina moved up three spots to No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 women’s poll released Tuesday after kicking off the season with two victories in Colorado.
The Tar Heels (2–0–0), in their first matches since the legendary coach Anson Dorrance retired, beat Denver 2–1 on Thursday and rallied from a late one-goal deficit to beat Colorado 3–2 on Sunday on a pair of late Kate Faasse goals. Olivia Thomas (top photo) had two assists.
The first home game under interim coach Damon Nahas is Thursday at 5 p.m. against Georgia (ESPN3), which fell two spots to No. 16 after opening the season at home with a scoreless draw against Pittsburgh. The Panthers stayed at No. 7 after also beating Duquesne 2–1.
ACC teams remain atop the poll with Florida State No. 1 and Stanford No. 2 after both won two matches last week. The Noles, who earned all eight first-place votes, rolled a 5–0 win at South Florida and a 10–0 home win over North Florida. The Cardinal won 1–0 at San Franciso and 3–0 at home against UC Irvine.
North Carolina’s men’s soccer team, which plays at UAB in its opener at 8 p.m. Thursday (ESPN+), is No. 6 in the preseason poll, meaning UNC and Stanford are the only schools with both teams ranked in the Top 6. Stanford’s men are No. 5.
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Two ACC teams fell out of the women’s poll after opening-week losses. Clemson, No. 5 in the preseason poll, fell out of the rankings after losing its opener Thursday at Auburn 4–0 and beating High Point 2–0 on Sunday. Duke, which was No. 24, received no votes after losing its opener on Thursday at Ohio State 1–0.
Virginia and Virginia Tech entered the poll after being unranked and are tied at No. 21 after each earned two wins. The Cavaliers beat Towson and Northwestern, both by 2–0 scores. The Hokies rolled to a 4–0 home win over Campbell and won 2–0 at James Madison.
Notre Dame moved up one spot to No. 14 after losing 2–1 at home to Michigan State, which moved up five spots to No. 8 and rolled to a 6–0 victory at Samford.
United Soccer Coaches Top 25
| Rank | School | Previous | 1st-place vote | Poll points | W–L–T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Florida State | 1 | 8 | 200 | 2–0–0 |
| 2 | Stanford | 2 | 0 | 191 | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | Penn State | 4 | 0 | 181 | 1–0–0 |
| 4 | BYU | 3 | 0 | 172 | 1–0–0 |
| 5 | North Carolina | 8 | 0 | 164 | 2–0–0 |
| 6 | UCLA | 11 | 0 | 161 | 2–0–0 |
| 7 | Pittsburgh | 7 | 0 | 141 | 1–0–1 |
| 8 | Michigan State | 13 | 0 | 135 | 1–0–0 |
| 9 | Arkansas | 16 | 0 | 132 | 1–0–0 |
| 10 | Memphis | 10 | 0 | 121 | 2–0–0 |
| 11 | Santa Clara | 22 | 0 | 100 | 2–0–0 |
| 12 | Texas | 17 | 0 | 98 | 2–0–0 |
| 13 | TCU | RV | 0 | 97 | 2–0–0 |
| 14 | Notre Dame | 15 | 0 | 94 | 1–1–0 |
| 15 | Auburn | NR | 0 | 90 | 1–0–0 |
| 16 | Georgia | 14 | 0 | 81 | 0–0–1 |
| 17 | Oklahoma State | NR | 0 | 70 | 2–0–0 |
| 18 | Ohio State | NR | 0 | 62 | 1–0–0 |
| 19 | Xavier | NR | 0 | 48 | 2–0–0 |
| 20 | Mississippi State | 18 | 0 | 46 | 2–0–0 |
| T21 | Virginia | RV | 0 | 34 | 2–0–0 |
| T21 | Virginia Tech | NR | 0 | 34 | 2–0–0 |
| 23 | Saint Louis | 12 | 0 | 29 | 0–0–1 |
| T24 | Texas A&M | 25 | 0 | 17 | 1–0–0 |
| T24 | Iowa | 25 | 0 | 17 | 1–0–0 |
Also receiving votes: Georgetown (14), South Carolina (12), Wake Forest (12), Utah State (11), Utah Valley (11), UC Irvine (9), Wisconsin (7), Butler (3), Clemson (3), Indiana (1), Montana (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 | 7 p.m. | vs. California | |
| 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
