Foothill's loss opens the door for new No. 1
ESPN will release the ESPN RISE FAB 50 national girls' soccer winter rankings each week of the regular season and playoffs, continuing through the final matches of the Texas state playoffs.
The FAB 50 national title could have been settled Saturday.
Instead, now three teams are in the running for No. 1 - Kingwood (Humble, Texas), Reagan (San Antonio) and Melbourne (Fla.).
A section final loss by Foothill (Pleasanton, Calif.) turned the top spot over to Kingwood, and Reagan jumps to the No. 2 position in this week's rankings. Melbourne, which is finished, remains No. 3.
The reason for the Texas 1-2 is simple: Kingwood and Reagan are the only FAB 50 teams with a chance to post a perfect record this year. Given both compete in Texas 5A, at least one will have to lose at some point, meaning Melbourne will finish no lower than No. 2. If both Texas teams lose, the FAB 50 crown will head to Florida with Melbourne.
Torrey Pines (San Diego) is the highest-ranking California squad and the team's position is interesting to say the least. Torrey Pines was outplayed in a loss to former FAB 50 No. 1 Foothill, yet defeated San Ramon Valley (Danville, Calif.), the team that toppled Foothill in the section final.
If Torrey Pines wins its section title, it will clash with the best of the Southern Section, which includes No. 5 Aliso Niguel (Aliso Viejo, Calif.), No. 7 Los Alamitos (Calif.) and No. 10 San Clemente (Calif.), in the regional tournament. It appears the winner of the Southern Regional Championships will finish no lower than No. 3 in the FAB 50.
Results through March 1.
| ESPN RISE FAB 50 WINTER GIRLS' SOCCER RANKINGS: WEEK 12 (Nos. 1-25) | ||||
| Rk. | School (City, State) | Record | Prv. | Notes |
| 1 | Kingwood (Humble, Texas) | 22-0-0 | 2 | Kingwood handled Eisenhower (6-0) and MacArthur (8-0) last week to remain perfect. Coupled with Foothill's (Calif.) loss, Kingwood inherits the No. 1 ranking for the first time in the program's history. |
| 2 | Reagan (San Antonio, Texas) | 17-0-0 | 4 | Christy Lachappelle scored five goals last week -- four in the team's 8-1 win over Roosevelt and one in Reagan's 3-0 victory over San Antonio Lee -- as Reagan remained perfect. |
| 3 | Melbourne (Fla.) | 23-0-1* | 3 | Season complete. Florida Class 6A state champion. Melbourne denied Douglas a sixth state title in seven years with a 3-0 victory in the final. Carlee Jones had a goal and one assist in the final. |
| 4 | Torrey Pines (San Diego) | 19-2-2 | 6 | Chelsea Small and Alex Bailey scored as Torrey Pines defeated La Costa Canyon 2-0 in the CIF-San Diego Division I quarterfinals. |
| 5 | Aliso Niguel (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) | 22-2-2 | 8 | Horton Haley and Megan Sherman scored goals as Aliso Niguel ousted Santa Margarita 2-0 in the CIF-Southern Section Division I quarterfinals. Aliso next faces Los Alamitos in the semifinals. |
| 6 | Los Alamitos (Calif.) | 20-3-5 | 9 | Los Alamitos advanced to the CIF-Southern Section Division I semifinals with a shootout win over Mater Dei. The teams played to a scoreless draw. |
| 7 | Lake Highlands (Dallas) | 16-1-3 | 10 | Avery Atkins scored in both of Lake Highlands' wins last week - 4-1 over Sunset and 2-0 over Berkner. |
| 8 | The Woodlands (Texas) | 18-1-2 | 12 | The Woodlands routed Oak Ridge (8-0) with seven players scoring, then added a 4-0 victory over College Park last week. |
| 9 | Hebron (Texas) | 12-1-5 | 5 | Hebron was knocked from the undefeateds with a 3-2 setback to Coppell, but the one-loss team still has a shot at the district title. |
| 10 | San Clemente (San Clemente, Calif.) | 24-4-1 | 11 | Following a scoreless draw, San Clemente defeated Esperanza on penalty kicks to advance to this week's CIF-Southern Section Division I semifinals. San Clemente will face El Toro. |
| 11 | San Ramon Valley (Danville, Calif.) | 18-5-3* | 39 | Season complete. CIF-North Coast Section champion. San Ramon Valley stunned Foothill 4-3 in overtime in the section final for its fourth straight title. SRV trailed 3-1 with 15 minutes left before mounting the comeback. Allie Begin scored the winning goal in overtime. |
| 12 | Foothill (Pleasanton, Calif.) | 21-1-0* | 1 | Season complete. CIF-North Coast Section runner-up. Foothill was 13 minutes away from the FAB 50 national title before San Ramon Valley rallied for a 4-3 victory over the squad hailed as the most talented high school team every assembled in Northern California. Carlee Payne scored all three Foothill goals in the final. |
| 13 | Xavier College Prep (Phoenix) | 22-2-1* | 13 | Season complete. Arizona Class 5A-I state champion. Carmen Abella converted the decided penalty kick as Xavier defeated Desert Vista in a shootout following a scoreless match for the state title. |
| 14 | American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) | 25-2-3* | 14 | Season complete. Florida Class 3A state champion. Kleopatra Ruddock scored the game-winner as the Patriots edged Bolles School 2-1 in the final. At full strength, American Heritage was undefeated, including an earlier 3-0 victory over Bolles. The Patriots only losses this year came at a holiday tournament in which their starters, all club players, did not participate due to a club event. |
| 15 | Esperanza (Anaheim, Calif.) | 22-3-2* | 7 | Season complete. CIF-Southern Section Division I quarterfinalist. This former FAB 50 No. 1 team with Tennessee signee Kylie Bono and Southern Cal signee Courtney Garcia fell to San Clemente on penalty kicks following a scoreless draw in the quarterfiinals. |
| 16 | University (Palm Harbor, Fla.) | 22-2-0* | 16 | Season complete. Florida Class 5A state champion. Catherine Brinkman scored twice as University pulled away with two goals in the final 12 minutes to defeat George Jenkins 3-1 in the state final. The victory marked coach John Planamenta's 201st during his coaching career. |
| 17 | George Jenkins (Lakeland, Fla.) | 26-1-1* | 17 | Season complete. Florida Class 5A state runner-up. George Jenkins' 58-match undefeated run ended with a 3-1 loss to Palm Harbor University in the state final. |
| 18 | Oviedo (Fla.) | 22-2-1* | 19 | Season complete. Florida Class 6A state semifinalist. Oviedo gave Melbourne its toughest playoff match before falling 2-1 in the state semifinals. |
| 19 | Ursuline Academy (Dallas) | 21-3-2* | 20 | Season complete. TAPPS Division I state champion. Texas signee Sophie Campise scored both goals as Ursuline defeated rival Nolan Catholic 2-1 to secure the program's 19th straight TAPPS title. The victory also atones for a pair of Ursuline losses to Nolan Catholic during regular-season play. |
| 20 | Punahou (Honolulu) | 13-0-3* | 21 | Season complete. Hawaii Division I state champion. Jayann Gabrio's header in the 36th minute lifted Punahou to a 1-0 state final victory over three-time defending champion Kamehameha. The teams tied earlier in the season. Punahou's state final victory was its ninth overall and first since 2005. |
| 21 | Coppell (Texas) | 17-3-3 | 22 | Coppell positioned itself for a run at the district title with a 3-2 victory over Hebron last week. |
| 22 | J.J. Pearce (Richardson, Texas) | 15-1-1 | 27 | Pearce, a 4A school, cracks the Top 25 on the basis of a regular-season split with fellow Top 25-ranked Allen. |
| 23 | Plano East (Plano, Texas) | 12-3-4 | 32 | Plano East's three-match win streak, which includes a win over McKinney Boyd, has vaulted the team to first in the district. |
| 24 | McKinney Boyd (McKinney, Texas) | 15-3-2 | 33 | Kelly Monogue scored the winner in Boyd's 1-0 victory over Allen. |
| 25 | Allen (Texas) | 10-2-5 | 24 | Allen's six-match undefeated run ended with a 1-0 loss to McKinney Boyd. The teams play again March 17 to end the regular season. |
| ESPN RISE FAB 50 WINTER GIRLS' SOCCER RANKINGS: WEEK 12 (Nos. 26-50) | |||
| Rank | School (City, State) | Record | Prv. |
| 26 | Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) | 14-4-5* | 23 |
| 27 | El Toro (Lake Forest, Calif.) | 18-4-2 | 30 |
| 28 | Kamehameha (Honolulu) | 12-1-2* | 28 |
| 29 | Los Osos (Calif.) | 19-4-5* | 25 |
| 30 | Upland (Calif.) | 18-3-3* | 26 |
| 31 | Westview (San Diego, Calif.) | 20-2-4 | 31 |
| 32 | Burlingame (Calif.) | 19-1-4* | 44 |
| 33 | Rancho Buena Vista (Vista, Calif.) | 16-1-4 | 45 |
| 34 | Satellite (Satellite Beach, Fla.) | 21-5-2* | 29 |
| 35 | St. John's Country Day (Orange Park, Fla.) | 23-2-2* | 34 |
| 36 | Ponte Vedra (Fla.) | 25-3-2* | 36 |
| 37 | Cardinal Gibbons (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) | 29-1-2* | 37 |
| 38 | Desert Vista (Phoenix) | 16-4-4* | 38 |
| 39 | Buchanan (Fresno, Calif.) | 25-3-1 | 42 |
| 40 | Castro Valley (Calif.) | 21-4-1* | 43 |
| 41 | St. Ignatius (San Francisco) | 15-3-2* | 40 |
| 42 | Austin (Fort Bend, Texas) | 15-0-2 | NR |
| 43 | Clayton Valley (Concord, Calif.) | 20-4-3* | 48 |
| 44 | Seminole (Fla.) | 15-3-1* | 49 |
| 45 | Highland (Gilbert, Ariz.) | 14-4-1* | 50 |
| 46 | Greenhill School (Addison, Texas) | 21-1-1* | NR |
| 47 | Douglas (Parkland, Fla.) | 22-4-3* | NR |
| 48 | Cypress Creek (Houston) | 15-1-2 | NR |
| 49 | Mililani (Hawaii) | 15-1-2* | NR |
| 50 | St. Scholastica (Covington, La.) | 20-2-0* | NR |