Last Updated 11:39 AM, December 06, 2023
Maria Howell | krikya18.com

Florida State wins the 2023 DI women's soccer championship

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Florida State vs. Stanford: 2023 DI women's soccer championship highlights
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1:29 am, December 5, 2023

Florida State claims their fourth title 😌 🥳

Florida State women's soccer wins the 2023 national final

The undefeated Florida State (22-0-1) defends its spotless record and claims its fourth national championship in program history over Stanford, hoisting the NCAA trophy for a third time in the last six seasons. The dominant 5-1 win was not only extremely entertaining for the crowded Seminole fan section at WakeMed stadium, but it was also the largest championship win since 2003. 

Scoring was opened up by a pair of Seminole goals scored in 26 seconds of each other in the 28th minute followed by an onslaught of attacking plays that the Cardinal struggled to put out. Despite a Stanford goal in the 51st, it was all Florida State from there. Ignited by a Beata Olsson goal that paid no attention to the Cardinal's efforts to level the score,  Jody Brown netted her second of the game and fourth of the night. One look at Florida State's bench, smiling and dancing as the game went on, and it was clear the Seminoles were riding on an unreachable high. There was no stopping them. Team-leading goal scorer Onyi Echegini scored a fifth goal for good measure in the 83rd as everyone wearing garnet and gold geared up to celebrate at the sound of the final whistle.

BRACKET: Printable | Interactive

With the win, the Seminoles cracked Stanford's unbeaten streak (20-1-4) and became the first undefeated champions since 2011 when Stanford won with a 23-0 record. 

10:10 pm, December 4, 2023

Updates from the championship match 🤭⚽️

83:57 | GOAL Florida State 😮‍💨

The Noles just keep on rolling, this one off the boot of Onyi Echegini for her 16th goal of the season.

60:59 | GOAL Florida State 😱

And they've done it again. Whoever said 2-0 was a dangerous lead wasn't accounting for a lethal Florida State front line. Jody Brown buried her second of the game with a one-touch finish off a short pass from none other than Beata Olsson. 

57:45 | GOAL Florida State 🤯

Beata Olsson charged after a long ball from the inside the FSU half, she sprinted past the last Stanford defender and took one touch to face Ryan Campbell one-on-one before slotting a shot low and hard to extend the Florida State lead to 3-1.

51:01 | GOAL Stanford 👀

The Cardinal kicked off the second half with a bang. Off a switch of play across the top of the Florida State box, Maya Doms finished a right-footed shot that slipped into the corner of the net past seasoned goalie Cristina Roque. Stanford is now the only team to have scored on the Noles throughout the entire NCAA tournament. 

45:00 | Noles up 2-0 at the half

Thirty seconds of Florida State madness produced the only two goals in the half. The Noles edged the Cardinal in possession 63% to 37% and outshot them 7-2. As any soccer player will tell you though, 2-0 is known to be the most dangerous lead. It only takes one goal to shift the momentum and a game can be completely changed. 

28:53 | NOLES SCORE AGAIN

Just 26 seconds later, Jody Brown doubled the lead off a beautiful sequence. It all started with Jordyn Dudley's chest bump which landed at Brown's feet before she dished it off to Onyi Echegini's and continued her run as Taylor Huff sent an expertly woven through ball into Brown's overlap into the six. Touch, finish, goal. 

28:27| GOAL Florida State 

Freshman Jordyn Dudley earned and converted a PK after getting fouled by a Stanford defender just inside the eighteen.

11:55 | Scoreless — Noles on their third corner

Just over ten minutes into the championship match the Noles are keeping a steady flow of possession and attacking runs in the Stanford half. They've earned three unsuccessful corners and a freekick outside the box so far. The Cardinal backline stands strong, though, with keeper Ryan Campbell directing and coming off her line to punch away anything in her box.

Playing for Katie Meyer

The Stanford players paid tribute to former goalkeeper Katie Meyer by wearing her number on their warmup jerseys. The team is featuring a green butterfly patch on their game jersey in remembrance of Katie who took her own life in 2022. She would have been a senior this year. Katie loved butterflies and green is the color of mental health awareness.

Starting lineups are out 

For the No. 1 Florida State Seminoles:

For the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal: 
6:43 pm, December 4, 2023

Preview: Florida State vs. Stanford 👀 🏆

The day is finally here. Today, December 4th, the 2023 DI women's soccer national champion will be crowned and for the first time, both opponents are undefeated. No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Stanford are both looking to claim their program's fourth title. By the end of the night, only one crest will be gaining a new star and only one will be the first undefeated champion in over a decade — specifically, since 2011 when Stanford won its first title with a 23-0 record. 

These two foes are no strangers to meeting in pivotal moments. The last matchup between the two powerhouses was in 2018, also in Cary, for a national semifinal that saw Florida State win 2-0 advancing to ultimately claim their second national title. With that 2018 victory, the Noles snapped a Cardinal 45-match unbeaten streak. The year before that, in 2017, it was Stanford with the upper hand, beating Florida State 1-0 in a third-round matchup on their way to claiming the Cardinal's second national title. Remember that 2011 undefeated champion Standford squad? Yes, a Florida State matchup was involved there too. The Cardinal won their first national title that year after beating Florida State 3-0 in the semifinals. The only time the two teams met up and it didn't result in a national title was in 2010 when Stanford crushed the Noles 5-0 in the quarterfinals only to narrowly drop the championship to Notre Dame.

And tonight the saga continues. Soccer fans all over the nation and abroad will have the privilege to watch yet another monumental moment between Florida State and Stanford as the next chapter of history unfolds.

4:53 am, December 2, 2023

The table is set for the 2023 College Cup Final 🍽️

FSU wins semis

And then there were two. Florida State and Stanford move on to the 2023 national championship final with a chance at claiming the national crown. The Seminoles advance off a scrappy 2-0 win over Clemson while Stanford's two early goals and outstanding defense against BYU's relentless attack earned them a ticket to the tournament final. For the first time in championship history, both College Cup finalists boast undefeated records. Come Monday night, only one will remain undefeated.

Teams will have two days to recover, regroup and refocus before taking the field for the ultimate deciding match on Monday at 6 p.m. ET at WakeMed Park in Cary, NC.

1:16 am, December 2, 2023

Semifinal No. 2: Stanford advances to final; Stanford 2, BYU 0

FINAL | Stanford advances to national championship final

For the first time in history, two undefeated teams will face off for the national championship as Stanford defeated BYU 2-0 to close out the 2023 Women's College Cup Semis. Two goals early on from Allie Montoya and Maya Doms served as the deciding factor to propel the Cardinal on to face the Florida State Seminoles in the 2023 national championship.

00:70 | Stanford remains on top but BYU is not backing down

A little over halfway through the half the score is still two-nil. The Cougars had another almost-goal ripped away from them after a shot bounced off the crossbar and down but failed to cross the goal line. The ref confirmed the no-goal with a video review. For every few Cougar chances, though, the Cardinal has responded with dangerous counters keeping BYU's goalie Lynette Hernaez on her toes. 

00:45 | BYU's late chance is called off; score stays at 2-0

An outburst of screams interrupted Florida State coach Brian Pensky mid-sentence as the whole press room turned in surprise to watch Stanford's goal in the second minute of play. Not more than a question later the postgame press conference of tonight's first semifinal was interrupted again. The Cardinal scored as many goals as FSU before the Noles' postgame press conference had reached its end. 

After the early goals, the Stanford backline withstood an aggressive response from the Cougars who recorded 9 shots and found the back of the net late in the half only for the sideline ref to call it offsides. BYU has been known to come back from worse before and tonight's second half could provide an opportunity for another wild Cougars resurgence.

00:04 | Stanford goal... AGAIN

This time it was Maya Doms who netted the goal, tallying her 11th of the season and putting Stanford in a comfortable position under five minutes into the semifinal.

00:01 | Goal Stanford

A minute and eighteen seconds in and the Cardinal is on the board. And what a goal it was. Allie Montoya made a late run into the box to catch the end of a square ball from Jasmine Aikey. It only took Montoya two touches before striking a bomb over the outstretched hands of the BYU goalie. 

8:30 p.m. | Semi No. 2

Semifinal No. 2 of the 2023 Women's College Cup is up next as BYU takes on Stanford.

The stage is set and both teams are preparing to face off in Friday night's highly anticipated showdown. Here's a look at what's in store:

10:51 pm, December 1, 2023

Semifinal No. 1: Seminoles advance to final; FSU 2, Clemson 0

FINAL | Florida State advances to national championship final

For the seventh time in program history, the Seminoles head back to the National Championship after knocking off the Clemson Tigers 2-0 in the 2023 Women's College Cup semis.

Not one, but two galvanizing goals from Heather Gilchrist and freshman Jordyn Dudley helped the Noles down the Tigers to walk away with a win to propel them to the championship final. Now, the Noles play the waiting game to see who will grab spot No. 2 of the national championship.

00:53 | GOAL FSU; Noles double their lead 2-0

Star freshman and Hermann trophy semifinalist Jordyn Dudley charged past a defender to make her way inside the Clemson eighteen and netted an upper-90 finish to double the Noles' lead. The goal is Dudley's 13th of the season. 

00:45 | 1-0 FSU at the half

Talk about a scrappy half. These two teams aren't holding anything back with most fifty-fifty tackles and air challenges ending in a player down or foul called — 10 total fouls have been issued. So far, possession is split down the middle with Clemson barely edging the Noles 52% to 48% and the majority of action taking place in the middle third. The Tigers also edge Florida State in shots (8-5) and will look to equalize in the second period. 

00:37 | First goal Florida State

The Noles' Kaitlyn Zipay's first-time volley off an over-the-head pass from Heather Gilchrist rocketed into the back of the net to put FSU on the board in the 37th minute.

00:25 | Early box-to-box action 🎬

Halfway through the first half and both teams have had serious chances on both ends of the field but the score remains nil-nil. Clemson keeper Hallie Mackiewicz has slid off her line twice now to reclaim the ball from a box full of white FSU jerseys. On the other side, Noles goalie Cristina Roque made a massive dive to parry a shot just wide of the post. With plenty of play to come, the packed stadium is feeding off the back-and-forth action.

6 p.m. | And we're off! 

The two top-seeded opponents are ready to take the field. Here are the starting lineups.

For the No. 1 seeded Florida State Seminoles

For the first-time national semifinalist Clemson Tigers:

10:41 pm, November 30, 2023

Preview: College Cup SEMIS 🤩

The 2023 College Cup semifinals are here. Here's a look at the history between Friday's matchups. 

FSU vs. Clemson

No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 1 Clemson | 6 p.m. ET ESPNU 

In a rematch for the ages, two familiar foes, Florida State and Clemson, will share the pitch for a third time this season and 35th time in history — only now there’s a national title on the line. In the program’s first-ever national semifinal appearance, the Tigers will look to avenge a losing record against the Florida State, which is are making its 14th College Cup appearance.

The Seminoles have won the last two meetings, once in regular season play (4-2) and again in the ACC championship (2-1) just under a month ago. The ACC final, which was played at the same stadium as the College Cup, ended level at the half before the Noles broke away midway through the second and claimed the program’s fourth straight conference championship. The physical matchup resulted in five total yellow cards and Clemson recording 14 fouls. So, yes, there’s some history here. 

No. 1 BYU vs. No. 2 Stanford | 8:30 p.m. ET ESPNU

BYU vs. Stanford

Fresh off a miraculous quarterfinal comeback, BYU will face Stanford in the programs' 10th overall meeting, with the most recent in the second round of last year's NCAA tournament. After drawing 1-1 in the first half, the 2022 matchup ended in a PK win for BYU despite the frenzy of shots on both ends of the field. The Cougars recorded 22 shots — 12 on goal — and the Cardinal delivered a massive 33, with 10 finding the frame. 

In their only their second College Cup appearance, the Cougars have the chance to make program history by winning their first national title after falling short in a PK shootout to Florida State in 2019. College Cup veterans Stanford will be making their 10th College Cup appearance in the last 16 seasons and look to add a fourth national title to their resume. 

➡️ Follow live updates on this page throughout Friday's action

⚽️ MORE COLLEGE SOCCER ⚽️
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8:46 pm, November 25, 2023

College Cup is coming 🔜

Stanford women's soccer

The 2023 Women's College Cup is set. Four teams were awarded semifinalist trophies on Friday and Saturday to commemorate their advancement to the 2023 College Cup— three of them are No. 1 seeds. This Friday, Dec. 1 No. 1 Florida State will take on No. 1 Clemson while No. 1 BYU will play No. 3 Stanford at Wakemed stadium in Cary, NC.  

➡️ See the full bracket here

Semifinal schedule | Friday, Dec. 1

Quarterfinal results:

8:22 pm, November 25, 2023

Clemson advances to College Cup for first time in history 🥳

Clemson women's soccer

The Tigers will appear in the College Cup for the first time after today's 2-1 win over Penn State. Leading goal score Makenna Morris netted her 10th goal of the season to take the initial lead in the 70th minute before the Nittany Lions equalized just a few minutes later. The Tigers fired off a slew of shots before striking gold with seven minutes on the clock after a shot from Caroline Conti was knocked in by a Penn State defender.

The Tigers will take on ACC rivals Florida State in the semifinals on Friday, Dec. 1 at 6 p.m. in Cary, NC.
3:03 am, November 25, 2023

BYU makes miraculous comeback 🤯 🤯

BYU women's soccer

Miracle on ice. Down three goals with thirty minutes to go then up 4-3 with a minute and a half left: In a miraculous second-half comeback, the Cougars breakthrough No. 3 UNC's 3-0 lead and punch a ticket to the program's second-ever College Cup. BYU's four unanswered goals were highlighted by senior Bella Folino's brace that delivered the Cougars' first goal and later the equalizer.

Something different was in the air in Provo tonight, and it wasn't just the snow. Three Tar Heel goals in the first 20 minutes and three Cougar goals in the last 10 minutes boosted BYU to the largest comeback in championship history since 2003 when Florida defeated Ole Miss 4-3. Here's how it all went down.

The Tar Heels dominated the first half with Ally Sentnor notching a brace and an assist at the 20-minute mark. For a deeper look at UNC's strong first-half outing take a look at the post down below. In summary, UNC was the stronger team in the first period and outshot the Cougars eight to five while dominating possession. The second half though, was another story.

The goal that broke the ice. All you need to do here is listen, the eruption of cheers from the packed home crowd says it all. As soon as the Cougars were on the board, the sense of newfound hope and momentum was palpable. BYU delivered a steady firing of shots, edging the Heels 20-6 in the second half alone. Leading goal scorer Brecken Mozingo netted a world-class Olimpico— a rare goal scored directly from a corner kick— to extend her season total to 14 and cut the UNC lead to 3-2. A minute later, Folino struck again to bring the scoreboard to an even 3-3.

With the stands shaking under the stomping of the crowd and the Tarheel backline looking frazzled, Folino's equalizer in the 81st minute set the stage for Olivia Katoa to bring down the house in a grand finale. After a back-and-forth few minutes where UNC's Sentnor narrowly missed the frame, the Cougars worked the ball back into the attacking third. Off a switch of play, Mozingo charged toward the UNC eighteen before dishing a ball out to Katoa who took a strategic touch, creating a window of space for the game-winning left-footed finish.

The Cougars have a chance at claiming the program's first national title as they take on No. 2 Stanford in the semifinals of the 2023 Women's College Cup Friday, Dec. 1.
11:56 pm, November 24, 2023

Intense moments from the quarterfinals 🥶

20 minutes in and Ally Sentnor ignites the Heels 3-0 🤯

Ally Sentnor does it all. She dishes perfect balls, out-dribbles defenders and shoots heat-seeking missiles to score braces in icy quarterfinal matches. The redshirt sophomore forward had a hand in each of UNC's three goals in the first 20 minutes at No.1 BYU's packed stadium under steady snowfall. After assisting the first point of the night in just the second minute of play, Sentnor notched a stellar cutback goal that threaded three Cougar defenders catching a slight deflection and pounding into the back of the net. Then came the missile. Lining up for a freekick just outside the corner of the box, Sentnor tucked her head down and fired a shot that sliced through the freezing conditions and powered through the hands of the BYU goalie. Oh yeah, and that was all in the first 20 minutes of play. 

The Heels go into halftime up 3-0 as the Cougars look to reorganize ahead of the second period.

Back-to-back PK goals for FSU— and one 🍢🍢🍢

Yet again the Noles flipped on their second half switch and turned a game on its head in a matter of minutes. With less than thirty minutes left in regular time, the game was scoreless but a Pitt handball in the box gave FSU a chance to break away. And away they went. Junior Taylor Huff finished the first PK into the back left corner before a foul in the Pitt box gave way for another PK just five minutes later. This time, it was senior Leah Pais who notched a point from the spot to double her season goal record and double the Noles' lead. A minute later, the score climbed to three. Onyi Echegini gained control of a rebounded shot, touched past three defenders and slotted in her team-leading 15th goal. 

Florida State advances to the College Cup in Cary, NC, and will play the winner of tomorrow's No. 2 Penn State vs. No. 1 Clemson match.

The Huskers' late equalizer.... and the Cardinal's OT response🤯

After trailing 1-0 to No. 2 Stanford for the majority of the match, the Huskers capitalized off a set piece from the half and flicked on a goal with three minutes left in regular time, propelling the game into OT. Nebraska sophomore Sara Weber beat the Cardinal keeper to the lofted ball to sink her 16th goal of the season. 

The Cardinal kept a steady press in the opening minutes of OT making the difference in the 4th minute off a dangerous cross into the six. Maya Doms got a foot on a cheeky flick from Jasmine Aikey to score the game-winner and earn Stanford its eleventh berth into the College Cup.

Stanford will play the winner of tonight's No. 1 BYU vs No. 3 UNC match at 8 p.m. ET.

5:50 pm, November 19, 2023

Round of sixteen results 🔁

11:25 pm, November 19, 2023

More shining moments from the round of 16 ✨

Eleanor Dale lands her nation-leading 28th goal 🥳

Nebraska's  Eleanor Dale scored two goals in the Huskers' massive 4-0 win over UC Irvine extending her national-leading goal record to 28 — and today's points weren't just any goals. Midway through the first half, Dale slid through two defenders with one leg raised to connect with a cross mid-air and send the ball into the upper 90. With 4 minutes left to play, up 3-0, Dale was hungry for more. The English native delivered a premiere league freekick that soared over the wall and nestled into the back net.

Clemson's late equalizer and PK shootout 🫣

Just when it seemed the regular period would end in a scoreless tie, it was No. 4 Georgia who struck in the 83rd minute to go up 1-0 against No. 1 Clemson. The lead was shortlived. Clemson's Sydney Minarik expertly fizzed a ball from the Tiger half into Megan Bornkamp's run through the Georgia backline. Bornkamp took the ball off the bounce, flicking it over the goalie and volleying it into the empty net. The Tigers went on to win off a 5-4 advantage in penalty kicks after a scoreless double overtime.

5:50 pm, November 19, 2023

Penn State wins insane 4-3 OT battle against St. Louis 🤯

What a game. Braces and comebacks and blocked penalties— oh my! The seven-goal nail-bitter was ultimately settled by the Blue and White's Payton Linnehan beating the SLU keeper with a perfect first touch and finishing the game-winner in the first period of OT. 

To only highlight the game-winner would be to neglect the many shining moments and players that made this an epic rollercoaster matchup. Here's how it all went down. 

After twenty scoreless minutes, it was Penn State’s Kaitlyn MacBean who gave the Nittany Lions a 2-0 lead in the span of a minute and thirty seconds. Twice, Macbean worked skillfully inside the box; first by corralling a cross with her chest and secondly by out-dribbling a defender to get both shots off inside the six.

The flurry of goals, however, was not enough to deter SLU forward Hannah Larson from sprinting across the Penn State box to land a header goal just eight minutes after the MacBean brace. 

Larson wasn't done. After the Bilikens equalized in the 64th minute, Larson lined up to take a freekick just outside the eighteen. She couldn't have struck it better. Larson's ball flew over the wall and the outstretched hands of Big-Ten-leading goalkeeper Katherine Asman to sink into the upper left corner and lift the Bilikens to 3-2.

The Biliken backline held onto the lead as hard as they could with keeper Emily Puricilli tackling a penalty kick from reaching the side netting. With three minutes left in the regular period, the Nittany Lions weren't giving up. Cory Dyke lofted in a freekick for Mieke Schiemann to score the equalizer that sent the game into overtime.

1:37 am, November 19, 2023

👊🏻 Fightin' back: BYU rallies past Michigan State 3-1

🥳 BYU wins 3-1

Thanks to an 80th-minute headed goal off a corner from Ellie Walbruch and a massive save from Lynette Hernandez in the dying moments, BYU ultimately cruised to a relatively comfortable win over the Spartans. 

BYU advances to the NCAA DI women's soccer tournament quarterfinals for the third time in five seasons, awaiting the winner of North Carolina and Texas Tech next weekend. 

Here's how it happened:

🐱 Cougars in control 

Falling behind for the first time all tournament, BYU responded with top-seeded assurance Saturday, scoring twice in five minutes to take a 2-1 lead into the final 20 minutes. The Cougars' relentless pressure in the attacking third finally bore fruit, drawing a PK amidst a goal line scramble after a reckless challenge from behind.

Spartan keeper Kaitlyn Parks guessed correctly but couldn't quite reach the surgical spot kick from Brecken Mozingo, leveling the match at one. The UCLA transfer took the scenic route to double her account minutes later, firing a stunning 25-yard strike into the top corner. 

 Sparty in front!

With quality beginning to ooze from top-seeded BYU, pinning the Spartans deep in their own territory to open the second half, MSU took full advantage of a rare counterattack to take a stunning lead. Alex Hargrave managed to win a free kick on the break 35 yards from goal and a pinballing delivery found Gabby Mueller, who fired a perfectly-placed dribbling effort that beat a diving keeper and snuck just inside the far post. 

Michigan State takes a 1-0 lead against the run of play and will look to hold on for 40 minutes in Provo. Stay tuned for live updates the rest of the way!

 Penalty shout!

Surging forward from the right flank, defender Olivia Smith-Griffitts drove into the penalty box and was felled by a Michigan State defender, eliciting an outraged cry from the sold-out home crowd. The referee ruled a legal challenge however, and the game remains deadlocked heading into the locker room.  

❌ Stalemate after 30'

A packed house in Provo has enjoyed two heavyweights feeling each other out through 30 minutes of action, with the two teams combining for five shots on target but still waiting on a breakthrough after the first half hour. Continue following along for live updates for the opening match of the DI women's soccer tournament's third round