Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG – With the conclusion of the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer season, which saw Atlantic Coast Conference members Florida State and North Carolina battle for the championship on Sunday – won by the Seminoles – the major soccer organizations are releasing their final national rankings.
Virginia Tech women's soccer, fresh off its run to the Round of 16, entered the two major polls to end the season ranked in the Top 25. It's the first time the Hokies are ranked at the end of the year since 2015.
The United Soccer Coaches announced its final poll on Dec. 4 and the Hokies earned 152 total points good for a ranking of 21, one of seven ACC teams, all of which made the Sweet 16, to be ranked. Tech was the highest ascending team in the poll, going from "not receiving votes" (which had 40 teams with at least one vote in the last poll) to the 21st spot.
Wake Forest was the only other program that was "NR" and made the final poll at No. 25. Oddly, Texas, who the Hokies beat 1-0 on the Austin campus – one of only two teams to pull off a win over an NCAA national seed in the first round, checked in one spot higher than Tech at No. 20. CLICK HERE to see the final USC poll.
TopDrawerSoccer released its final women's college rankings on Dec. 3 and tabbed the Hokies as the No. 23 program in the nation. Tech was one of six ACC schools to be ranked in this poll (the Demon Deacons did not make the list), while TDS also did not have the Longhorns in its final ranking either.
The Hokies were one of six programs to make TDS Top 25 that were not ranked at the end of the regular season, but were one of only two schools that weren't ranked in the poll during the entire season until the final poll. Hofstra, checking in at No. 24, was the other school, as they were also the only other program to knock off a national seed in the first round. CLICK HERE to see the final TDS poll.