RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA - DECEMBER 04: Taylor Huff #3 of the Florida State Seminoles and Erica Grilione #17 of the Stanford Cardinal attempt to get a head on the ball in the first half during the Division I Women’s Soccer Championship at Wake Med Soccer Park on December 04, 2023 in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
Stanford had only allowed 10 goals all season heading into Monday but gave up half that many in the biggest game of the year.
The Seminoles’ top-ranked offense ran past Stanford’s top-ranked defense as the Cardinal lost 5-1 in the NCAA women’s soccer championship game Monday in Cary, N.C.
Stanford (20-1-4) hadn’t allowed more than one goal all season. Florida State scored twice in 26 seconds.
Freshman Jordynn Dudley started the scoring in the 29th minute when she was tripped by Stanford’s Mia Bhuta in the box and converted the ensuing penalty kick. Just 26 seconds later, Jamaican international Jody Brown got behind the defense and scored off the crossbar to make it 2-0.
FSU was the first team since 2015 to not allow a goal in the first five rounds of the NCAA Tournament, but the Cardinal did get one back six minutes into the second half when graduate midfielder Maya Doms dribbled across the box and shot into the upper corner for her sixth goal in the last eight games.
But any hope for Stanford was short-lived. FSU scored in the 58th minute when Beata Olsson raced past Kennedy Wesley and scored, and Brown added her second goal in the 61st minute. The Seminoles closed the scoring in the 85th minute to reach five goals for the third time in the NCAA Tournament and finish with a nation’s best 75 goals.
It was the most goals scored in a championship match since North Carolina beat Connecticut 6-0 in 2003. Doms’s goal was Stanford’s only shot on goal, and the Cardinal was outshot 16-5.
It was the fourth national title in 10 seasons for the Seminoles (22-0-1), who became the first undefeated champion since 2011 when Stanford won its first title. The Cardinal added titles in 2017 and 2019.
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Originally published at Harold Gutmann