The Women's College Cup boils down to one final weekend in Cary, North Carolina, as Clemson, Florida State, BYU, and Stanford are the last four standing. Here is a preview covering what you need to know before Friday's semifinal slate.

READ EACH TEAM'S JOURNEY TO FINAL 4: Clemson's Path | Stanford's Path | BYU's Path | Florida State's Path

Clemson (18-3-4) vs. Florida State (20-0-1) – Friday, December 1st, 6 PM Eastern, ESPN+

Two familiar faces meet as Florida State faces Clemson for a third time this season. The Seminoles won 4-2 at Clemson on September 15th and again 2-1 on November 5th in the ACC Tournament final. With that much familiarity between the two, this has the potential to be a highly physical and intense matchup.

Clemson Keys to Victory

Both times these two met, the Tigers rolled out a high press at different moments of the game to try and win possession in the final third. The problem is the exchange of utilizing an aggressive press is the space you concede in between the lines and over the top, which is not ideal considering Jordynn Dudley, Onyi Echegini, and Beata Olsson all thrive in open space. The key to success here will be playing a compact style that limits transition opportunities for Florida State.

Florida State Keys to Victory

The Seminoles must be wary of leaving it too late. The first time these two met, Clemson was winning 2-0 just 19 minutes in, and although Florida State would turn that deficit around, the difficulty is much higher in a College Cup game. Outside of that, a point of emphasis is limiting set-pieces. The Tigers have several players with exceptional service, and Mackenzie Duff is a powerhouse who has scored five headers this season. The path to glory here is a mindset to start the game on the right foot and disciplined defending to limit free-kick and corner opportunities.

Stanford (19-0-4) vs. BYU (20-2-3) – Friday, December 1st, 8:30 PM Eastern, ESPN+

Undefeated Stanford meets surging BYU in the second semifinal matchup. These two met in the second round last season, with the Cougars prevailing on penalty kicks, so that is not out of the realm of possibility, especially considering these two have distinctly different strengths as BYU brings the country’s most potent offense against a Stanford team that has yet to concede more than once in a game this season.

Stanford Keys to Victory

The path to success here will be finding a balance between the sustained possession Stanford prefers and an adequate rest defense to prevent the transition opportunities BYU thrives on. There is no better team in the country on the break, and Stanford must be wary of being lulled into comfortability as all it takes is one errant pass for BYU to counter with an offense that boasts five goal scorers in the double digits. One alternative is to seed more possession to BYU than Stanford usually does to an opponent, but considering the Cardinals are dominant because of their style, a second alternative is employing a highly aggressive counter-pressing system once possession is lost to prevent BYU from finding clean passes to its playmakers. Friday will likely be a busy night for the center-back partnership of Elise Evans and Kennedy Wesley, who may have to do a lot of chasing on the counter.

BYU Keys to Victory

Whereas the North Carolina match played out like a basketball game at times due to the frantic nature and momentum swings, a match against Stanford offers a different proposition. The Cardinals will look to maintain most of the possession, which can dull the Cougar rhythm. The key here will be speeding up the tempo to unbalance Stanford on and off the ball while capitalizing on any transition opportunities. What will help is that this BYU roster is far more experienced than Stanford, which bodes well for a high-pressured matchup.

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

ECNL Boys Phoenix Selection Game Rosters

Women's Team of the Week: Nov. 11

Men's Team of the Week: November 11