The schedule is unforgiving. It’s the reason why the Florida State soccer team struggled in October. And it’s also a reason why the Seminoles are in the College Cup.

FSU’s October schedule was a gauntlet: After a home rout of Miami (3-0), the Seminoles lost at No. 2 Notre Dame (4-2), lost to No. 1 Stanford 2-1, tied California 2-2 and won at No. 7 Virginia 3-2. There was a game that FSU should have won (Cal) and a game where FSU led early (Notre Dame) before losing.

Coach Brian Pensky convinced himself that the Seminoles were all good. He recalled how his wife had a group text with their three kids and were talking about the team.

“They deleted me from this group text, and they were worried all season, and they were shocked,” Pensky recalled this week. “Because I kept saying, ‘We're OK, we're OK.’ And I was surprised to hear that, because even in those tough losses, the Notre Dame game, the Stanford game, there was a lot of good in those games, right? We just had some mistakes. And we felt like we believe that if we cleaned up these mistakes, we would be so much better off for those issues and results that we could be here right now.

“I felt that deeply. I think our team felt that deeply, far more importantly than what I felt, the players have to feel it, and I think they did.”

While technically listed as a tie, FSU lost to Virginia on penalty kicks in the ACC Tournament on Nov. 2. But beginning with that road victory at Virginia on Oct. 23, the Seminoles have won six matches with the only loss to the Cavaliers in the ACC Tournament. It’s a stretch that has continued into the NCAA Tournament, with a pair of road victories in Washington, D.C., as well as a 4-1 rout of Ohio State last Friday to advance to the College Cup.

The national champions in 2023, FSU is in pursuit of a fifth national title for the program. FSU (14-2-4) plays TCU (18-2-3) in the College Cup on Friday at 6 p.m. (ESPNU), with Stanford and Duke facing off at 8:45 p.m. (ESPNU).

Part of the changes along the way this season was a shift from goalkeeper Addie Todd to freshman Kate Ockene, who made her first start in ACC play against California. Ockene is 7-0-3 in her 12 games (nine starts) and has allowed just eight goals, making her first start in ACC play against California. Among those 12 games, Ockene has performed well in the NCAA Tournament with three saves in the win over Ohio State and four saves at Georgetown.

The Seminoles have played better on the defensive end to complement Ockene, and they’ve allowed just two goals in four NCAA Tournament games.

“I think our kids did question whether or not we could be good this fall in those moments,” Pensky said. “So we showed them. Thankfully, there was video to back it up, both the good and the bad. But then there were a lot of data points that backed up. ‘Look, these are things that numbers don't lie, video doesn't lie, but these are the things that have to get cleaned up.’

“And a lot of it was individual responsibility in our defending, defending our box, things like that. And they've really taken large steps in that area.”

Thanks for reading the Osceola. Subscribe now for less than $50 annually with our Black Friday flashback special to enjoy a full year of coverage of FSU athletics. You’ll also earn discounts at the Osceola’s merch store and Alumni Hall.