A new national champion will be crowned on Sunday afternoon in Boca Raton when second-ranked Florida State (23-1-1) squares off against fourth-ranked Virginia (23-2-0) in the finals of the 2014 Women’s College Cup inside FAU Stadium.
The two conference rivals are meeting for the third time this season but for just the second time in the NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles are responsible for both of the Cavaliers’ losses in 2014 as FSU defeated UVa by identical 1-0 scores, first in Tallahassee (Sept. 28) and then in the ACC finals in Greensboro (Nov. 9).
FSU reached the title game with a 2-0 victory over #1 ranked Stanford. The Cavaliers advanced with a 3-1 win over Texas A&M.
Florida State has won five of the last seven meetings against Virginia outscoring the Cavaliers 10-6 over that seven-game stretch. Twenty-one of the 27 contests in the series have been decided by one goal or less including 19 of the last 22 games. Four of the last nine meetings have been decided in overtime (FSU: 1-2-1). Sunday’s game marks the ninth time in the last 10 meetings that both teams will face each other ranked in the top 10. FSU is 5-3-0 during that span.
Sunday’s match marks the second time these two schools will meet in the NCAA Tournament and first time in the College Cup. In 2011, FSU defeated UVa 3-0 in the quarterfinals marking the last time the two teams squared off three times in one season as FSU took 2-of-3 from UVa that year.
For the second time in as many years, Florida State will face a team from the ACC at the College Cup. Last year, the Seminoles squared-off against Virginia Tech three times winning all three matches. The first meeting came in Blacksburg during the regular season (2-1), followed by a date in the ACC Championship game (1-0) and concluding with a 3-2 victory in the national semifinals. It marked the first time in school history FSU defeated a team three times in one season.
Florida State and Virginia are making Sunday’s national championship game an all-ACC final for the third time in NCAA history and first since 1992 when North Carolina faced Duke. In 1988, UNC played NC State. It’s just the fourth time ever that two teams from the same conference will play for it all in the Women’s College Cup with the last coming in 2002 when Portland defeated Santa Clara, 2-1 in overtime.
Sunday’s winner between Florida State and Virginia will mark the first women’s soccer national championship for either team and the 11th different team to capture a women’s soccer national title in NCAA history. Two of the last three champions (2011 – Stanford & 2013- UCLA) have been first time winners.
The finals of the 2014 Women’s College Cup will air live on ESPNU and WatchESPN at 1:00 p.m.