FSU Soccer: Disappointment at Elite 8 loss shows program’s place

FSU Soccer got blown out in their chance to make it back and defending their national title – but the progress this program has made is amazing.

When the final seconds had ticked off the clock on Friday, the FSU soccer team realized that their hopes of a back-to-back national title celebration were not going to take place and something rare was going to take place for the program in the 15th season under head coach Mark Krikorian.

UCLA, a team who beat the Seminoles earlier this season when the teams met out in California, came to Tallahassee and did the same thing – this time, handing FSU soccer their worst home loss the program has suffered with Krikorian as their leaders.

It’s a big deal because, in the decade and a half that Krikorian has been the head coach for the Seminoles, the garnet and gold has made it to the College Cup a total of nine times – including a five season stretch from 2011 to 2015 that included the program’s first national title.

When I graduated from FSU in the mid 2000s, we made it to the College Cup twice but in all honesty there wasn’t a giant realistic chance that the Seminoles were going to win the whole thing – we were just psyched because the Seminoles got to that point.

Now, the social media storm was generally polite but also critical of how the Seminoles got blown out at home and will be watching the final four teams take to the field in San Jose, California next weekend instead of playing in it themselves and getting a chance to defend the second national title won last season.

This is where the FSU soccer program is right now – it’s a team that expects to win championships and anything less is a disappointment. This is a team that has produced All-Americans, national players of the year and has arguably one of the best female soccer players ever on their roster right now in forward Deyna Castellanos, who played her final game as a Nole on Friday.

Right now, there is a decent chance that if you asked what is the best program at the school right now when it comes to athletics the FSU soccer team would be that team – which is why we act like in the 1990s when we “only” went to the Orange Bowl as a 11-1 team, something right now we would kill for as fans of the Seminoles.

FSU Soccer will be back and could be in the College Cup again as soon as 2020 – and maybe even bring another national title back to the 850.