11/2/2023 other sports Edit

FSU soccer: ACC Tournament preview

Onyi Echegini has been a playmaker for FSU in 2023. (Mike Olivella)

Ariya Massoudi • TheOsceola

Director of Creative Media

No. 1 Florida State (14-0-1) takes on No. 11 Pitt (14-4-1) in Cary, N.C., on Thursday (8 p.m. on ACC Network) in the Seminoles’ quest for a fourth straight ACC Tournament title.

The Seminoles have passed every test this season and are undefeated with just one draw at UNC. The offense (50 goals) is setting records in Brian Pensky’s second season in charge and the defense has let in just 12 goals in 20 regular-season games (0.8 per game). Here is a quick preview of the postseason picture for FSU.

Rematch vs. Pitt

The two teams faced each other on Oct. 19, just a couple of weeks ago in Tallahassee in a 3-2 Seminole victory. FSU trailed at halftime 1-0 before firing back three unanswered goals in a span of 12 minutes from Lauren Flynn, Jordynn Dudley, Onyi “Jo” Echegini. The Panthers got a late penalty kick to make it interesting, but FSU prevailed.

Pitt outshot FSU 16-10 on the day, but the Seminoles were more clinical with finishing their chances. The Panthers are a phenomenal team that finished 6-2-1 in the ACC and yet were the No. 5 seed in the tournament. They beat No. 4 seed UNC in Chapel Hill on Sunday and are brimming with experience and confidence. With my role calling play-by-play for ACC Network’s soccer coverage, I’ve called Pitt a few times this season and they are impressive.

Their attack is one of the best in the nation and arguably the best in the ACC (51 goals led the conference, although FSU had 50 in four fewer games played). Amanda West (nine goals), Samiah Phiri (10 goals) and Sarah Shupansky (10 goals) are dynamic, attacking talents that can light up a scoreboard, not to mention Landy Mertz (three goals, nine assists) and Ellie Coffield (five goals).

The Panthers are led by one of the great coaches in U.S. soccer history in Randy Waldrum, who made Notre Dame a powerhouse before taking over Pitt and led Nigeria to the knockout rounds of the 2023 Women’s World Cup this summer (where he coached Echegini as well). It’s a team that made history last season making it to the Sweet 16 (lost to FSU) and they are poised to advance even further this season. It’s a College Cup-caliber team that FSU has to play well against to beat a second time in two weeks, especially on a neutral field.

Keys to a Seminole victory

Feed Jordyn Dudley (ACC Freshman of the Year) the ball and get her the ball in space where she can be an impact player. It will be up to LeiLanni Nesbeth (second-team All-ACC) and Taylor Huff (second-team All-ACC) to win the midfield battle against Pitt’s Deborah Abiodun, Landy Mertz and Ellie Coffield. Echegini has also been special with the ball, making runs forward out of the midfield and her creativity will be essential to another FSU win.

The Seminoles also need to be strong on set pieces and corner kicks specifically. Teams haven’t had a ton of success on FSU in the run of play, but at times, the marking on set pieces has left some to be desired and the Seminoles have had to pay. Pitt will look to exploit this.

Last, Pitt will press FSU high and it’ll be up to the Seminoles to be dangerous in transition, as they have all year long. Brian Pensky teaches one of the best counter-attack philosophies in the game and has weapons at his disposal when you factor in the pace of Dudley, Echegini, Huff, Jody Brown, etc. It’s astonishing. This is the most athletic team in college soccer, I’m comfortable saying that in my observations of the country so far this season. If FSU can score first and really put the doubt in Pitt’s minds, it should be able to control the tempo of the match. The Seminoles will be fine giving up some possession time in return of dangerous chances on the break for their wingers.

What's next and at stake?

With a win over the Panthers, FSU will advance to the ACC Championship Game where it will face the winner of Clemson and Notre Dame (2 vs. 3 matchup) on Sunday (noon on ESPNU). FSU beat both of those teams earlier this season (4-2 and 4-1), but both present formidable challenges to the Noles. Big picture, FSU has an RPI of 3, which all but assures that they will be a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. A win over Pitt would lock that in, winning the ACC Tournament would likely make FSU the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, while a loss might mean FSU is No. 2 seed, although that seems unlikely at this stage. This FSU team is special and is better than the team that made the College Cup in 2022 before falling to UNC in the trilogy. The Seminoles seem hungry and, overall, just incredibly talented offensively.