Florida State and Stanford advance to College Cup soccer finale at CPKC Stadium

The Women’s College Cup has made its first-ever trip to Kansas City this weekend.

The College Cup is NCAA Division I soccer’s final four. And the matchups at CPKC Stadium featured three standout programs and one first-time up-and-comer.

Here’s a recap of Friday night’s semifinals in KC:

No. 3 Florida State defeats No. 2 TCU 1-0

Friday marked the first College Cup appearance for TCU’s women’s soccer program.

Led by senior Grace Coppinger, a graduate of St. Teresa Academy in Kansas City, the upstart Horned Frogs (18-2-3) earned the nickname “Cardiac Frogs” for their late-game heroics in the Sweet 16 and Elite 8.

They scored in the final five minutes to equalize in both of those matches. They stunned No. 1 Vanderbilt with a second goal in the final minute to advance before extra time was required.

Florida State (14-2-4), on the other hand, is a traditional powerhouse. And the Seminoles played like it: TCU started behind the ball for most of the first half.

Goalkeeper Olivia Geller kept the Horned Frogs in it with seven saves, including multiple one-on-one stops. But the Seminoles eventually got the only goal they’d need via Wrianna Hudson.

TCU had multiple chances in the second half, including one as time expired. Senior forward Seven Castain’s shot was saved, however.

No. 1. Stanford defeats No. 2 Duke

Duke (17-4-1) and Stanford (20-1-2) have always had strong women’s soccer programs. Their appearance in the College Cup was all but expected.

Both teams made the College Cup semifinals in 2024; each lost, however, and fell short of the finale.

That won’t be the case this year, at least not for Stanford. Jasmine Aikey scored the lone goal in the Cardinal’s 1-0 victory. It came on a stunning free kick in the ninth minute: Her shot curled into the bottom corner just past the goalkeeper.

Aikey was recognized as the Player of the Season by Top Drawer Soccer and is a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy.

Duke pushed as hard as it could but couldn’t equalize.

The NCAA national championship Game between Stanford and Florida State will take place on Monday. The game kicks off at 6 p.m. Central Time at CPKC Stadium.

Local ties and playing in Kansas City

TCU had two Kansas Citians on its squad — Coppinger, who captains the team as a central defender, and freshman forward Grace Vest from Raymore-Peculiar High School.

Vest entered the match as a substitute, playing 35 minutes and helping the Horned Frogs generate one of their best chances of the evening. Coppinger, meanwhile, said she couldn’t have asked for anything more in her experience of playing at CPKC Stadium.

‘It meant a lot being able to end my college career where I grew up,” Coppinger said

.Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.