# 2023 Florida State Seminoles women's soccer team

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. 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. 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. Onyi Echegini went on to win the Hermann Trophy, the fourth in program history. Three players from the team were selected in the NWSL Draft.

## Previous season

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
### Departures

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 |
| 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

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

### Recruiting Class

| Name | Hometown | Club |
| Jordynn Dudley FW | Milton, Georgia | United Futbol Academy (GA) |
| Peyton Nourse MF | Denver, Colorado | Colorado Rush |
| Maggie Taitano MF | Carlsbad, California | San Diego Surf |
| Adelyn Todd GK | Littleton, Colorado | Real Colorado |
| Mimi Van Zanten DF | Kildeer, Illinois | Eclipse Select (IL) |

## Squad
### Roster

    As of December 5, 2023
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 0 | FW | USA | Olivia Garcia |
| 1 | GK | PUR | Cristina Roque |
| 2 | FW | USA | Lily Farkas |
| 3 | MF | USA | Taylor Huff |
| 4 | MF | USA | Maggie Taitano |
| 6 | MF | NGA | Onyi Echegini |
| 7 | MF | JPN | Ran Iwai |
| 8 | DF | USA | Lauren Flynn |
| 9 | FW | SWE | Beata Olsson |
| 10 | FW | JAM | Jody Brown |
| 11 | FW | USA | Jordynn Dudley |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 13 | FW | BER | LeiLanni Nesbeth |
| 14 | MF | USA | Peyton Nourse |
| 15 | MF | USA | Kaitlyn Zipay |
| 16 | MF | USA | Sophia Nguyen |
| 17 | MF | JAM | Mimi Van Zanten |
| 18 | MF | POR | Maria Alagoa |
| 20 | DF | USA | Heather Gilchrist |
| 21 | FW | USA | Olivia Lebdaoui |
| 22 | DF | USA | Claire Rain |
| 23 | GK | USA | Adelyn Todd |
| 30 | FW | CAN | Leah Pais |

### Team management

| 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:

## Schedule

Source:
| 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

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

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| United Soccer | 6 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 (1) | 2 | 2 | 1 (8) | 1 (7) | 1 (8) | 1 (8) | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 1 (8) |
| TopDrawer Soccer | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

## NWSL Draft

| 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 |