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BYU Women’s Soccer cracks the Top 25, other Cougar teams hold steady

By Shaun Gordon

COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 1: A general view of a soccer ball during a match between England and France on March 1, 2018 at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. England defeated France 4-1. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) *** Local Caption ***
COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 1: A general view of a soccer ball during a match between England and France on March 1, 2018 at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. England defeated France 4-1. (Photo by Jamie Sabau/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** /
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BYU Women’s Soccer became the fourth Cougar team to crack the Top 25, coming in at No. 25. The other three BYU squads stayed put in the polls.

There’s a fourth BYU team in the Top 25 now.

BYU Women’s Soccer took down No. 6 Santa Clara on Saturday to clinch at least a share of the West Coast Conference Championship and earn the league’s NCAA Tournament at-large berth, and they were rewarded with their first Top 25 appearance of the season.

The Cougars came in at No. 25 in the latest Top Drawer Soccer rankings, while the Broncos slipped to No. 15. Those rankings are one of the two major ones in college soccer. The other, the United Soccer Coaches Poll, still has BYU just outside of the Top 25 (No. 27) in this week’s update.

The return to the Top 25 is a fitting tribute to the Cougars’ bounceback season. After BYU limped to a sub-.500 2017 season they’re back at the top of the conference and will be back in the NCAA Tournament.

The Cougars will play their final match of the regular season on Saturday at Loyola Marymount, and a win or tie would clinch the outright WCC title.

While the soccer team made the jump into the Top 25, three other Cougar squads held their places in the polls.

On Monday BYU Women’s Volleyball held on to the No. 1 spot in the nation for an eighth straight week in the newest rankings, and they’re the only unbeaten team left in the country.

Volleyball still has six games to go before the NCAA Tournament, but they only have one this week. They’ll return home to take on San Diego on Friday night at 7:00 MT in the Smith Fieldhouse.

If the Cougars take down the Toreros they’ll open up a massive three-game lead in the WCC, essentially clinching the conference’s at-large tournament bid.

Men’s and Women’s Cross Country held steady in their spots (No. 2 and No. 9 respectively) in this week’s polls. Both teams dominated the WCC Championships on Saturday morning, taking advantage of a familiar venue (Provo’s East Bay Golf Course).

Both teams will have this week off before hosting the NCAA Regionals next weekend in the same location.

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