FSU soccer eyes national championship tonight vs. BYU

Last season, the Florida State soccer team was agonizingly close.

The Seminoles had a 1-0 lead in the second half of the national championship game against Santa Clara before giving up a late goal and then losing in a penalty kicks shootout.

That was in May.

Here we are a little more than six months later, and FSU is back in the national championship game again.

This time, the Seminoles are playing BYU. In Santa Clara, Calif. With the ultimate trophy on the line yet again.

The match is slated for 8 p.m. ET on ESPNU.

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"I've said this throughout the tournament, our standard is always the national championship," said senior captain Jaelin Howell. "It's to compete for the national championship. We set that goal and standard every year.

"Anything short, that's not acceptable to us."

Howell is one of the biggest reasons the Seminoles are here yet again.

The senior star scored the match's lone goal in a 1-0 semifinal win over Rutgers on Friday night, corralling a corner kick in the box and sneaking it into the net in the second half.

The FSU defense, thanks to two terrific saves by goalkeeper Christina Roque, made sure that score held up as the Seminoles advanced to their sixth national championship game. They are gunning for their third national championship under head coach Mark Krikorian.

Their opponent is here for the first time.

BYU is the highest-scoring team in the nation, averaging 3.5 goals per contest, but advanced to the championship after winning a shootout over Santa Clara. The teams had battled to a 0-0 draw in regulation and overtime.

This is the first College Cup appearance in program history for BYU, which comes into the match with a record of 17-4-2.

The Cougars were a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Florida State (21-1-2) was the No. 1 overall seed.

And the No. 1 overall seed still has some unfinished business to settle from back in May.

"It's always special getting back to a national championship," Howell said. "We don't take it for granted. Especially coming up short last year. This year getting back, persevering, and coming back to the national championship, I'm so proud of this team.

"We've worked our butts off, and I think we're ready to go back and compete for a national championship."

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