NCAA women’s soccer: College Cup Final Four field is set

The NCAA College Cup Final Four is set, with No. 1 Florida State, No. 1 Rutgers, No. 4 BYU and reigning champions Santa Clara advancing to the semifinals.

Friday and Saturday’s quarterfinal games were filled with upsets, nail bitters and penalty kicks, setting up intriguing a pair of College Cup matchups.

No. 1 Florida State 1, No. 2 Michigan 0

Florida State defeated Michigan in thrilling fashion, scoring the go-ahead goal in the 99^th minute, with only seconds left in the first overtime period.

Waiting at the back post, Gabby Carle redirected a lofted ball from Jaelin Howell back across the face of the goal, where Beata Olsson banged in the finish on an open net to clinch the Seminoles the win against Michigan.

Friday’s victory sent Florida State to their 12^th College Cup in program history.

It took 99 minutes but the Noles are victorious!!!

📺: ACCNX pic.twitter.com/RtcYGZ72xf

— FSU Soccer (@FSUSoccer) November 26, 2021

Santa Clara 2, No. 1 Duke 1

Santa Clara bounced No. 1 seed Duke from the College Cup, downing the Blue Devils 2-1.

Izzy D’Aquila put the Broncos up 1-0 in the 25th minute, followed by Kelsey Turnbow, who struck a volley past the keeper to double Santa Clara’s lead. Olivia Migli’s second-half goal ultimately wasn’t enough for Duke to overcome the Bronco’s solid first-half performance.

Santa Clara will now look to defend their College Cup title as they advance to the semifinals.

Check out some highlights from our win to send us back to the @NCAASoccer #CollegeCup!#StampedeTogether pic.twitter.com/7k1blSaJ5a

— Santa Clara Women's Soccer (@SCUWomensSoccer) November 27, 2021

No. 1 Rutgers 4, No. 2 Arkansas 2 (penalty kicks)

No. 1 Rutgers outlasted No. 2 Arkansas, downing the Razorbacks 4-2 in a penalty kick shootout. After playing to a 2-2 tie at the end of regulation and two overtime periods, Rutger prevailed from the spot. Riley Tiernan fired the final PK to send Rutgers past Arkansas and to the semifinal after recording the team’s first goal and an assist in regulation.

The Scarlet Knights advance to their second College Cup in program history.

𝗚𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗖𝗢𝗟𝗟𝗘𝗚𝗘 𝗖𝗨𝗣‼️ pic.twitter.com/hQYWKAzV3C

— RUWS | BIG TEN CHAMPIONS (@RUWSoccer) November 27, 2021

No. 4 BYU 4, South Carolina 1

BYU cruised past South Carolina 4-1 on Saturday to stamp their ticket to the College Cup. Makaylie Moore notched a brace for BYU, scoring the team’s go-ahead goal in just under three minutes and capping off the night with a game-sealing header.

Saturday’s dominant victory sends BYU to the program’s first-ever College Cup.

Score first and score early. That’s what we like to see 😎 pic.twitter.com/pVNZnGzGzm

— BYU Women's Soccer (@byusoccer_w) November 28, 2021

The College Cup semifinal matches will take place on Friday on ESPNU, with No. 1 Rutgers taking on No. 1 Florida State at 7 p.m. ET and Santa Clara facing off against No. 4 BYU at 9:30 p.m. ET.