The USU-Eastern Lady Eagles soccer team has jumped to No. 16 in the first release of the NJCAA top 20 rankings since the pre-season poll in August.

Falling just shy of the top 20 when the initial poll was released, the Lady Eagles grabbed the attention of the voters with five consecutive wins to start the regular season. USU-Eastern recently earned a convincing 3-1 victory over Southern Nevada to open Scenic West Athletic Conference play.

“We are better than we have been the past two years,” said head coach Ammon Bennett. “We have more depth, we’re faster, more technical and more creative. The one thing we need to do better is make the game more simple for ourselves.”

The Lady Eagles have outscored their opponents 16-3 in the five games played this season. The team has also notched two shutouts topping Northeastern 2-0, and Mesa State 6-0.

Freshman forward Alexi Barbosa currently leads the team in scoring with three goals in four games. Megan Call, Rachel Neff and Bella Sorensen have all score two. Freshman goalkeepers Shayann Jones and Summer Yazzie have split duties throughout the year.

Eastern Florida State remains the No. 1 team in the country after starting the season 4-0-0. Paradise Valley, Northern Oklahoma Tonkawa, Butler and Tyler round the top five.

USU-Eastern will put their top 20 ranking on the line when the season continues Friday and Saturday on the road against Salt Lake Community College. The two schools will play one more time later in the season in Price.

Click HERE for the complete NJCAA Top 20 Rankings: