The Florida State women’s soccer team is once again the team to beat in the college soccer world. The Seminoles check in at No. 1 in the preseason polls and for good reason.

The defending national champions return key players from last year’s squad coupled with an impressive transfer and freshman class. There is no reason to think this year’s team can’t accomplish what it did last year.

FSU opened the season with an exhibition match against TCU on Aug. 9 and looked impressive in a 5-2 win. The game gave Seminoles fans a glimpse of what to expect this season. Although this team did lose a good bit of production from last year, coach Brian Pensky likes the makeup of this team.

“I think we’re a pretty athletic team and I’d like to think we’re a pretty deep team,” Pensky said. "We’re pretty good on the attacking end, but we need to shore some things up from a set-piece standpoint.”

If the Seminoles want to accomplish what they did last year, they will have to do it shorthanded nature, at least for only the early part of the season. Florida State will not have the services of some of players for the majority of September while they compete in the Under 20 World Cup.

“We should have a good group going down to South Florida, but we’ll lose one player after that game, and then we’ll lose the U.S players after the North Florida game (Sunday), and then we'll lose one more after the Rice game,” Pensky said. “They’ll all be back once their teams are eliminated.”

The final for the Under 20 World Cup concludes on Sept. 22, the same day the Seminoles are set to travel to Dallas to take on new conference member SMU.

FSU begins the regular season at South Florida on Thursday and returns one of the most electrifying soccer players in the country in sophomore forward Jordynn Dudley. Although Dudley will be participating in the Under 20 World Cup, Pensky is eager to see what she has in store for the 2024 season.

“She’s getting more comfortable in her own skin as a player,” Pensky said. “This might sound crazy, but she was an animal on the field last year obviously, but she was also deferring a little bit and waiting for some direction from Beata Olsson or Leilanni Nesbeth. Now she’s a little more comfortable.”

The 'Noles have used the portal well this offseason, bringing in seven total transfers from across the country to include Texas A&M transfer Carissa Boeckmann. The senior midfielder will be in her last season of eligibility and is looking to help the team in any way she can.

“I bring experience, competitiveness and I’m willing to work and listen to what needs to be done,” said Boeckmann.

For Boeckmann, trading in white and maroon for garnet and gold has come full circle, as she was on the opposite sideline last year when Florida State opened the season against the Aggies.

“My first ever college soccer game was against FSU and my last ever college soccer game at A&M was against FSU,” Boeckmann said. “And now that I’m at FSU, it’s come full circle.”

When defending a national championship, focus and execution are key. But distractions, depleted roster for the early portion of the season and getting everyone’s best shot can cause a season to fly off the rails. With the offseason featuring White House visits and preseason No. 1 rankings, it’s easy to think that this team could get complacent and lose a good number of games before Sept. 22.

But Pensky is one of the best offensive minds in collegiate soccer and his team has Dudley, and the rest of the ACC doesn’t. The schedule includes No. 5 Clemson on Sept. 26 as well as North Carolina in October. Even shorthanded, FSU could stack up wins in the regular season and make another run to the Women’s College Cup. The only thing that can stop them perhaps is themselves.

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