By R.L. Bynum
One week after becoming the top-ranked women’s soccer team, North Carolina is now the unanimous No. 1 team in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25, and Bella Devey is the ACC Offensive Player of the Week.
The ACC-leading Tar Heels (10–1, 3–0), riding a seven-match win streak, got all eight first-place votes after only getting half in last week’s poll, when Michigan State and Vanderbilt each garnering two. The Spartans (8–1–2), who handed UNC its only loss, 3–2 on Aug. 23, stayed at No. 2 and the Commodores (10–0–1) at No. 3.
Virginia (5–2–2, 1–2) moved up one spot to No. 16 after its 3–1 home loss Friday to the Tar Heels. Devey, a sophomore forward, earned the weekly league honor with a brace in that game, her third of the season, to give her 12 goals and 25 points on the season.
Next up for UNC is a 6 p.m. home match Friday (ACC Network) against No. 12 Notre Dame (4–0–6, 2–0–1), which moved up two spots after a 1–1 draw at Duke.
Elsewhere among ACC teams:
— Wake Forest (9–1, 2–1) moved up one spot to No. 4 despite not playing last week.
— Duke (6–1–3, 1–1–2) fell two spots to No. 6 after that tie with Notre Dame was followed by a scoreless draw at Pittsburgh.
— Stanford (7–2–2, 1–2–1) moved up a pair of spots to No. 6 after tying SMU 0–0.
— Clemson (6–2–2, 2–1–1) went from unranked to No. 23 after beating Miami 3–2 and tying Boston College 3–2.
— Louisville (8–1–3, 2–0–2) was unranked last week but slipped into the poll at No. 25 after playing Florida State (4–1–3, 0–0–2) to a scoreless draw that dropped the Seminoles out of the poll after they were No. 22 last week.
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Top 25
| Rank | School | Previous | Poll points | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Carolina – X | 1 | 200 | 10-1-0 |
| 2 | Michigan State | 2 | 191 | 8-1-2 |
| 3 | Vanderbilt | 3 | 185 | 10-0-1 |
| 4 | Wake Forest | 5 | 174 | 9-1-0 |
| 5 | Alabama | 7 | 167 | 11-1-0 |
| 6 | Duke | 4 | 154 | 6-1-3 |
| 7 | Ohio State | 8 | 152 | 8-1-1 |
| 8 | Stanford | 6 | 146 | 7-2-2 |
| 9 | Baylor | 11 | 138 | 9-1-1 |
| 10 | UCLA | 12 | 127 | 7-3-1 |
| 11 | South Carolina | 17 | 115 | 10-1-0 |
| 12 | Notre Dame | 15 | 108 | 4-0-6 |
| 13 | Tennessee | 9 | 102 | 6-1-3 |
| 14 | Texas Tech | 25 | 88 | 6-0-4 |
| 15 | Washington | 18 | 83 | 8-1-2 |
| 15 | Virginia | 16 | 83 | 5-2-2 |
| 17 | Colorado | 13 | 77 | 8-2-1 |
| 18 | West Virginia | 10 | 57 | 6-1-2 |
| 19 | Utah State | 19 | 56 | 7-2-2 |
| 20 | Wisconsin | 14 | 52 | 7-2-2 |
| 21 | Oklahoma | 21 | 43 | 9-1-2 |
| 22 | Texas State | 24 | 31 | 7-1-2 |
| 23 | Clemson | RV | 24 | 6-2-3 |
| 24 | Harvard | NR | 21 | 7-2-1 |
| 25 | Louisville | RV | 10 | 8-1-2 |
X — Received all eight first-place votes.
Also receiving votes: Michigan (8), Libertyy (4), BYU (2) and Florida State (2)
ACC standings
| Team | Points | ACC | All |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 North Carolina | 9 | 3–0–0 | 10–1–0 |
| No. 25 Louisville | 8 | 2–0–2 | 8–1–2 |
| No. 12 Notre Dame | 7 | 2–0–1 | 4–0–6 |
| N.C. State | 7 | 2–1–1 | 9–1–2 |
| Clemson | 7 | 2–1–1 | 6–2–3 |
| No. 4 Wake Forest | 6 | 2–1–0 | 9–1–0 |
| Virginia Tech | 6 | 2–1–0 | 6–2–3 |
| Miami | 6 | 2–2–0 | 7–3–1 |
| No. 6 Duke | 5 | 1–1–2 | 6–1–3 |
| Boston College | 4 | 1–2–1 | 8–2–1 |
| No. 8 Stanford | 4 | 1–2–1 | 7–2–2 |
| California | 4 | 1–2–1 | 4–4–4 |
| No. 16 Virginia | 3 | 1–2–0 | 5–2–2 |
| Syracuse | 3 | 1–3–0 | 4–5–2 |
| Florida State | 2 | 0–0–2 | 4–1–3 |
| SMU | 1 | 0–2–1 | 5–3–3 |
| Pittsburgh | 1 | 0–3–1 | 6–4–2 |
Thursday’s results
California 1, Boston College 0
No. 12 Notre Dame 1, No. 6 Duke 1
Clemson 3, Miami 2
Syracuse 2, Pittsburgh 1
Friday’s results
No. 1 North Carolina 3, No. 16 Virginia 1
No. 8 Stanford 0, SMU 0
Sunday’s results
Florida State 0, No. 25 Louisville 0
No. 6 Duke 0, Pittsburgh 0
Boston College 3, Clemson 3
California 2, Fresno State 0
N.C. State 3, Virginia Tech 0
Friday’s matches
No. 12 Notre Dame at No. 1 North Carolina, 6 p.m., ACCN
SMU at Boston College, 6 p.m.
Saturday’s matches
California at No. 6 Duke, 5 p.m.
Miami at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Syracuse at Virginia, 7 p.m.
No. 25 Louisville at Virginia Tech, 7 p.m.
Sunday’s matches
Florida State at Clemson, 3:30, ACCN
N.C. State at No. 4 Wake Forest, 5 p.m.
| 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. 2 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. 6 Duke | 8–1, 2–0 |
| 20 | Sunday | W, 5–0 | vs. Alcorn State | 9–1 |
| 25 | Friday | W, 3–1 | at No. 15 Virginia | 10–1, 3–0 |
| October | ||||
| 2 | Friday | 6 p.m. | vs. Notre Dame | ACCN |
| 9 | Friday | 7 p.m. | at Florida State | ESPNU |
| 15 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | at No. 23 Clemson | ACCN |
| 18 | Sunday | 3:30 | at No. 4 Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 23 | Friday | 6 p.m. | vs. No. 8 Stanford | ACCN |
| 29 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. SMU | ACCNE |
| November | ||||
| 5 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at No. 25 Louisville | ACCNE |
| 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
It’s just me again. Notre Dame is going to be more than a handful for the backline. Stratton needs to be out there (if healthy) with O’Neil and Alvarez to stand a chance. Not sure where Bella should be but anywhere she is on the field will be the weak link ND will go after. Go Heels!