National Champs Florida State Have a New Coach, How Will They Do This Season?
The defending NCAA National Champions, Florida State, have been through a bit of a tumultuous offseason. Their head coach and anchor of the soccer program, Mark Krikorian, left the program over the summer under mysterious circumstances. Some of the team’s key players, including Clara Robbins, took to IG to express their sentiments as a team.
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This type of situation is unprecedented, where a coach leaves the program with no real decline after winning multiple national championships and dominating at the college level for so long. Well, out of everyone Florida State could have brought in to take over, they added one of the best available college coaches in the country. Meet Brian Pensky, a coach who turned around programs at the University of Maryland and Tennessee. How will he adjust to a unique situation in Tallahassee? Let’s discuss.
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New Head Coach, Brian Pensky
Brian Pensky is arguably the most qualified person to take over a program that has been a force in the ACC. It’s a conference that Pensky actually knows well, as Maryland used to be a part of the ACC when he coached there last in 2011. He helped lead the Terrapins to the No. 1 overall seed in 2010 and won National Coach of the Year. To do that in a stacked ACC is a big deal.
Then he revived the program for the Tennessee Volunteers and turned them into one of the best programs in the SEC. While Pensky’s teams might not have dominated year-in-year out in terms of record, his ability to coach top-level talent is what makes him exciting at Florida State.
Pensky and his staff managed to find a diamond in the rough like Khadija “Bunny” Shaw and get her to come to Tennessee from Eastern Florida State College. She’s now in England, winning multiple trophies with Manchester City. Even Katie Cousins at Angel City FC is another player who starred under Pensky. These are the types of stories that will ensure the Seminoles are strong on the recruiting trail and able to bring in top talent from around the world in the same way Mark Krikorian did.
Team Leaders
Looking at Florida State’s roster for this year, they still have plenty of returning talent to keep Florida State in the top 15 of the rankings all year. Jenna Nighswonger’s versatility will come in handy, and Clara Robbins is one of the best players in the country, hands down. FSU also has one of the best keepers in the country with Cristina Roque. These three will anchor the team from the defensive standpoint unless coach Pensky sees fit to add Nighswonger into more of an attacking position. Up front, the Seminoles will also have a dangerous duo with Beata Olsson and Jody Brown.
Olsson transferred from arch-rival Florida and has given the Seminoles a huge lift. Jody Brown has been getting invaluable experience with the Jamaican national team and will be expected to take another leap for Florida State if they are to be a top team once again this year. Brown led the team in assists and netted four goals. If she gets to double-digit goals as well, this team can compete for a national title again.
Head coach Brian Pensky has said this about the opportunity via the ACC. “But it is more than just the soccer program that attracted me. The status of the university as a top tier public institution academically is just as impressive as the athletic history. And, I have coached in the ACC and I know the strength of the league is second to none in the country.”
“I take over the program with endless humility and understanding of the task at hand.”
Everyone knows expectations are high, and all eyes will be on the program, even more so than in years past. Can this team still be one of the best in the nation? On paper, they absolutely are, but we’re still in preseason, and time will tell how good this team really is.
Featured image via @nolesoccer on Instagram
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