Nine teams in Soccer America’s Top 20 dropped contests last week, but nearly all of the losses were to other ranked teams. Only one of the vanquished drops from the rankings, with California falling from 15th after shutout losses at home to Washington and Washington State. The Bears, ranked eighth at 8-1 at the beginning of October, are 2-3-1 since. Florida and Notre Dame tumble from the Top 10 after conference losses, and Texas reached the Top 10 for the first time after shutting out Missouri and Kansas on the road. Santa Clara moves into the spot behind North Carolina, climbing up from No. 3 after slugging visiting UCLA, 3-0, and overcoming hot St. Mary’s, 1-0, on an 89th-minute Aly Wagner strike. UCLA, which was ranked second, rebounded to beat crosstown rival USC and settles in at No. 4, one spot behind Pacific-10 rival Stanford. Portland remains at No. 5. Tennessee returns to the SA Top 20 after a two-week absence. The Vols ended visiting Florida’s 50-game Southeastern Conference win streak on Kim Patrick’s overtime tally. The Gators fall from sixth to 11th. Notre Dame’s roller-coaster season hit another dip with a 3-1 loss at Connecticut. The Irish fall from eighth to 12th, and the Huskies jump from 16th to 13th. Four teams lost to one Top 20 team while beating another — or beating a team in contention for the Top 20: Clemson (loss at North Carolina, win at Wake Forest), St. Mary’s (win over previously beaten Pepperdine, loss to Santa Clara), Washington (win at California, loss at Stanford) and Wake Forest (loss to Clemson, win over Florida State).
| 10/22 | TEAM | RECORD | 10/15 |
| 1 | North Carolina | (13-0-0) | 1 |
| 2 | Santa Clara | (13-1-0) | 3 |
| 3 | Stanford | (11-1-0) | 4 |
| 4 | UCLA | (12-1-0) | 2 |
| 5 | Portland | (11-2-0) | 5 |
| 6 | Penn State | (12-2-1) | 7 |
| 7 | Nebraska | (12-2-0) | 9 |
| 8 | Virginia | (11-2-1) | 10 |
| 9 | Texas | (9-3-0) | 11 |
| 10 | Texas A&M | (8-3-1) | 12 |
| 11 | Florida | (11-2-1) | 6 |
| 12 | Notre Dame | (11-2-1) | 8 |
| 13 | Connecticut | (12-4-0) | 16 |
| 14 | Clemson | (10-3-0) | 13 |
| 15 | St. Mary’s | (12-1-1) | 14 |
| 16 | Washington | (8-3-1) | 18 |
| 17 | Princeton | (10-1-1) | 20 |
| 18 | Tennessee | (9-4) | NR |
| 19 | Wake Forest | (7-5-1) | 19 |
| 20 | Florida State | (10-5-0) | 17 |