College season ends in disappointment for Reggae Girl

National striker Jody Brown and her Florida State University (FSU) team fell short of their national championship goal when they were beaten 4-1 on penalties by Santa Clara University in the National Women's Soccer Tournament (Women's College Cup) final played on Monday night in North Carolina, United States.

Because of complications caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the College Cup, which was scheduled to be held in last year's winter season, was moved to this year's spring season with the tournament field reduced from 64 to 48 teams.

Florida State, who entered the College Cup tournament as one of the number one seeds with an 11-0 regular season record, took the lead in the 61st minute through Jenna Nighswonger but Kelsey Turnbow of Santa Clara equalised six minutes before the end of the second half sending the game to extra time.

Opportunity to win

Brown played 68 minutes in the final including both overtime periods and she also had an opportunity to win the title for Florida State in her freshman year. FSU defender Emily Madril managed to find Brown in the box after a great run but Brown's shot was deflected by Santa Clara defender Makoto Nezu.

In the penalty shoot-out Florida State missed their first two attempts and while they did end up scoring in the third round, Santa Clara were perfect from their four attempts to win their second national title.

The defeat brought an end to Brown's first season at FSU where she made 11 appearances, scoring five goals and registering one assist. Her performances earned her a place on the All-Atlantic Coast Conference freshman team for the 2020 season.

The 19 year-old Brown has been called up to the provisional national senior women's squad that will make their return to competitive play next month with two international friendlies against Nigeria and the United States. The two games will be used as preparation for the 2023 Women's World Cup qualifiers which start in November.