Florida State soccer coach Brian Pensky: Not winning championship would be 'disappointment'

First-year Florida State women's soccer coach Brian Pensky knows the expectations for his program.

Former head coach Mark Krikorian took over the Seminoles in 2005 and built high expectations, leading the team to national championships in 2014, 2018 and 2021.

In his first season taking over for Krikorian, Pensky has come in and not missed a step.

The Seminoles (13-2-3) earned the No. 1 overall in the NCAA Tournament following a share of the ACC regular season championship and the ACC Tournament championship.

They open the postseason against Florida Gulf Coast (12-5-2) at 5 p.m. Friday at Seminole Soccer Complex.

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Despite all the accolades already piled up in year one, Pensky said the expectations for the program have not changed under him.

"The ultimate goal is obviously on that wall right there," Pensky said while pointing to the three championship banners. "And that's what we talked about after we beat Virginia Tech a week and a half ago. Everybody measures successes in different ways.

"Right now as we sit here yet we have hardware to show for all the efforts that our kids have put forth. So certainly if we don't win the national championship, the last thing I would call the season is a failure.

"I would still call it a success and still say that we accomplished many things. The word certainly would be 'disappointed,' if we don't win a national championship."

The Seminoles have put themselves in a strong position to defend their championship. As long as they win, they'll keep playing at home, hosting through the quarterfinals.

Pensky, as well as his players, have recognized what it means to play in front of the home fans this season.

"I've watched a lot of Florida state soccer over the years. I have no visual memory of watching Florida State in a road NCAA Tournament game," Pensky said.

He noted that playing in Tallahassee, where it was 80 degrees and sunny on Tuesday, is an advantage over playing somewhere like Michigan, where it could be much colder.

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Same team, different opponent?

The Seminoles defeated Florida Gulf Coast earlier this season, 5-0, at Seminole Soccer Complex. They are 3-0 all-time against the Eagles.

However, Pensky cautioned that since the game was played back on Sept. 8, the fifth game for FSU, both teams are different now than they were then.

"That was ages ago in terms of our team, our coaching, our understanding of each other and figuring our team out ," Penksy said.

Neither Heather Payne nor Onyi Echegini played in the game, as both were returning from playing for the Ireland and Nigeria national teams, respectively.

"I think we are a lot more comfortable with each other in our defending expectations and attacking solidity, confidence and just team chemistry all around," Pensky said.

The loss dropped the Eagles to 3-4-1 at the time. Following a loss to Liberty 10 days later, they closed out their season going unbeaten in their 11 matches, including defeating Liberty in PKs in the ASUN Tournament Championship game.

"They've been playing slightly differently since then, in terms of their shape," Pensky said. "They were tough. Even though the score line wound up being 5-0, it was not a 5-0 game. It was a 0-0 game at halftime.

"We talked about that yesterday, our kids remember that. Our kids remember them hitting the crossbar, I think on two occasions in the first half. There were some moments where we were on our heels, giving the ball away in our back half."

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Excitement for Tennessee

The anticipation for FSU players and fans during the NCAA Selection Show on Monday did not last long. The Seminoles were announced as the top seed right off the bat.

But Pensky kept his eye on his former team, Tennessee, as well. The Volunteers earned a No. 6 seed and will host Xavier at 6 p.m. Friday.

"Obviously happy for those kids. I miss those kids a lot," Pensky said. "Veteran group. I love them all still. I want them to do well. I knew they were going to be in the bracket. It was just really a question of, I was just really, really, really, really hoping I would not see Tennessee anywhere near Florida State."

The Volunteers and Seminoles are on the opposite sides of the bracket, meaning the only way Pensky could face his former team would be in the National Championship Game scheduled for Dec. 5.

"I hope it would happen at that level," Pensky said. "Because it means they had that kind of success. That would be phenomenal and that would mean we had that level of success as well."

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Other notes

• Seventh-year senior Clara Robbins will pass Kristin Grubka (2011-15) for most matches played in her FSU career with 106.

• For the most part this season, the Seminoles have avoided the injury bug. FSU will enter the NCAA Tournament at full strength, according to Pensky.

• Pensky said the decision for freshman Olivia Garcia to not play in the ACC Tournament was a coaches decision with the tightening of rotations and did not reflect poor play from Garcia.

• The Seminoles announced the signings of forward Jordynn Dudley (Alpharetta, Ga.) and midfield/defender Amelia Van Zanten (Kildeer, Ill.) on social media on Wednesday. M/F Peyton Nourse (Centennial, Colorado) and M Maggie Taitano (Carlsbad, California) were announced Thursday morning. Pensky said he expected to sign four players this week.

GAME INFORMATION

What: NCAA Tournament First Round

Who: No. 1 FSU (13-2-3) vs. Florida Gulf Coast (12-5-2)

When/where: Friday, 5 p.m.; Seminole Soccer Complex

TV: WatchESPN App

Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU soccer coach Brian Pensky: No championship would be 'disappointment'