No. 11 Santa Clara stunned No. 1 Florida Monday night to clinch the NCAA Women’s College Cup on penalty kicks.
Both teams were neck-and-neck in the opening minutes of play, ending the first half scoreless.
In the second half, the game started to open up. Florida State struck first with a curling ball from Jenna Nighswonger at the top of the box. Her spectacular finish put FSU up 1-0.
63' | Jenna comes up HUGE!!! The Noles take the lead๐บ: ESPN 2 pic.twitter.com/agYOPt2c6J— FSU Soccer (@FSUSoccer) May 17, 2021
63' | Jenna comes up HUGE!!! The Noles take the lead๐บ: ESPN 2 pic.twitter.com/agYOPt2c6J
Only 20 minutes later, Kelsey Turnbow scored an equalizer for Santa Clara off a missed back pass by FSU. With only seven minutes remaining in regulation, the game was tied at 1-1.
๐๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ ๐@KelseyTurnbow#StampedeTogether #CollegeCup pic.twitter.com/BUGy2xsGO5— Santa Clara Women's Soccer (@SCUWomensSoccer) May 17, 2021
๐๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ ๐@KelseyTurnbow#StampedeTogether #CollegeCup pic.twitter.com/BUGy2xsGO5
The 1-1 scoreline endured through two overtime periods, sending the championship to PKs.
Santa Clara buried all four penalties, outscoring FSU 4-1 from the line after the Seminoles’ first two shots hit off the post.
The Broncos shootout performance secured the school its second national championship in program history and the first in 20 years.
WHAT AN UPSET.No. 11 Santa Clara stuns No. 1 FSU on PK's to win the NCAA Women's Soccer National Championship ๐(via @SCUWomensSoccer)pic.twitter.com/vuA7XxZtLQ— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) May 18, 2021
WHAT AN UPSET.No. 11 Santa Clara stuns No. 1 FSU on PK's to win the NCAA Women's Soccer National Championship ๐(via @SCUWomensSoccer)pic.twitter.com/vuA7XxZtLQ
Santa Claraโs upset is made even more stunning considering the Broncos played just seven regular season games this spring due to COVID-19 restrictions.