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2023 Florida State Seminoles women's soccer team

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2023 Florida State Seminoles women's soccer
National Champions
ACC Tournament Champions
ACC Regular Season Champions
NCAA Tournament, College Cup
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
U. Soc. Coaches pollNo. 1
TopDrawerSoccer.comNo. 1
Record22–0–1 (9–0–1 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Bobby Shuttleworth (2nd season)
  • Aaron Brunner (2nd season)
  • Andrew Hudson (1st season)
Home stadiumSeminole Soccer Complex
Seasons
← 2022
2024 →
2023 ACC women's soccer standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
No. 1 Florida State  ‍y 9 0 1   .950 22 0 1   .978
No. 16 Notre Dame  ‍‍‍y 7 1 2   .800 12 4 4   .700
No. 3 Clemson  ‍‍‍y 7 2 1   .750 18 4 4   .769
No. 8 North Carolina  ‍‍‍y 5 0 5   .750 13 2 8   .739
No. 6 Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍y 6 3 1   .650 17 6 1   .729
Wake Forest  ‍‍‍ 4 2 4   .600 10 3 5   .694
Virginia  ‍‍‍ 3 3 4   .500 8 3 6   .647
Virginia Tech  ‍‍‍ 4 6 0   .400 7 8 3   .472
Louisville  ‍‍‍ 3 5 2   .400 4 9 5   .361
Duke  ‍‍‍ 2 5 3   .350 6 7 3   .469
NC State  ‍‍‍ 2 5 3   .350 3 9 6   .333
Miami (FL)  ‍‍‍ 2 7 1   .250 3 10 4   .294
Boston College  ‍‍‍ 0 6 4   .200 3 9 6   .333
Syracuse  ‍‍‍ 0 9 1   .050 2 14 2   .167
† – Conference champion
‡ – 2023 ACC Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament
Source: The ACC
As of December 5, 2023
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Poll

The 2023 Florida State Seminoles women's soccer team represented Florida State University during the 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. This was the 29th season of the university fielding a women's soccer program. The Seminoles were led by second-year head coach Brian Pensky, and played their home games at Seminole Soccer Complex.

The Seminoles started the season well by going 5–0 in non-conference play. They scored victories over three Power 5 schools, including eighth ranked TCU. They also won their in-state rivalry matchup with Florida. Their success carried over into ACC play as they began the regular season with a win over eighth ranked Clemson. They won their next game before a tie with then top-ranked North Carolina. The Seminoles would reach the number one ranking after winning their next three games. Once they held the number one ranking, they did not look back, winning their last four conference games to finish 9–0–1 in ACC play. Their final four game stretch included wins against two ranked teams, eleventh ranked Notre Dame and eighteenth ranked Pittsburgh.

The Seminoles entered the ACC Tournament undefeated and as the number one seed. After their first round bye, they defeated Pittsburgh in a regular season rematch to reach the Final. There they again faced off against Clemson, who they defeated 2–1 to win their fourth consecutive ACC Tournament title.[1] As tournament champions, they received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and were the first seed in the Florida State Bracket and the top overall seed in the tournament. They defeated Morehead State in the First Round, Texas A&M in the Second Round, Texas in the Third Round, Pittsburgh again in the Quarterfinals, Clemson again in the Semifinals, and Stanford in the Final.

Their 5–1 victory in the championship won the team their fourth overall title, all of which have come since 2014. Stanford's 36 game streak of allowing one or fewer goals was snapped and this was the first match where the Cardinal allowed five or more goals in a game since 1996. This was the first national championship match between two undefeated teams and Florida State became the first undefeated champion since Stanford in 2011.[2] Their twenty two wins were the third most in program history behind 2013 and their first national title season in 2014. It was their second undefeated season in program history with the other being the 2020 season. It was the Seminoles third undefeated conference season, following 2014 and 2020.[3] Onyi Echegini went on to win the Hermann Trophy, the fourth in program history.[4] Three players from the team were selected in the NWSL Draft.[5]

Previous season

[edit]

The Seminoles finished the season 17–3–3 and 8–2–0 in ACC play to finish in a tie for first place. As the second seed in the ACC Tournament, they received a bye into the Semifinals where they hosted Notre Dame. The match ended in a 3–3 draw and Florida State won the ensuing penalty shoot-out 4–2 to advance to the Final. In the Final, they defeated North Carolina to successfully defend their ACC Tournament title. As tournament champions, they received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and were the first seed in the Florida State Bracket. They defeated Florida Gulf Coast in the First Round, eight-seed LSU in the Second Round, and four-seed Pittsburgh in the Round of 16. They hosted third-seed Arkansas in the Quarterfinals and won 1–0. This set up a rematch with North Carolina in the Semifinals. This time, North Carolina came out on top 3–2 to end the Seminoles' season.

Offseason

[edit]

Departures

[edit]
Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Jenna Nighswonger 2 FW 5'4" Senior Huntington Beach, California Graduated; drafted 4th overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft
Summer Denigan 5 MF 5'4" Freshman Union, Kentucky Transferred to Georgia
Heather Payne 12 MF 5'7" Senior Ballinasloe, Ireland Graduated
Emma Bissell 17 MF 5'7" Sophomore Chester, England Signed professional contract with Everton[6]
Amelia Horton 19 FW 5'3" Sophomore Olathe, Kansas
Mia Justus 23 GK 5'9" Sophomore Lakewood, Ohio Transferred to Texas
Clara Robbins 26 MF 5'7" Graduate Student Stafford, Virginia Graduated; drafted 9th overall in the 2023 NWSL Draft
Melina Descary 88 MF 5'7" Freshman Montreal, Canada Transferred to South Alabama

Incoming Transfers

[edit]
Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous School
Lily Farkas 2 FW 5'6" Senior Kansas City, Missouri Michigan[7]
Taylor Huff 3 MF 5'8" Junior Mansfield, Ohio Tennessee[8]
Claire Rain 22 DF 5'9" Junior Tampa, Florida Tennessee[9]
Leah Pais 30 FW 5'4" Senior Mississauga, Ontario Pittsburgh[10]

Recruiting Class

[edit]
Name Nationality Hometown Club TDS Rating
United States Milton, Georgia United Futbol Academy (GA) [11]
Peyton Nourse
MF
United States Denver, Colorado Colorado Rush [12]
Maggie Taitano
MF
United States Carlsbad, California San Diego Surf [13]
Adelyn Todd
GK
United States Littleton, Colorado Real Colorado [14]
Amelia Van Zanten
DF
United States Kildeer, Illinois Eclipse Select (IL) [15]

Squad

[edit]

Roster

[edit]
As of December 5, 2023[16]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 FW United States USA Olivia Garcia
1 GK Puerto Rico PUR Cristina Roque
2 FW United States USA Lily Farkas
3 MF United States USA Taylor Huff
4 MF United States USA Maggie Taitano
6 MF Nigeria NGA Onyi Echegini
7 MF Japan JPN Ran Iwai
8 DF United States USA Lauren Flynn
9 FW Sweden SWE Beata Olsson
10 FW Jamaica JAM Jody Brown
11 FW United States USA Jordynn Dudley
No. Pos. Nation Player
13 FW Bermuda BER LeiLanni Nesbeth
14 MF United States USA Peyton Nourse
15 MF United States USA Kaitlyn Zipay
16 MF United States USA Sophia Nguyen
17 MF Jamaica JAM Amelia Van Zanten
18 MF Portugal POR Maria Alagoa
20 DF United States USA Heather Gilchrist
21 FW United States USA Olivia Lebdaoui
22 DF United States USA Claire Rain
23 GK United States USA Adelyn Todd
30 FW Canada CAN Leah Pais

Team management

[edit]
Position Staff
Athletic Director Michael Alford
Head Coach Brian Pensky
Assistant Coach Bobby Shuttleworth
Assistant Coach Aaron Brunner
Assistant Coach Andrew Hudson
Director of Operations Sarah Buckley

Source:[16]

Schedule

[edit]

Source:[17]

Date
Time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (Attendance)
City, State
Exhibition
August 11*
2:00 p.m.
No. 6 No. 24 UCF W 4–3 
UCF Soccer and Track Stadium
Orlando, FL
Non-conference Regular season
August 17*
8:00 p.m., SECN
No. 6 at Texas A&M W 2–1  1–0–0
Ellis Field (1,577)
College Station, TX
August 20*
8:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 6 at No. 8 TCU W 2–0  2–0–0
Garvey-Rosenthal Stadium (1,424)
Fort Worth, TX
September 3*
2:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 2 South Florida W 5–1  3–0–0
Seminole Soccer Complex (1,232)
Tallahassee, FL
September 7*
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 5 at North Florida W 4–0  4–0–0
Hodges Stadium (4,549)
Jacksonville, FL
September 10*
3:30 p.m., ACCN
No. 5 Florida
Rivalry
W 1–0  5–0–0
Seminole Soccer Complex (1,823)
Tallahassee, FL
ACC Regular season
September 15
4:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 4 at No. 8 Clemson W 4–2  6–0–0
(1–0–0)
Riggs Field (1,102)
Clemson, SC
September 21
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 3 at Syracuse W 3–2  7–0–0
(2–0–0)
SU Soccer Stadium (207)
Syracuse, NY
September 24
12:00 p.m., ESPNU
No. 3 at No. 1 North Carolina T 3–3  7–0–1
(2–0–1)
Dorrance Field (4,079)
Chapel Hill, NC
September 29
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 2 Miami (FL)
Rivalry
W 2–0  8–0–1
(3–0–1)
Seminole Soccer Complex (1,978)
Tallahassee, FL
October 5
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 2 at Louisville W 2–0  9–0–1
(4–0–1)
Lynn Stadium (198)
Louisville, KY
October 8
1:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 2 Boston College W 6–0  10–0–1
(5–0–1)
Seminole Soccer Complex (1,444)
Tallahassee, FL
October 12
7:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 1 No. 11 Notre Dame W 4–1  11–0–1
(6–0–1)
Seminole Soccer Complex (1,693)
Tallahassee, FL
October 19
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 1 No. 18 Pittsburgh W 3–2  12–0–1
(7–0–1)
Seminole Soccer Complex (1,125)
Tallahassee, FL
October 22
1:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 1 at Duke W 4–0  13–0–1
(8–0–1)
Koskinen Stadium (803)
Durham, NC
October 26
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 1 NC State W 5–0  14–0–1
(9–0–1)
Seminole Soccer Complex (1,189)
Tallahassee, FL
ACC Tournament
November 2
8:20 p.m., ACCN
(1) No. 1 vs. (5) No. 11 Pittsburgh
Semifinal
W 2–0  15–0–1
Sahlen's Stadium (678)
Cary, NC
November 5
12:00 p.m., ESPNU
(1) No. 1 vs. (3) No. 7 Clemson
Final
W 2–1  16–0–1
Sahlen's Stadium
Cary, NC
NCAA Tournament
November 10
5:00 p.m., ESPN+
(1) No. 1 Morehead State
First Round
W 5–0  17–0–1
Seminole Soccer Complex (1,630)
Tallahassee, FL
November 17
5:30 p.m., ESPN+
(1) No. 1 (8) Texas A&M
Second Round
W 1–0  18–0–1
Seminole Soccer Complex (1,529)
Tallahassee, FL
November 19
5:30 p.m., ESPN+
(1) No. 1 (5) Texas
Third Round
W 5–0  19–0–1
Seminole Soccer Complex (1,391)
Tallahassee, FL
November 24
5:30 p.m., ESPN+
(1) No. 1 (7) No. 11 Pittsburgh
Quarterfinal
W 3–0  20–0–1
Seminole Soccer Complex (2,000)
Tallahassee, FL
December 1
6:00 p.m., ESPNU
(1) No. 1 vs. (1) No. 7 Clemson
Semifinal
W 2–0  21–0–1
Sahlen's Stadium (10,635)
Cary, NC
December 4
6:00 p.m., ESPNU
(1) No. 1 vs. (2) No. 3 Stanford
Final
W 5–1  22–0–1
Sahlen's Stadium (3,954)
Cary, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Awards and honors

[edit]
Recipient Award Date Ref.
Cristina Roque Pre-season All-ACC Team August 10 [18]
Jody Brown
Taylor Huff Hermann Trophy Preseason Watchlist August 17 [19]
Cristina Roque
Jody Brown
Taylor Huff ACC Offensive Player of the Week August 21 [20]
Ran Iwai ACC Defensive Player of the Week October 10 [21]
Onyi Echegini ACC Offensive Player of the Week October 17 [22]
College Soccer News National Player of the Week October 23
ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week October 24 [23]
Lauren Flynn ACC Defensive Player of the Week October 31 [24]
Onyi Echegini ACC Offensive Player of the Year November 1 [25]
Brian Pensky ACC Coach of the Year
Jordynn Dudley ACC Freshman of the Year
Jody Brown All-ACC First Team
Jordynn Dudley
Onyi Echegini
Taylor Huff All-ACC Second Team
Leilanni Nesbeth
Cristina Roque
Beata Olsson All-ACC Third Team
Jordynn Dudley All-ACC Freshman Team
Amelia Van Zanten
Onyi Echegini ACC Tournament MVP November 5 [26]
Onyi Echegini All-ACC Tournament Team
Cristina Roque
Beata Olsson
Jordynn Dudley
Amelia Van Zanten
Onyi Echegini United Soccer Coaches All-Region First Team November 28 [27]
Jody Brown
Jordynn Dudley
Taylor Huff
Cristina Roque United Soccer Coaches All-Region Second Team
Onyi Echegini Hermann Trophy winner January 5 [28][29][4]
Jordynn Dudley
Onyi Echegini United Soccer Coaches All-America First Team December 1 [30]
Jordynn Dudley
Taylor Huff United Soccer Coaches All-America Second Team
Jody Brown
Cristina Roque United Soccer Coaches All-America Third Team
Jordynn Dudley College Cup Offensive MVP December 4 [31]
Lauren Flynn College Cup Defensive MVP
Jordynn Dudley College Cup All-Tournament Team
Lauren Flynn
Jody Brown
Taylor Huff
Leilanni Nesbeth
Onyi Echegini Honda Sports Award winner December 21 [32][33]
Brian Pensky, Bobby Shuttleworth, Aaron Brunner, Andrew Hudson United Soccer Coaches Coaching Staff of the Year December 15 [34]
Jordynn Dudley Top Drawer Soccer Freshman of the Year December 18
Brian Pensky Top Drawer Soccer Coach of the Year December 18
Jordynn Dudley Top Drawer Soccer First Team Selection December 18
Lauren Flynn
Onyi Echegini
Taylor Huff Top Drawer Soccer Second Team Selection
Cristina Roque Top Drawer Soccer Third Team Selection

Rankings

[edit]
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
United Soccer[35]622543 (1)221 (8)1 (7)1 (8)1 (8)Not released1 (8)
TopDrawer Soccer[36]32211111111111111

NWSL Draft

[edit]
Player Team Round Pick # Position
Leilanni Nesbeth Chicago Red Stars 1 10 Midfielder
Lauren Flynn Utah Royals 2 16 Midfielder
Cristina Roque Utah Royals 3 33 Goalkeeper

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Nee, Chris (November 5, 2023). "ACC Champions: FSU Soccer defeats Clemson, 2-1, to earn the 2023 ACC Tournament Championship". 247sports.com. 247Sports. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  2. ^ "Florida State beats Stanford for its fourth women's soccer national championship — all since 2014". AP News. December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  3. ^ "Florida State to Host National Championship Celebration For Women's Soccer on Tuesday". Seminoles.com. Florida State University. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Echegini Wins MAC Hermann Trophy". Seminoles.com. Florida State Athletic Department. January 5, 2024. Retrieved January 6, 2024.
  5. ^ "Three Noles Selected in 2024 NWSL Draft". Seminoles.com. Florida State Athletic Department. January 12, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  6. ^ "Emma Bissell: Everton sign midfielder on two-year deal". BBC. August 2, 2023. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  7. ^ "Soccer Adds Lily Farkas to 2023 Squad". seminoles.com. Florida State Athletics. March 31, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  8. ^ Hall, Cora (December 30, 2022). "Tennessee soccer loses top player Taylor Huff, who rejoins Brian Pensky at Florida State". knoxnews.com. Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  9. ^ "Noles Add Claire Rain to 2023 Squad". seminoles.com. Florida State Athletics. January 13, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  10. ^ "Soccer Adds Graduate Transfer Leah Pais". seminoles.com. Florida State Athletics. July 5, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  11. ^ "Jordynn Dudley". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  12. ^ "Peyton Nourse". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  13. ^ "Maggie Taitano". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  14. ^ "Adelyn Todd". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  15. ^ "Amelia Van Zanten". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  16. ^ a b "2023-24 Soccer roster". Florida State University Athletics. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  17. ^ "2023-24 Women's Soccer Schedule". Seminoles.com. Florida State University Athletics. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  18. ^ "North Carolina Named 2023 ACC Women's Soccer Preseason Favorite". TheACC.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  19. ^ "2023 Women's Hermann Trophy Watch List Announced". unitedsoccercoaches.org. United Soccer Coaches. August 17, 2023. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
  20. ^ "ACC Announces Women's Soccer Player of Week Honors". TheACC.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. August 21, 2023. Retrieved August 22, 2023.
  21. ^ "ACC Announces Women's Soccer Player of Week Honors". TheACC.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. October 10, 2023. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
  22. ^ "ACC Announces Women's Soccer Player of Week Honors". TheACC.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. October 17, 2023. Retrieved October 18, 2023.
  23. ^ "ACC Announces Women's Soccer Player of the Week Honors". TheACC.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. October 24, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  24. ^ "ACC Announces Final Women's Soccer Player of the Week Honors of 2023". TheACC.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. October 31, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
  25. ^ "2023 All-ACC Women's Soccer Awards Announced". TheACC.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  26. ^ "Florida State Wins Fourth Consecutive ACC Women's Soccer Title". TheACC.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  27. ^ "Five Seminoles Named to Atlantic All-Region Team". Seminoles.com. Florida State Athletic Department. November 28, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  28. ^ "Echegini and Dudley Named MAC Hermann Award Semifinalists". Seminoles.com. Florida State Athletic Department. November 29, 2023. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
  29. ^ "Echegini Named MAC Hermann Finalist". Seminoles.com. Florida State Athletic Department. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  30. ^ "2023 NCAA Division I Women's All-Americans Announced". unitedsoccercoaches.org. United Soccer Coaches. December 1, 2023. Retrieved December 2, 2023.
  31. ^ "CHAMPIONS AGAIN: Florida State Wins 2023 NCAA Women's Soccer National Championship". TheACC.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. December 4, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  32. ^ "Echegini Named Honda Award Finalist for Women's Soccer". Seminoles.com. Florida State Athletic Department. December 11, 2023. Retrieved December 12, 2023.
  33. ^ "Echegini Wins Honda Sports Award for Women's Soccer". Seminoles.com. Florida State Athletic Department. December 21, 2023. Retrieved December 22, 2023.
  34. ^ "Soccer Staff Named United Soccer Coaches Staff of the Year". Seminoles.com. Florida State Athletic Department. December 15, 2023. Retrieved December 16, 2023.
  35. ^ "United Soccer Coaches Top 25 NCAA DI Women — National". unitedsoccercoaches.org. United Soccer Coaches. December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  36. ^ "College Soccer National Rankings". TopDrawer Soccer. December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.