Mary Kate Bowers and her Leesville Road teammates have raced past every team in America, save for one, in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Girls Soccer Rankings.
Photo by Fabian Radulescu
With playoffs come upsets and with upsets come shakeups — and that could not be truer in this week's edition of the Maxpreps Xcellent 25 National Girls Soccer Rankings.
The top three teams are all brand new, including a new No. 1 team for the second time this year, as Novi of Michigan becomes the third team to try the top spot on for size. Leesville Road, after a dominant performance over Ardrey Kell in the North Carolina state finals, shoots up from No. 9 to No. 2.
Deep Run of Virginia, which has stayed perfect on the season, jumped five spots into the Top five for the first time this year. Deep Run has started off the Virginia state playoffs on a tear, moving to the Central Region semifinals.
It wasn't just shake-up at the top this week, as five new teams joined the rankings, three of them joining for the first time.
Athens of Michigan has stayed the course of late and has established itself as perhaps the second-best team in the state behind Novi, as it checks in at No. 21, while a pair of teams from Illinois have made unexpected runs in to the state semifinals, with York coming in at No. 20 and Conant at No. 22. The two will play each other on Friday for the right to play in the state title game.
Liberty, the former No. 1 team in the land, rejoins the rankings, coming in at No. 19 as it has made a push to the Missouri semifinals, while Green Hope of North Carolina takes advantage of all the teams losing ahead of it, and moves back in at No. 25.
MaxPreps girls soccer state championships updateMAXPREPS XCELLENT 25 NATIONAL GIRLS SOCCER RANKINGS1. (Last Week No. 6) Novi (Mich.) 16-0-2The Wildcats are this week's new top team after they won the KLAA championship, winning a pair of first place crossover games and jumping up to No. 2 in the rankings. Novi beat Canton 6-2 and then edged Brighton 2-1 to stay undefeated on the year.
2. (9) Leesville Road (Raleigh, N.C.) 24-1-1The Pride topped Ardrey Kell 3-0 to win the North Carolina 4A state title, claiming their third title in the last four years and getting back on top after an overtime loss in the semifinals in 2010. The Leesville Road four-year varsity players ended their careers with a record of 95-4-5.
3. (4) Harrison (Kennesaw, Ga.) 21-0-2The Hoyas are the Georgia 5A champions.
4. (3) Wando (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) 23-1The Warriors are the South Carolina 4A champs.
5. (10) Deep Run (Glen Allen, Va.) 18-0The Wildcats clinched a Colonial District championship, beating Maggie Walker 4-0 in the district semifinal, and then on the next night beat Godwin 3-1 to claim the crown. They moved on to the Central Region playoffs, starting that off with a 7-0 win over Matoaca, advancing to face a very good Cosby team in the semifinals.
6. (8) Cumberland Valley (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) 23-1The Eagles are ready to make a run for the Pennsylvania state title, finishing strong heading into the state tournament. They beat a very good Lower Dauphin team 3-0 and then recently beat crosstown rival Mechanicsburg 4-0.
7. (7) Spain Park (Hoover, Ala.) 25-3-1The Jaguars won their third consecutive 6A state title, already completing their season.
8. (2) Ardrey Kell (Charlotte, N.C.) 25-1The Knights couldn't get past Leesville Road in the North Carolina 4A state title game, losing 3-0, their first loss of the year. It was also a chance to claim the top spot after Neuqua Valley slipped up.
9. (1) Neuqua Valley (Naperville, Ill.) 24-1The Wildcats' dream of an Illinois 3A state title came to an end with a 1-0 loss to Naperville North in the Aurora Sectional final. And with that loss, they also lose the opportunity to finish as the nation's top team, something that was within their control.
10. (9) Bishop Kelley (Tulsa, Okla.) 17-1The Comets' season has already ended, beating Deer Creek 1-0 in the 5A title game.
11. (10) Edmond North (Okla.) 15-2-1The Huskies' season already ended with a 3-2 win over Union in the 6A title game.
12. (13) Davis (Calif.) 25-1-1The Blue Devils have already clinched the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title, beating St. Francis 1-0.
13. (15) Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) 17-0-2The Golden Eagles finished the season in fine fashion, beating Dakota Ridge 3-1 in the Colorado 5A state final on May 25.
14. (5) Loyola Academy (Wilmette, Ill.) 24-1-3The rough time for the top teams in Illinois continued as the Ramblers couldn't seize the opportunity to claim the state's, or the nation's, top spot after a 1-0 loss in the 3A state super sectionals. Prior to the loss, the Ramblers won the Evanston Township Section, beating New Trier 2-0.
15. (14) Rio Americano (Sacramento, Calif.) 19-0The Raiders won the Sac-Joaquin Section Division III title with a 2-0 triumph over Benicia.
16. (16) Union (Tulsa, Okla.) 15-2The Redskins' season ended on May 14 with a 3-2 loss in the 6A final.
17. (18) Broad Run (Ashburn, Va.) 19-1The Spartans won the Dulles District Tournament, coming from behind to beat Woodgrove 3-2 in the final behind two goals and an assist from
Whitney Church. Prior to that, Broad Run rolled over Freedom 5-1 in the semifinals. The Spartans then avenged their only loss of the season, starting the regional playoffs with a 3-1 home win over Briar Woods.
18. (22) Blue Valley Northwest (Overland Park, Kan.) 18-3The Huskies are the Kansas 6A champions, winning the title in very impressive fashion. They beat an undefeated Maize team 7-0 in the semifinals, then beat Shawnee Mission West 1-0 in the championship game in a battle of two ranked teams.
Ellie Chadick scored the lone goal as Blue Valley Northwest avenged an earlier overtime loss. Hanna Chadick, with 19 goals on the year, was named the Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year.
19. (NR) Liberty (Mo.) 25-3The Blue Jays, the former No. 1 team in the land, have jumped back into the rankings after righting the ship and reaching the Missouri 3A semifinals. Liberty is 25-3 after starting the state tournament with a pair of 3-1 wins over Park Hill and Lee's Summit North.
20. (NR) Naperville North (Ill.) 17-5-1The Huskies are on some sort of a tear right now, upsetting previously top-raked Neuqua Valley 1-0 in the Aurora Sectional final, then beating York 2-1 to advance to the Illinois 3A state semifinals.
21. (NR) Athens (Troy, Mich.) 16-2The Red Hawks make their long-awaited debut in the Xcellent 25 as they seem to be finishing the regular season strong heading into district playoffs with a 6-0 win over Lasher. Athens is ranked as the No. 2 team in Michigan's Metro area, behind Novi.
22. (NR) Conant (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) 20-4The Cougars won the St. Charles Sectional championship of the Illinois state playoffs, then kept it going by upsetting the No. 5 team in the nation, Loyola Academy, winning 1-0 to advance to face Naperville North in the state semifinals.
23. (24) Millard North (Omaha, Neb.) 20-2The Mustangs' season has already been completed, winning a Nebraska state title.
24. (25) Conway (Ark.) 22-0The Wampus Cats finished the season undefeated after winning the Arkansas 7A title.
25. (NR) Green Hope (Cary, N.C.) 19-2The Falcons' loss to Leesville Road wasn't bad to begin with, but a 3-1 loss looks better now considering the Pride beat Ardrey Kell 3-0 in the 4A finals. Because of that, and with teams above it losing, Green Hope jumps back into the rankings.
Dropped: No. 17 Shawnee Mission West (Shawnee Mission, Kan.), No. 19 Forest Hills Central (Grand Rapids, Mich.), No. 21 Northville (Mich.), No. 20 Lyons (LaGrange, Ill.) and No. 23 Dakota Ridge (Littleton, Colo.).
