MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s soccer team enters the 2016 NCAA Tournament as the nation’s No. 1 team, as the Mountaineers sit atop the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Poll for the fifth straight week.

 

WVU (19-1-1, 8-0) also is No. 1 in this week’s TopDrawerSoccer.com Poll and the Soccer America Women’s Top 25 Poll. The Mountaineers have not moved from the top spot in all three polls since Oct. 11.

 

Today’s ranking comes on the heels of the Mountaineers’ sweep of the Big 12 Conference titles, as WVU knocked off TCU, 3-2 in overtime, on Nov. 6 to claim its third Big 12 Soccer Championship crown and eighth league title since joining the conference in 2012. It also follows the Mountaineers’ first-ever claim to a No. 1 regional seed in the NCAA Tournament on Nov. 7.  

 

The Mountaineers received 23 of the possible 30 first-place votes in today’s poll.

 

Stanford (17-1-1, 10-1 Pac-12) received five first-place votes and moved up one spot to No. 2. South Carolina (18-1-1, 11-0 SEC) dropped one spot and sits at No. 3. BYU (16-2-1, 6-1-1 WCC) earned the final two first-place votes and remained steady at No. 4. Georgetown (16-2-3, 5-1-2 Big East) climbed two spots and ranks No. 5.

 

North Carolina (13-3-4, 6-2-2 ACC) ranks No. 6 and is followed by USC (14-4-1, 8-2-1 Pac-12) at No. 7. Minnesota (16-3-3, 7-1-3 Big Ten) checks in at No. 8, and Florida (15-4-1, 8-3 SEC) and Florida State (13-3-4, 6-2-2 ACC) round out the top 10.

 

Of note, the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week also was announced today, and senior midfielder Ashley Lawrence was named to the squad. The Toronto native tallied five points (1 G, 3 A) at the Big 12 Soccer Championship, including the golden goal against the Horned Frogs.

 

The Mountaineers open the 2016 NCAA Tournament against Northern Kentucky on Saturday, Nov. 12, at 3 p.m., at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium.

 

Tickets for Saturday’s game are on sale now at WVUGAME.com. Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for students and youths under the age of 13, and $2 for groups of 10 or more. WVU students will be admitted for free with a valid WVU student I.D.