Who stands between BYU soccer and a national title?

The Cougars are making their first appearance in the College Cup and face a familiar opponent, Santa Clara, in the national semifinals

BYU is just two wins away from earning what would be the school’s first national championship in women’s soccer.

A heavy-hitting and experienced field awaits the Cougars in this year’s College Cup, though.

Here’s a look at the last four teams competing for this year’s NCAA women’s soccer championship:

Record: 17-4-1.
Conference finish: 8-1, tied first in West Coast Conference.
Road to the College Cup (NCAA tournament wins): W, 6-0 vs. New Mexico; W, 4-1 vs. Alabama; W, 1-0 vs. Virginia; W, 4-1 vs. South Carolina.
Stat leaders: Goals, Mikayla Colohan 18, Cameron Tucker 16; assists, Colohan 15, Brecken Mozingo 9; goals-against average, Cassidy Smith 0.65.
What to know: This is BYU’s first trip to the College Cup. … The Cougars lead the nation in goals per game (3.5) and shots per game (24.45). … BYU, a conference rival of Santa Clara, has won just once at the Broncos’ Stevens Stadium, beating Santa Clara 2-1 last March.

Record: 15-5-2.
Conference finish: 8-1, tied first in West Coast Conference.
Road to the College Cup (NCAA tournament wins): W, 1-0 vs. Stanford; W, 2-1 vs. Georgetown; W, 2-1 vs. Wisconsin; W, 2-1 vs. Duke.
Stat leaders: Goals, Kelsey Turnbow 11, Izzy D’Aquila 8; assists, Turnbow 12, Alex Loera 7; goals-against average, Cassidy Smith 1.02.
What to know: Santa Clara, who will be playing in its home stadium, is the defending national champions, a two-time national champ (also winning it in 2001) and is playing in its 12th College Cup. … The Broncos are 8-0-1 at home this season. … Santa Clara beat BYU 1-0 in Santa Clara in their meeting earlier this season, winning on a goal from Turnbow in the 74th minute.

Record: 20-1-2.
Conference finish: 7-1-2, second in Atlantic Coast Conference.
Road to the College Cup (NCAA tournament wins): W, 3-0 vs. South Alabama; W, 5-1 vs. SMU; W, 1-0 vs. Pepperdine; W, 1-0 vs. Michigan.
Stat leaders: Goals, Beata Olsson 14, Clara Robbins 6; assists, Jody Brown 10, Yujie Zhao 9; goals-against average, Cristina Roque 0.64.
What to know: This is Florida State’s eighth appearance in the last 11 College Cups. The Seminoles won the national title in 2018 and 2014, and have been national runners-up three other times. … The Seminoles rank fifth nationally in goals per game (2.83) and are sixth in goals-against average (.550). … Florida State is led by three All-Americans this year — first-teamers Jaelin Howell and Emily Madril, along with second-teamer Zhao.

Record: 19-3-2.
Conference finish: 10-0, first in Big Ten Conference.
Road to the College Cup (NCAA tournament wins): W, 2-0 vs. Bucknell; W, 4-0 vs. Saint Louis; T, 1-1 (win 5-4 on PKs) vs. TCU; T, 2-2 (win 4-2 on PKs) vs. Arkansas.
Stat leaders: Goals, Frankie Tagliaferri 13, Amirah Ali 12; assists, Riley Tiernan 13, Tagliaferri 9; goals-against average, Meagan McClelland 0.67.
What to know: Rutgers is returning to the College Cup for the first time since 2015. Like BYU, the Scarlet Knights are seeking their first national championship in women’s soccer. … Rutgers ranks 10th nationally in goals per game (2.67). … The Scarlet Knights are the only College Cup team to advance in this year’s NCAA tournament by winning on penalty kick shootouts, and they did so twice.

Semifinals, Friday

Championship, Sunday or Monday

Semifinal winners, 6 p.m. (ESPNU)
Note: The championship will move from Sunday to Monday if BYU advances to the final.

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