CHARLOTTE - After battling through its toughest week of the season last week, Northwest remains No. 1 in the NJCAA Division II Women's Soccer Rankings for the ninth straight poll.

The rankings are released every Monday afternoon and the Lady Rangers enter this week at 12-0 overall, following victories over previous No. 20 Itawamba and No. 4 Holmes. Northwest defeated ICC 5-1 last Tuesday, before battling to a gritty 3-2 win at Holmes on Friday.

Johnson County (Kan.) remains at No. 2 with a 12-0-3 record, followed by third-ranked Heartland (14-1-1). Holmes remained at No. 4 with its season record slipping to 10-3-1, while Phoenix College rounds out the top five with an 11-1-1 overall mark.

As for other MACCC teams represented in the polls, Jones College slid from No. 5 to No. 7 in this week's rankings, followed by 12th-ranked Pearl River. Itawamba moved up two spots to No. 18 and Mississippi Gulf Coast rejoined the rankings at No. 20 overall.

This week is a light slate for Northwest, with just one match on the docket. That is scheduled for Tuesday at 5 P.M., when the Lady Rangers pay a visit to East Mississippi. The Lady Lions (1-8-2, 0-6-1 MACCC) are in the midst of a four-match losing skid that includes a 6-0 loss to Meridian last Friday.

Start time is scheduled for 5 P.M. with live broadcast coverage on emcclive.com.