Sports
FSU, Stanford set up all-ACC College Cup final
Wrianna Hudson scored in the second half and Kate Ockene made it stand up with a save in the final second as Florida State edged TCU 1-0 on Friday in the semifinals of the Women’s College Cup at CPKC Stadium.
Florida State (19-2-4), a No. 3 seed, will play Stanford, the only No. 1 seed to reach the semis, for the championship on Monday. The Seminoles will be aiming for their fifth title overall and their third in the past five seasons after winning in 2021 and 2023. Stanford beat Duke 1-0 to advance.
Hudson used assists from Peyton McGovern and Sophia Nguyen to score in the 73rd minute and give Florida State the lead.
Ockene turned away a 1-on-1 shot by Seven Castain to end it. Ockene’s other save came on a shot by Sydney Becerra four minutes into the first half.
Olivia Geller finished with seven saves for TCU — four in the second half.
It will be an all-Atlantic Coast Conference final. The ACC has been represented in all 44 semifinals. This is the fourth straight season the conference has had multiple teams advance to the semis.
Florida State, which has won nine in a row, is making its 15th appearance, trailing only the 32 of 22-time champion North Carolina. The Seminoles eliminated the defending-champion Tar Heels to reach the semis, beating them 4-3 on penalty kicks after a 1-1 tie in regulation.
TCU (19-3-2) set a school record for victories and beat top-seeded Vanderbilt 2-1 to advance to its first semifinal.
Stanford 1, Duke 0
Jasmine Aikey scored early in the first half and that was all Stanford goalkeeper Caroline Birkel needed as the Cardinal eliminated Duke at CPKC Stadium in the nightcap of the College Cup semifinals.
Aikey sent a curling shot from the left corner of the box past Duke keeper Caroline Dysart at 9:02 and the Cardinal defense did the rest. It was the first goal allowed by Dysart, who had posted four straight clean sheets in the tournament. She finished with three saves for the Blue Devils (17-5-1) in the all-ACC semifinal.
Birkel finished with two saves for the Cardinal, who are aiming for their fourth title — last winning in 2019. It is their 13th appearance and 10th semifinal. Stanford beat No. 2 seed Michigan State 5-1 in the quarterfinals.
Stanford entered play with 95 goals on the season, 24 more than anyone else. The Cardinal upped their unbeaten streak to 17 and they’ve outscored their opponents 22-5 through five tournament victories. Their 21 goals through four matches was a tournament record.
No. 2 seed Duke made the semifinals for a second straight season still looking for its first championship. Blue Devils coach Kieran Hall is one of only three coaches to reach the semis in her first season. Duke finished as the runners-up in three of their previous five Cup appearances.
Duke advanced with a 3-0 victory over Washington in the quarterfinals.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.