GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - When the Colorado Mesa women's soccer program begins RMAC play on Friday against New Mexico Highlands, they will do so with their highest-ever in-season national ranking.

In the United Soccer Coaches Week 3 National Poll released Tuesday morning, the Mavericks are tied for the No. 5 ranking in the country. That marks a 12-spot rise from their No. 17 ranking a week ago, the second-highest jump in the nation this week.

The Mavs trail Ashland, College of Saint Rose, Catawba and West Florida and are tied with Minnesota State. At 5-0-0, Colorado Mesa is one of only four teams in the Top 25 with no losses or ties. The Mavericks are currently the top-ranked team in the South Central regional, ahead of No. 9 Dallas Baptist and No. 15 Colorado School of Mines, two programs who faced one another in the NCAA national quarterfinals last year.

Colorado Mesa only been in the national top five once before – in the preseason rankings before the 1999 season. The Mavericks were also tied for the No. 5 national spot coming off a 1998 season in which CMU (then Mesa State) went 17-4-1. The Mavs would lose two of their first three games in the 1999 season and drop out of the poll the following week.

The previous regular season high for the program came in 1997, when the Mavericks rose to No. 7 overall on October 6, 1997 with a record of 10-1. The Mavericks also reached the top 10 in the 1998 season, rising as high as No. 8 overall.

The 2023 Mavericks are currently tied with the 1997 Mavericks for the best start to a season in program history at 5-0. This year's Mavericks have outscored opponents 16-2 through five matches with just one home game. With wins over Lubbock Christian, Angelo State and West Texas A&M, the Mavs have beaten the teams ranked second, third and fourth in the Lone Star Conference's preseason poll, the in-region partner of the RMAC for NCAA Tournament qualifying and seeding.

The Mavs will put their top-five ranking on the line as they face New Mexico Highlands on Friday at 3 p.m. and Adams State on Sunday at 1 p.m. Those will be the final two of six consecutive matches away from home for CMU. The Mavericks will be at home next against Black Hills State on October 1.