FSU, USF qualify for NCAA Division I Women’s Soccer Tournament

By Official Florida FC

Florida State is the No. 1 overall seed in the 2021 NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament.

The Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament champions (16-1-2) will kick off their quest for a third national championship on Nov. 12 at home against a South Alabama squad they have already beaten 4-0 this season.

The Seminoles will be joined in the field by American Athletic Conference regular season champion USF.

The Bulls (12-3-3) are making their fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. USF will host North Carolina State on Nov. 14 at 1 p.m. The Wolfpack (8-8-2) beat both North Carolina and Duke to earn their way into the field.

Rutgers (17-3), Virginia (16-2-2) and Duke (13-4-1) are the three other No. 1 seeds in the field.

Fellow Floridians in the field

The Seminoles and Bulls may be the only programs from the Sunshine State in the field, but there are plenty of Floridians who will be competing for a national championship.

Bartram Trail midfielder Taylor Radecki, right, tracks a run made by Bolles’ Olivia Candelino during a Nov. 13, 2018 match. Both women will play in the 2021 NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament. Radecki has been a stalwart for the University of Mississippi defense, while Candelino has produced two goals and eight assists for Auburn this season. [Photo by Will Brown]

Elizabeth Moberg (Port St. Lucie) will be between the pipes for American Athletic Conference champion Memphis when the Tigers face Louisiana State in the first round. Elsewhere, the Crews sisters, Payton and Paige (Orange Park) will help Big XII regular season and tournament champion TCU (17-2-2) kick off its journey against Prairie View A&M.

The Crewses high school teammate, Kamryn Loustau, is one of three Floridians on the roster of Ivy League champions Princeton (14-2-1). Alexis Hiltunen (West Palm Beach) has scored four goals for Princeton and senior goalie Grace Barbara (Delray Beach) has an 0.82 goals against average and posted six clean sheets for the Tigers.

Taylor Radecki (St. Augustine) has been a rock in the center of a University of Mississippi (12-5-3) program that had a strong season in the Southeastern Conference. Tennessee beat Mississippi in the SEC Tournament semifinals. Claire Rain (Tampa) may be a freshman, but has immediately proven to be an impact defender for the Volunteers. Tennessee will host in-state foe Lipscomb (15-4-1), the ASUN tournament champions who have a pair of Floridians — midfielder Kristi Jones (Lynn Haven) and fullback Alivia Carapazza (Tarpon Springs) — on their roster and enter the NCAA tournament having won six straight.

Lipscomb fullback Alivia Carapazza is one of dozens of Floridians who will compete in the 2021 NCAA Women’s Soccer Tournament. (Photo by Will Brown, Official Florida FC)

Third-seeded USC (13-3-2) hosts a Grand Canyon University (16-3-2) there will be three Floridians on the pitch, despite the fact neither school is within 2,000 miles of the state’s border. USC has a pair of young women from greater Jacksonville as freshman defender Izzy Kimberley (Jacksonville) and junior forward Sade Adamolekun (Fleming Island) have played sparingly, but, nevertheless earned minutes. Those two will face Grand Canyon midfielder Mikaela McGee (Jacksonville) who has made 11 starts for the Western Athletic Conference tournament champions.

There are plenty of other Floridians in the field. Official Florida FC will provide updates on as many as possible on the Road to the College Cup.

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