12/1/2023 other sports Edit

College Cup preview: FSU vs. Clemson

Ariya Massoudi • TheOsceola

Director of Creative Media

No. 1 Florida State will play No. 7 Clemson in the College Cup on Friday (6 p.m. on ESPNU) as the Seminoles aim to make the national title game for the third time in four seasons. Last season the Seminoles lost to UNC in the semifinals and this year look to avenge that loss with a group of hungry, talented individuals that have looked like the class of college soccer in 2023. FSU (20-0-1) and Clemson (18-3-4) both earned No. 1 seeds in the tournament and are now meeting for the third time this season with the Seminoles looking for the series sweep on the year.

For Florida State, it’s their 14th appearance in the College Cup (second most ever only behind UNC) and it’s business as usual. A number of Seminoles have played in multiple College Cups and have had success, so this stage shouldn’t faze them. For Clemson, it’s their first appearance in school history at this level and it will be interesting to see how their players respond to the stage. Here are some things to keep an eye in the Noles vs. Tigers Trilogy:

Familiar foes, no secrets

FSU has two wins against Clemson this year in two games. The Seminoles won 4-2 back on Sept. 15 and again 2-1 in the ACC Championship Game on Nov. 5. The first meeting saw FSU down 2-0 before storing back with four unanswered goals to win 4-2 at Clemson. It was the ACC opener and the Noles showed an impressive offensive attack on the day. The second meeting was much closer as the Tigers tied the game 1-1 before halftime. Onyi Echegini scored the game winner (her second goal of the game) in the second half and the Seminoles held on for the win. Echegini has scored three goals against Clemson this season.

Florida State has outshot Clemson 28-18 in two games and outscored them 6-3. Like Pittsburgh, Clemson knows everything FSU wants to do and how to scheme to stop it. So far this season for every opponent, the Noles have simply been too much anyway, with a plethora attacking options and far too many to scheme against all.

Using width to beat Clemson's backline

In both games against Clemson this year, FSU has done a remarkable job of getting the ball out wide to its wingers and punishing the Tigers from the outside-in. Echegini, Jordynn Dudley, Jody Brown, Taylor Huff, Ran Iwai and Mimi Van Zanten have been excellent at pulling the Tigers’ defenders out and then either crossing the ball towards the box or beating them one-on-one. The speed FSU possesses is a handful for every team and in the NCAA Tournament alone the Seminoles have scored 14 goals in just four games. It’s one of the best attacks the college game has ever seen and the best in school history.

The Seminoles played four fewer games than most teams in the nation this season due to some scheduling issues or else they’d have total goal numbers that are astronomical. Look for Beata Olsson, who Brian Pensky moved out wide on the frontline in the 4-3-3 formation to use her high IQ for the game and silky touch to get her teammates involved. Would expect to also see Dudley and Echegini attempt to combine with her as well as Van Zanten and Iwai on overlapping runs coming from their outside back spots.

Seminoles' defense has been stifling

For as much praise as the attack gets, and it rightfully should, the FSU defense has been brilliant in the last month of the season. They haven’t given up a goal in the NCAA Tournament and Clemson is the last team to score on the Seminoles (a streak of 421 minutes and counting). This defense has posted four straight shutouts and 13 total on the year. Pensky has found something in the Lauren Flynn-Heather Gilchrist combo at centerback and both deserve a ton of credit for gelling into the duo they have become. Iwai and Van Zanten have locked down the outside back spots and both are dangerous joining into the attack when given the freedom to do so. With the offense this Seminoles’ team possesses, it’s been unfair to also have the lockdown defense we’ve seen as of late.