# 2021 Florida State Seminoles women's soccer team

The 2021 Florida State Seminoles women's soccer team represented Florida State University during the 2021 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. It was the 27th season of the university fielding a program. The Seminoles were led by 17th year head coach Mark Krikorian.
The Seminoles finished the season 21–1–3 and 7–1–2 in ACC play to finish in second place. As the second seed in the ACC Tournament they defeated Wake Forest and Virginia to win the tournament. The win was the program's eight ACC Tournament title. The Seminoles received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and were awarded a number one seed. The Seminoles defeated South Alabama, SMU, Pepperdine, Michigan, and Rutgers on their way to the tournament final. In the final, they defeated BYU in a penalty shoot-out to be crowned National Champions. Following the season, Krikorian resigned as head coach.

## Previous season

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ACC played a reduced schedule in 2020 and the NCAA Tournament was postponed to 2021.
The Seminoles finished the fall season 11–0–0, 8–0–0 in ACC play, to finish in first place. As the first seed in the ACC Tournament, they defeated Notre Dame, Duke, and finally North Carolina to claim the championship. The Seminoles did not play any additional games in the spring season and entered the NCAA Tournament as the ACC's automatic qualifier because they won the ACC Tournament. They were selected as the first overall seed in the NCAA Tournament and defeated Milwaukee in the Second Round and Penn State in the Third Round. They advanced past Duke in the Quarterfinals and Virginia in the Semifinals on penalty shootouts. However, their shootout luck ran out in the Finals, where they fell to Santa Clara to finish as runner-up in the tournament. Jaelin Howell went on to win the Herman Trophy.

## Squad
### Roster

Source:
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 |
| 1 | GK | PUR | Cristina Roque |
| 2 | FW | USA | Jenna Nighswonger |
| 3 | DF | USA | Alyssa Stadeker |
| 4 | FW | USA | Kristina Lynch |
| 6 | MF | USA | Jaelin Howell |
| 7 | MF | JPN | Ran Iwai |
| 8 | FW | USA | Lauren Flynn |
| 9 | DF | USA | Taya Hjorth |
| 10 | FW | JAM | Jody Brown |
| 11 | MF | USA | Kirsten Pavlisko |
| 12 | MF | IRL | Heather Payne |
| 13 | FW | BER | LeiLanni Nesbeth |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | USA | Kaitlyn Zipay |
| 16 | DF | CAN | Gabby Carle |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Emma Bissell |
| 18 | MF | POR | Maria Alagoa |
| 19 | FW | USA | Amelia Horton |
| 21 | DF | USA | Gianna Mitchell |
| 22 | FW | USA | Megan Morgan |
| 23 | GK | USA | Mia Justus |
| 25 | MF | USA | Emily Madril |
| 26 | DF | USA | Clara Robbins |
| 30 | FW | SWE | Beata Olsson |
| 33 | MF | CHN | Yujie Zhao |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Athletic Director | David Coburn |
| Head Coach | Mark Krikorian |
| Assistant Coach | Mike Bristol |
| Assistant Coach | Morinao Imaizumi |
| Director of Operations | Nathan Minion |
Source:

## Schedule

Source:
| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Non-conference Regular season ||||||
| August 19* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 1 | No. 9 Texas A&M | W 1–0 | 1–0–0 | Seminole Soccer Complex (1,008) Tallahassee, FL |
| August 22* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 1 | Alabama | W 4–0 | 2–0–0 | Seminole Soccer Complex (838) Tallahassee, FL |
| August 26* 6:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 1 | South Alabama | W 4–0 | 3–0–0 | Seminole Soccer Complex (817) Tallahassee, FL |
| August 29* 1:30 p.m., P12N | No. 1 | at Colorado | W 2–1 | 4–0–0 | Prentup Field (2,536) Boulder, CO |
| September 2* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 1 | Florida Rivalry | W 5–2 | 5–0–0 | Seminole Soccer Complex (2,552) Tallahassee, FL |
| September 9* 7:00 p.m. | No. 1 | at Florida Gulf Coast | W 4–0 | 6–0–0 | FGCU Soccer Complex (1,111) Fort Myers, FL |
| September 12* 3:00 p.m., ESPNU | No. 1 | at No. 10 Auburn | W 2–1 | 7–0–0 | Auburn Soccer Complex (1,043) Auburn, AL |
| ACC Regular season ||||||
| September 18 6:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 1 | Boston College | W 4–1 | 8–0–0 (1–0–0) | Seminole Soccer Complex (1,387) Tallahassee, FL |
| September 23 8:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 1 | Pittsburgh | W 5–0 | 9–0–0 (2–0–0) | Seminole Soccer Complex (1,767) Tallahassee, FL |
| September 26 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 1 | at Louisville | W 3–0 | 10–0–0 (3–0–0) | Lynn Stadium (376) Louisville, KY |
| October 1 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 1 | at Clemson | W 4–1 | 11–0–0 (4–0–0) | Riggs Field (1,001) Clemson, SC |
| October 7 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 1 | Syracuse | W 5–0 | 12–0–0 (5–0–0) | Seminole Soccer Complex (1,464) Tallahassee, FL |
| October 10 Noon, ACCRSN | No. 1 | Miami (FL) Rivalry | W 4–1 | 13–0–0 (6–0–0) | Seminole Soccer Complex (1,397) Tallahassee, FL |
| October 15 5:00 p.m., ACCRSN | No. 1 | at Virginia Tech | W 2–0 | 14–0–0 (7–0–0) | Thompson Field (1,072) Blackburg, VA |
| October 21 8:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 1 | at No. 7 North Carolina | T 2–2 $^{2OT}$ | 14–0–1 (7–0–1) | Dorrance Field (1,447) Chapel Hill, NC |
| October 24 2:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 1 | at No. 6 Duke | L 0–1 | 14–1–1 (7–1–1) | Koskinen Stadium (1,731) Durham, NC |
| October 28 7:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 3 | No. 1 Virginia | T 1–1 $^{2OT}$ | 14–1–2 (7–1–2) | Seminole Soccer Complex (2,388) Tallahassee, FL |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| November 5 8:00 p.m., ACCN | (2) No. 2 | vs. (6) No. 25 Wake Forest Semifinal | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 15–1–2 | Sahlen's Stadium (754) Cary, NC |
| November 7 1:00 p.m., ESPNU | (2) No. 2 | vs. (1) No. 1 Virginia Final | W 1–0 | 16–1–2 | Sahlen's Stadium (1,250) Cary, NC |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 12 6:00 p.m., ACCNX | (1) No. 1 | South Alabama First round | W 3–0 | 17–1–2 | Seminole Soccer Complex (2,125) Tallahassee, FL |
| November 19 5:00 p.m., ACCNX | (1) No. 1 | No. 25 SMU Second round | W 5–1 | 18–1–2 | Seminole Soccer Complex (1,504) Tallahassee, FL |
| November 21 2:00 p.m., ACCNX | (1) No. 1 | (4) No. 19 Pepperdine Round of 16 | W 1–0 | 19–1–2 | Seminole Soccer Complex (1,367) Tallahassee, FL |
| November 26 2:00 p.m., ACCNX | (1) No. 1 | (2) No. 9 Michigan Quarterfinal | W 1–0 $^{OT}$ | 20–1–2 | Seminole Soccer Complex (2,005) Tallahassee, FL |
| December 3 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | (1) No. 1 | vs. (1) No. 5 Rutgers Semifinal | W 1–0 | 21–1–2 | Stevens Stadium Santa Clara, CA |
| December 6 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | (1) No. 1 | vs. (4) No. 13 BYU Final | T 0–0 (4–3 PKs) $^{2OT}$ | 21–1–3 | Stevens Stadium Santa Clara, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Jaelin Howell | Preseason Hermann Trophy Watchlist | August 19 |
| Emily Madril | Preseason Hermann Trophy Watchlist | August 19 |
| Yujie Zhao | Preseason Hermann Trophy Watchlist | August 19 |
| Jaelin Howell | Preseason All-ACC Team | August 12 |
| Yujie Zhao | Preseason All-ACC Team | August 12 |
| Jaelin Howell | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | August 24 |
| Emily Madril | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | September 14 |
| Emily Madril | ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Week | September 28 |
| Beata Olsson | ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week | October 5 |
| Emily Madril | ACC Defensive Player of the Year | November 4 |
| Jaelin Howell | ACC Midfielder of the Year | November 4 |
| Yujie Zhao | All-ACC First Team | November 4 |
| Emily Madril | All-ACC First Team | November 4 |
| Jaelin Howell | All-ACC First Team | November 4 |
| Gabby Carle | All-ACC Second Team | November 4 |
| Beata Olsson | All-ACC Second Team | November 4 |
| Clara Robbins | All-ACC Second Team | November 4 |
| Jody Brown | All-ACC Third Team | November 4 |
| Maria Alaoga | ACC All-Freshman Team | November 4 |
| Mia Justus | ACC All-Freshman Team | November 4 |
| Clara Robbins | ACC All-Tournament Team | November 7 |
| Maria Alagoa | ACC All-Tournament Team | November 7 |
| Lauren Flynn | ACC All-Tournament Team | November 7 |
| Emily Madril | ACC All-Tournament Team | November 7 |
| Cristina Roque | ACC All-Tournament Team | November 7 |
| Clara Robbins | ACC Tournament MVP | November 7 |
| Jaelin Howell | Herman Trophy semifinalist | November 30 |
| Emily Madril | Herman Trophy semifinalist | November 30 |
| Jaelin Howell | United Soccer Coaches All-Atlantic Region Team | November 30 |
| Beata Olsson | United Soccer Coaches All-Atlantic Region Team | November 30 |
| Emily Madril | United Soccer Coaches All-Atlantic Region Team | November 30 |
| Yujie Zhao | United Soccer Coaches All-Atlantic Region Team | November 30 |
| Jaelin Howell | United Soccer Coaches All-Americans | December 2 |
| Emily Madril | United Soccer Coaches All-Americans | December 2 |
| Yujie Zhao | United Soccer Coaches All-Americans | December 2 |
| Yujie Zhao | College Cup Offensive Most Outstanding Player | December 6 |
| Cristina Roque | College Cup Defensive Most Outstanding Player | December 6 |
| Jaelin Howell | Hermann Trophy finalist | December 8 |
| Jaelin Howell | Hermann Trophy winner MAC Player of the Year NSCAA Player of the Year | January 7 |

## 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 | 1 (11) | 1 (26) | 1 (32) | 1 (29) | 1 (32) | 1 (33) | 1 (33) | 1 (29) | 1 (31) | 1 (31) | 3 (5) | 2 (2) | 1 (29) | Not released | Not released | Not released | 1 (25) |
| TopDrawer Soccer | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

## 2022 NWSL Draft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| Jaelin Howell | Racing Louisville FC | 1 | 2 | MF |
Source: