FSU Soccer: 2016 ACC Womens Championship Tournament Preview

Here’s a look at FSU soccer and the road to another ACC Championship, with the semifinal and finals taking place this weekend in South Carolina.

While one FSU football team saw their hopes of an ACC title slip away this past weekend, another “futbol” team in Tallahassee kept their hopes alive of bringing home their fifth conference tournament championship in program history.

FSU soccer opened ACC Tournament play last weekend, as the first round of games took place on campus sites across the league. The Seminoles went up to Durham, North Carolina as the sixth seed in the conference (but ranked eighth nationally) and beat Duke for the second time in just over a week, getting the victory in penalty kicks.

In a head scratcher, the win actually cost FSU soccer in the polls, dropping the Lady ‘Noles to a ranking of 13th nationally. Now, they’re in the final four of the conference tournament and facing some unfamiliar competition from this season along the way.

Here’s a look at who they will face in Charleston, SC this weekend.

Semifinal Friday vs. Clemson (8 PM)

Since ACC teams only play 10 other conference opponents during the season, this will be the first time in 2016 that the Lady ‘Noles will play the Tigers.

Clemson came into the tournament as the second seed overall and got their opening win against the Miami Hurricanes – also needed penalties kicks to advance and avoid the upset.

Recently, the Lady ‘Noles have had plenty of success in their meetings with the Tigers. In the 18 games dating back to the 2001 season, FSU soccer has a 14-2-2 record in the series – with one loss coming in the 2004 ACC Tournament in penalty kicks and the other in the 2001 NCAA tournament.

Finals Sunday vs. North Carolina OR Notre Dame (12 PM)

If the Lady ‘Noles can get past Clemson on Friday, they would advance to play either the top seeded Fighting Irish – who defeated N.C. State 1-0 last weekend – or the fourth seeded Tar Heels who dominated Virginia last weekend 3-0.

FSU soccer and Notre Dame didn’t meet on the pitch this season for the first time since the ladies from South Bend joined the ACC in 2013. The Lady ‘Noles have won all three previous meetings by a combined score of 6-2. They did, however, play North Carolina in the final game of the 2016 regular season, dropping a 1-0 decision when the Tar Heels scored the game’s only goal in the 39th minute.

Even if the Lady ‘Noles fall short in the opener and don’t make it to Sunday, they are assured of a 17th consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament, dating all the way back to the 2000 season. During that span, FSU soccer has gone to the College Cup nine times, twice making the title game and bringing home the program’s first title in 2014.