Last week, the BYU women’s soccer team made history with its first win over a No. 1-ranked team when the Cougars beat UCLA 3-1.
Now, BYU has accomplished another historic first — on Tuesday, the Cougars came in at No. 1 in the latest United Soccer Coaches rankings.
BYU earned all eight first-place votes in jumping seven spots in the latest coaches top 25 poll, while defending national champion UCLA fell to No. 4.
It’s the first time the Cougars have ever been ranked No. 1 in the coaches poll.
The victory over the Bruins garnered BYU a healthy jump in other rankings, too.
BYU, which also beat Utah Valley 6-1 last Saturday, leapt to No. 3 in the latest Top Drawer Soccer rankings, behind only No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Stanford.
The Cougars climbed to No. 2 in NCAA.com’s women’s soccer top 5 power rankings as well.
“The Cougars have proven the reigning national champs are shakeable. Embodying the confidence of their 5,209 faithful, BYU took down UCLA 3-1 with all three goals scored by players coming off the bench,” NCAA.com’s Maria Howell wrote. “The triumph marks the Cougars’ first-ever win over a first-ranked team and the most goals (3) scored against UCLA since 2021.”
What’s next for the No. 1 BYU women’s soccer team?
The Cougars, now 6-0-0, have several key matchups in the coming weeks. Here’s a look at their next five opponents.
Sept. 9 — at Utah
The Cougars will face their in-state rivals in their first game as the nation’s top-ranked team. The Utes are 3-1-2 and coming off a 2-2 draw with Cal-State Fullerton. Utah lost 1-0 to then-No. 11 Clemson in its only game against a top-25 team so far.
Sept. 14 — vs. No. 25 TCU
The Horned Frogs jumped into the last spot in the top 25 this week after beating Texas A&M 1-0 in their most recent game. TCU is 2-2-1, with its two losses coming against top 10-ranked opponents — 1-0 vs. Florida State, 2-0 vs. Penn State. This will be BYU’s first Big 12 conference game in school history and the only home game over the next five contests.
Sept. 16 — at Utah State
The Aggies are 2-3-1 on the season. Utah State tied BYU 1-1 in their matchup last season in Logan. The Aggies have one common opponent thus far with BYU: the Cougars beat Saint Louis 3-2 in their season opener, while Utah State lost 2-0 to the Billikens.
Sept. 21 — at Baylor
The Bears will be BYU’s first Big 12 road opponent in the Cougars’ first season in the league. Baylor has gone 3-1-1 in the early portion of the season, defeating Oregon 2-0 to start the year and beating Louisiana Tech and Butler last week.
Sept. 25 — at No. 17 Texas
The Longhorns are the second-highest ranked Big 12 team behind BYU. Texas is 5-1-0, on a three-game winning streak, and is second nationally in goal scoring, averaging 4.67 goals per game. The Cougars were picked to finish first in this year’s Big 12 preseason poll with the Longhorns third, though Texas had the second-most first-place votes behind BYU.