Carondelet held steady at No. 1 in the Bay Area News Group girls soccer rankings, but a Peninsula school is charging fast.
Menlo-Atherton, nowhere to be found in the preseason rankings, shut out its first five opponents and then tied Mountain View 2-2.
The Bears are now ranked fourth.
They have a balanced attack, with seven players scoring in wins against South San Francisco, Sacred Heart Prep and Leland.
Another newcomer is No. 11 Harker, which is off to a 4-0 start.
Just above Harker is No. 10 Lincoln-San Jose, which was undefeated until losing to Menlo-Atherton 2-0.
St. Francis’ 6-0 start, which includes a win over defending NorCal Division II champion Leigh, moved the Lancers from No. 6 to No. 2.
Leigh also lost to St. Ignatius and beat Bishop O’Dowd 6-1.
Though 1-2, Leland remained ranked at No. 15.
On to the rankings …
Bay Area News Group girls soccer top 15
(Mercury News & East Bay Times)
No. 1 CARONDELET (2-0-0)
Preseason ranking: 1
Update: Beat Clovis 7-0 at a neutral site and then beat Buchanan 2-0.
Up next: Wednesday vs. Berkeley, 6 p.m.
No. 2 ST. FRANCIS (6-0-0)
Preseason ranking: 6
Update: Beat Hillsdale, Los Altos, defending NorCal Division II champ Leigh and Live Oak, along with Pioneer and Leland.
Up next: Saturday vs. St. Ignatius at Fremont-Sunnyvale, 11:40 a.m
No. 3 WOODSIDE (4-0-0)
Preseason ranking: 9
Update: Shut out Half Moon Bay, Terra Nova, Alisal and Los Altos by a combined score of 14-0.
Up next: Jan. 3 vs. St. Francis, 7 p.m.
No. 4 MENLO-ATHERTON (5-0-1)
Preseason ranking: Not ranked
Update: Started the season on a five-game winning streak. Beat South San Francisco, Leland, Notre Dame-Belmont, Lincoln-San Jose and Sacred Heart Prep by a combined score of 14-0 before drawing with Mountain View 2-2.
Up next: Thursday at Palo Alto, 6 p.m.
No. 5 ST. IGNATIUS (3-0-0)
Preseason ranking: Not ranked
Update: Beat Sacred Heart Prep 6-1, Leigh 1-0 and then-No. 2 Mountain View 2-1.
Up next: Thursday at Monte Vista, 5:30 p.m.
No. 6 MOUNTAIN VIEW (2-2-1)
Preseason ranking: 2
Update: Lost its opener to Los Gatos 4-2, beat Pioneer 3-1, lost to St. Ignatius 2-1 and then beat Sacred Heart Prep 3-0. Tied Menlo-Atherton 2-2 on Tuesday.
Up next: Saturday vs. Carlmont at Fremont-Sunnyvale, 8 a.m.
No. 7 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (1-0-2)
Preseason ranking: 3
Update: Defeated Carlmont 4-0. Tied Leland 0-0 and St. Francis-Sacramento 2-2.
Up next: Thursday vs. Montgomery, 7:30 p.m.
No. 8 SAN RAMON VALLEY (5-0-0)
Preseason ranking: 7
Update: Defeated Antioch, American, Las Lomas and Castro Valley by a combined score of 15-3. In a rematch against Antioch, SRV won again, 7-0.
Up next: Thursday at Casa Grande-Petaluma, 5:30 p.m.
No. 9 MONTE VISTA (1-0-1)
Preseason ranking: 4
Update: Beat Vintage 5-0 in the opener and tied Berkeley 1-1.
Up next: Thursday vs. St. Ignatius, 5:30 p.m.
No. 10 LINCOLN (5-1-0)
Preseason ranking: Not ranked
Update: Was on a four-match winning streak until losing to Menlo-Atherton 2-0. Rebounded with a 10-0 win against Overfelt.
Up next: Saturday at Menlo School, 1:30 p.m.
No. 11 HARKER (4-0-0)
Preseason ranking: Not ranked
Update: Beat Scotts Valley 4-0 in its season opener, then defeated James Lick, Prospect and Castilleja by a combined score of 11-3.
Up next: Friday at Half Moon Bay, 5 p.m.
No. 12 PIEDMONT HILLS (3-1-0)
Preseason ranking: 12
Update: Beat Scotts Valley 5-0 and Christopher 3-1, lost to Presentation 4-1 and then beat Milpitas 5-0.
Up next: Wednesday at Saratoga, 7 p.m.
No. 13 CAMPOLINDO (3-0-0)
Preseason ranking: 13
Update: Defeated Casa Grande 1-0 and Miramonte 2-1. Tuesday, Campo beat Clayton Valley Charter 2-0.
Up next: Thursday at Alhambra, 7 p.m.
No. 14 ACALANES (3-0-1)
Preseason ranking: 14
Update: Beat Hayward, Oakland Tech and Bethel by a combined score of 21-0. Tuesday, the Dons played College Park to a scoreless draw.
Up next: Thursday vs. Northgate, 7 p.m.
No. 15 LEIGH (1-2-0)
Preseason ranking: 5
Update: Lost 2-1 to St. Ignatius and 3-0 to St. Francis. Defeated Bishop O’Dowd 6-1.
Up next: Jan. 3 at Branham, 6:15 p.m.
Teams eligible for the Bay Area News Group rankings come from leagues based predominantly in Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. For updated records, please email highschools@bayareanewsgroup.com.
Source: www.mercurynews.com