Two weeks after Gotham FC lifted the NWSL Championship trophy in San Jose, the spotlight shifts to another stage where legends are born: the 2025 NCAA Women’s College Cup. For NWSL fans – fresh from the high of a record-setting Championship week – who enjoy the college game, this weekend is like a second Christmas.

And this year’s lineup is an absolute gift.

Florida State, TCU, Stanford, and Duke – programs that have shaped the current era of women’s college soccer and are deeply woven into the fabric of the NWSL.

Everywhere you look this weekend, you’ll see future professionals and behind them, the shadows of giants. These programs have produced champions, Olympians, World Cup medalists, club captains, and some of the most influential players in NWSL history. The College Cup has always been a launchpad for the next wave, but this year’s field feels special. The stars of tomorrow are here, and many of them will be playing in Kansas City this weekend.

Florida State vs. TCU

December 5 | 6 pm ET // 5 pm CT

How to watch: ESPNU

Florida State has been here before, they know the drill. This is the Seminoles’ 15th College Cup appearance, their twenty-sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament, and another chapter in a run that has produced four national championships and one of the best postseason records in Division I history. The program is a modern era juggernaut. They come into Kansas City having gone unbeaten in 27 of their last 28 NCAA matches. They know how to manage knockout games – how to settle, how to surge, how to put defenses on high alert before opponents can breathe.

TCU knows none of that history because they’ve never had the chance to live it. Until now.

For the first time in program history, the Horned Frogs have broken through into the national semifinal, and they have done it with a blend of resilience, grit, and timely brilliance that makes them the most intriguing disruptor in the field. Their path through the tournament – seven unanswered against Grambling, four more against Memphis, a penalty shootout stunner against the best program in college women’s soccer, North Carolina, and an extra-time winner over Vanderbilt – has transformed them from underdog to contender. They are playing their best soccer in their program’s most important moment, and if NWSL fans know one thing, it’s to never count out the underdog.

These two teams have met only twice, both 2–0 Florida State wins in 2019 and 2023. But the dynamics of this semifinal feel different.

Florida State is once again playing elegant, confident, possession-driven soccer. Their attack runs primarily through Jordynn Dudley, a playmaker capable of controlling entire matches through her tempo changes, her clever positioning, and her uncanny ability to produce goals in waves. She has been a player to watch for practically her whole college career. She is flanked by the power and precision of Wrianna Hudson, one of the most efficient finishers in the nation. Together they give FSU a front line few defenses can handle. Behind them, the Seminoles’ midfield maintains the composure and intelligence that define their identity – slow when it needs to be, ruthless when the space opens.

TCU’s approach is entirely different. They embrace chaos, leaning into late-game surges, deep bench contributions, and the emotional momentum of the moment. No team in the College Cup has scored more late goals than the Frogs, and no team has spread their scoring across more players. Seven Castain, striker, is entering this weekend as one of the hottest finishers in the nation with 17 goals. And in goal, Olivia Geller is coming off the performance of her career, keeping Vanderbilt out until overtime with nine game-changing saves. If she can replicate that form, TCU can stretch this match into the kind of tense, transitional battle Florida State tends to avoid.

This semifinal feels like a meeting of eras: a dynasty of consistency against a powerhouse that has always been on the verge of being dangerous. Is it finally TCU’s year?

Stanford vs. Duke

December 5 | 8:45 pm ET // 5:45 pm PT

How to watch: ESPNU

The history between Stanford and Duke isn't as storied as, say, either programs' history with UNC, but it's emerging and intriguing noneth. These programs have met 12 times before, including twice in NCAA Tournament history – a national championship match in 2011 and a penalty shootout in 2015. Stanford leads the all-time series, but Duke has won two of the last three encounters, including a stunning 4–1 win last season in Palo Alto. Regardless of the history, both teams understand exactly what is at stake. Stanford is hunting its fourth national title, its first since 2019. Duke is still chasing its first, though it has been knocking on that door for years.

2025 is the year of Stanford. The No. 1 team in the nation when it comes to offense, the Cardinals have scored 95 goals this season. No team sustains pressure the way this team does. They shoot more often, create more chances, and overwhelm opponents with layers of attacking options – Jasmine Aikey, Andrea Kitahata, Charlotte Kohler, Eleanor Klinger, Allie Montoya, and more. Their midfield is fluid and suffocating. Even their back line can get in on the scoring action, anchored by set piece hero and 2025 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Elise Evans (surely a player to watch for years to come). They are unbeaten in 16 straight and enter this semifinal with the swagger of a team that expects to score early and often.

But what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? Duke hasn’t allowed a single goal in this NCAA Tournament. They have outshot their opponents nearly four-to-one, controlled matches through compact defensive structure, and ridden the incredible form of goalkeeper Caroline Dysart, who has been perfect in the postseason.

Their attack runs through Mia Minestrella and Kat Rader, two players capable of turning defensive moments into instant transition chances. Minestrella has scored in every round of this tournament, the only player in the College Cup to do so, and Rader’s blend of power, touch, and creativity offers Duke an outlet even when under sustained pressure. This team is not just defending, they are countering with intention.

The intrigue of this match in particular lies in what happens during the game’s first few minutes. Stanford has overwhelmed teams all season in the opening 20 minutes, burying opponents under shot after shot before the match ultimately settles. Duke, meanwhile, has grown stronger as matches progress, finding rhythm in structure and forcing teams to break themselves against their defensive block. Stanford must score early; Duke must survive early. If they do, the game shifts into a balance Stanford is less comfortable with.

It’s a chess match and whichever team imposes its rhythm first will likely find itself playing for a national championship come Monday.

Four Teams, Four Legacies

The four teams entering the 2025 NCAA College Cup all have different stories to tell: the dynasty (FSU), the disruptor (TCU), the juggernaut (Stanford), and the challenger tired of being overlooked (Duke).

Their alumni have shaped every era of the league – lifting trophies, wearing captain’s armbands, redefining the sport, and setting standards that ripple far beyond their college years. And that influence isn’t slowing down. The next wave of rookies – many of whom will walk off this weekend as national champions – will soon step into the NWSL and carry those legacies forward.

And at the end of Monday night, one of these programs will add a new chapter to that lineage.

NWSL Alumni by School

Florida State

Taylor Huff – BAY

Natalia Kuikka – CHI (2018 champion)

Leilanni Nesbeth – CHI (2021, 2023 champion)

Jaelin Howell – GFC (2018, 2021 champion)

Malia Berkely – HOU (2018 champion)

Cristina Roque – LOU (2021, 2023 champion)

Carson Pickett – ORL (2014 champion)

Emily Sams – ORL (2021 champion)

Deyna Castellanos – POR (2018 champion)

Cassie Miller – SEA (2014 champion)

Lauren Flynn – UTA (2021, 2023 champion)

Mia Justus – UTA (2021 champion)

Gabby Carle – WAS (2018, 2021 champion)

Casey Krueger – WAS

TCU

Messiah Bright – HOU

Yazmeen Ryan – HOU

Katie Lund – LOU

Ryan Williams – NC

Stanford

Catherine Paulson – BAY

Kiki Pickett – BAY (2019 champion)

Ryan Campbell – GFC

Tierna Davidson – GFC (2017 champion)

Belle Briede – HOU (2017, 2019 champion)

Jane Campbell – HOU

Alana Cook – KC (2017 champion)

Lo’eau LaBonta – KC (2011 champion)

Christen Press – LA

Ali Riley – LA

Jordan Baggett – LOU (2017 champion)

Sam Hiatt – POR (2017, 2019 champion)

Sophia Wilson – POR (2019 champion)

Kyra Carusa – SD (2017 champion)

Kennedy Wesley – SD (2019 champion)

Andi Sullivan – WAS (2017 champion)

Duke

Hannah Bebar – BAY

Tess Boade – BAY

Leah Freeman – BAY

Ella Stevens – GFC

Maggie Graham – HOU

Michelle Cooper – KC

Mary Long – KC

Ella Hase – LOU

Imani Dorsey – UTA