Third Time Isn't the Charm for Stanford Against FSU

Entering this season, Stanford women's soccer had been to the final four of the College Cup in each of the past two seasons. In 2024, the Cardinal were knocked out in the semifinals by Wake Forest, and in 2023 they ended up losing in the finals to Florida State. On Monday night in Kansas City, MO, the Cardinal would fall yet again to FSU, this time in dramatic fashion.

Going into the season, the Cardinal were one of the most underrated teams in the college soccer, given where they had ended up the past two seasons. Ranked number seven in the country, it seemed as if their incredible roster wasn’t getting the early recognition they deserved.

But it gave the Cardinal a chance to prove everyone wrong, which they did from the very outset of the season.

Stanford looked like one of the most dominant teams in the country, beating up local opponents in dominating fashion. When the Cardinal got into league play, their dominance didn’t stop. They rolled through the toughest conference in the country on their way to an ACC regular season title, followed by an ACC tournament title.

Stanford received the number one seed in the tournament, and ran through it with ease, slaughtering teams left and right. After a 1-0 win against Duke in the semifinals of the College Cup, the Cardinal saw themselves back in the final.

Stanford would face Florida State, a familiar foe. They had beaten the Seminoles, 2-1 in Tallahassee during the regular season en route to their ACC championship earlier this season. Stanford also dropped their previous meeting in the finals 5-1 against FSU.

The win this season meant the Cardinal came in as favorites, with a likelihood of bringing the College Cup back to Palo Alto for the first time since 2019.

The level of play between these two programs was incredible from the very beginning, and this would turn into a terrific finals matchup. Both teams looked dynamic, while Stanford dominated the chances early. When the halftime whistle sounded, neither team was able to score, and both head coaches went into the locker room of what seemed like a chess match, hoping to find a checkmate.

Stanford has numerous opportunities in the first half, but just weren't able to find the back of the net thanks to the outstanding work in net from Kate Ockene, who ended the game with nine saves. After Stanford controlled the tempo for the first 15-20 minutes or so, FSU began to push their own pace, with the ball consistently finding Jordynn Dudley streaking down the right side of the field.

The second half saw both coaches make big adjustments which seemingly took Dudley off the board for the Noles, and Jasmine Aikey for the Cardinal. It look as though this one could end up in a 0-0 draw at the end of regulation.

But with just three minutes left, the biggest play of the game, and frankly the entire season took place. The Seminoles got an opportunity in the box, and the ball was cleared by Elise Evans, but right to the feet of Wrianna Hudson, who found the back of the net for the game winner.

GOOOAAAALLLLL 🤩@FSUSoccer takes the lead!

📺 ESPNU

pic.twitter.com/66PyJqr8Zn
— The ACC (@theACC) December 9, 2025

With just 13 seconds left, Stanford had a chance inside the box, and the ref made a controversial no call, but then decided to take a look at the play on replay. The official decided to stick with the no call, and Stanford scrambled for 13 seconds before the final whistle blew.

Given the history of the program the past three seasons, and now losing twice in the finals, calling this a heartbreaker doesn't seem to do it justice.

There is no doubt that Stanford’s season has been absolutely fantastic. Their ability to win games at the margins they have is absurd. Their offense was incredible, and their defense was elite. This group of women was arguably the best in women's college soccer over the course of the full season.

While it didn’t lead to a title, it’s important to acknowledge how great the 2025 Stanford women’s soccer team was. The team was incredible, and defied the odds of a west coast team succeeding in the ACC. They finished just a few minutes short of a potentially playing into overtime for a national championship.

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