Who stands between BYU soccer and a national title?

The Cougars are making their first appearance in the NCAA women’s soccer national championship, where they’ll face Florida State, a program with two national titles to its credit

Published: Dec 3, 2021, 11:48 p.m. MST

BYU celebrates after beating Santa Clara 3-2 in a penalty kick shootout during the NCAA women’s soccer tournament semifinals at Stevens Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. The Cougars advanced to the national championship game, where they’ll face Florida State. BYU photo

BYU is just one win away from earning what would be the school’s first national championship in women’s soccer.

A heavy-hitting and experienced program awaits the Cougars in this year’s NCAA women’s soccer national championship, though.

BYU beat Santa Clara 3-2 on penalty kicks after neither team scored in regulation or two overtimes during the NCAA semifinals on Friday, while Florida State beat Rutgers 1-0 in the night’s other semifinal.

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Here’s a look at the two teams competing for this year’s NCAA women’s soccer championship:

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BYU Cougars

Record: 18-4-1.
Conference finish: 8-1, tied first in West Coast Conference.
Road to the College Cup (NCAA tournament wins): W, 6-0 vs. New Mexico; W, 4-1 vs. Alabama; W, 1-0 vs. Virginia; W, 4-1 vs. South Carolina; T, 0-0 (win 3-2 on PKs) vs. Santa Clara.
Stat leaders: Goals, Mikayla Colohan 18, Cameron Tucker 16; assists, Colohan 15, Brecken Mozingo 9; goals-against average, Cassidy Smith 0.65.
What to know: This is BYU’s first trip to the College Cup. … The Cougars lead the nation in goals per game (3.5) and shots per game (24.45). … BYU, a conference rival of Santa Clara, had won just once at the Broncos’ Stevens Stadium, beating Santa Clara 2-1 last March, before defeating them again in the NCAA semifinals on Friday.

Florida State Seminoles

Record: 21-1-2.
Conference finish: 7-1-2, second in Atlantic Coast Conference.
Road to the College Cup (NCAA tournament wins): W, 3-0 vs. South Alabama; W, 5-1 vs. SMU; W, 1-0 vs. Pepperdine; W, 1-0 vs. Michigan; W, 1-0 vs. Rutgers.
Stat leaders: Goals, Beata Olsson 14, Clara Robbins 6; assists, Jody Brown 10, Yujie Zhao 9; goals-against average, Cristina Roque 0.64.
What to know: This is Florida State’s eighth appearance in the last 11 College Cups. The top-ranked Seminoles won the national title in 2018 and 2014, and have been national runners-up three other times. … The Seminoles rank fifth nationally in goals per game (2.83) and are sixth in goals-against average (.550). … Florida State is led by three All-Americans this year — first-teamers Jaelin Howell, who scored the game-winner in the NCAA semifinals vs. Rutgers on Friday, and Emily Madril, along with second-teamer Zhao.

2021 College Cup schedule

Semifinals, Friday

Florida State 1, Rutgers 0
BYU 0, Santa Clara 0 (BYU won 3-2 on penalty kicks)

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Championship, Monday

BYU vs. Florida State, 6 p.m. MST (ESPNU)

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