ACC Is The Top Women’s RPI Soccer Conference

You don’t have to know a lot about rankings to know from a glance that the Atlantic Coast Conference is strong in women’s Division I soccer.

Five of the top six spots in the Sept. 23 NSCAA rankings are held by ACC teams, with the Virginia Cavaliers at #1. The defending national champion UNC Tar Heels are no better than sixth.

In all, eight are among the top 21, and Duke, which has been previously ranked this year, is right outside the top 25.

But you get a clearer picture of just how strong the ACC is when you consider The Ratings Percentage Index (RPI), which is the most important criteria the NCAA uses in selecting the 64-team field for the NCAA Division I College Cup postseason tournament. It is based on a mathematical formula designed to objectively compare results and strength of schedule.

The ACC tops all conferences, with 12 teams in the top 64 of the latest RPI. Next comes the Big Ten Pac-12 and SEC with seven teams each.

Rank the top teams by RPI and Florida State is #1, followed in order by Wake Forest, Virginia and North Carolina. In fact, with 12 teams listed, the only ones that do not make the list at this point in the season are Miami, Syracuse, Pittsburgh and N.C. State.

That doesn’t mean that all 12 ACC teams in this week’s RPI will advance to the tournament. Some spots will be taken by teams, not on the list of 64 who earn the automatic berths into postseason play by winning conference championships.

Georgetown is the top Big East team at #6, followed in order by Stanford (Pac-12), Penn State (Big Ten), Notre Dame (ACC), Santa Clara (WCC) and Virginia Tech (ACC) to round out the RPI’s top 10 teams.

ACC Player of the Week

Florida State senior goalkeeper Kelsey Wys was the ACC Women’s Soccer Player of the Week after posting 1-0 shutouts in the Seminoles 1-0 wins over North Carolina and N.C. State.

The Coral Springs native, faced a total of 20 shots and made 11 saves, including a season high nine against the Tar Heels.

The win over Carolina on Sept. 18 was the Seminoles’ third straight in the series, becoming just the third program to win three straight against UNC in program history. FSU’s five all-time wins against UNC are the second most of any other school in its history.