Four ACC Schools Are Locks For NCAA Tourney

As the collegiate regular season winds down to the final weeks, the national rankings take on a different level of importance.
While rankings are always subjective, one can gain a lot of insight from the won-lost records late in the season.
By winning a conference championship, a team on the bubble for at large selection to postseason play can earn an automatic berth.
Going into the last full week in October, four ACC teams are ranked among the Top 5 in the NSCAA Division I women’s poll. Virginia sits on top, followed by the once-beaten UCLA Bruins[show_disconnected][show_to accesslevel=’Subscriber’]. Florida State is third, followed by Virginia Tech and defending national champion North Carolina.
Notre Dame at #20 and Wake Forest at #22 are the other two ACC schools in the Top 25.
Florida, ranked #7 with a 12-3-1 record, is a lock to get into the NCAA tournament from the SEC, as is #13 South Carolina. Mississippi and Kentucky, ranked #23 and #25, can enhance their credentials for an at large bid by finishing the regular season strong and have a good showing in the SEC tournament. Of course, win the tournament and they are in. West Virginia at #9 is the Big 12 regular season champion. Count Georgetown in at #15, and 2012 national runnerup Penn State, which is ranked #16. Central Florida, the top team in the American Athletic Conference, is a prime candidate for an at large bid if the Knights falter in the conference tournament.

ACC Player of the Week

Virginia sophomore forward Brittany Ratcliffe was named the ACC Women’s Soccer Player of the Week on Oct. 22. The honor was the first of her career.
Ratciffe posted six points on three goals while leading top-ranked Viriginia to a pair of road wins at NC State (5-0) and at #4 North Carolina (2-0). The Williamstown, NJ, native came off the bench to score twice, 83 seconds apart, against the Wolfpack.
That earned her a start against the Tar Heels and she scored the game-winner in the 13th minute.
Ratcliffe is tied for fourth scoring in the ACC with 11 goals, and owns 23 points to stand sixth on the ACC’s point list.
The win at Chapel Hill gave the unbeaten Cavaliers their school record 16th consecutive wins. The Cavaliers and Tar Heels were playing without their leading scorers, Morgan Brian and Crystal Dunn, respectively. They were playing that same day with the U.S. WNT.