The 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer season was the 42nd season of

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

championship women's

college soccer College soccer, called college football in some countries, is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Kore ...

. The season began on August 17, 2023, and concluded in November 2023. It will culminate with the

2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament The 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer tournament was the 42nd edition of the NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament, a postseason tournament to determine the national champion of NCAA Division I women's college soccer. The College Cup was pl ...

, with the College Cup being held at

WakeMed Soccer Park WakeMed Soccer Park is a Association football, soccer complex in Cary, North Carolina, United States. It consists of a purpose-built, Soccer-specific stadium, soccer-specific main stadium named "First Horizon Stadium", two lighted practice footba ...

Cary, North Carolina Cary is a town in Wake County, North Carolina, Wake, Chatham County, North Carolina, Chatham, and Durham County, North Carolina, Durham counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina and is part of the Raleigh, North Carolina, Raleigh-Cary, NC M ...

. were the defending NCAA Champions. The Bruins were unable to defend their title as they were defeated in the first round of 2023 tournament by UC Irvine 1–0.

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

faced off against in the final. Florida State prevailed 5–1 and won their fourth overall title, all of which have come since 2014. Stanford's 36 game streak of allowing one or fewer goals was snapped and this was the first match where the Cardinal allowed five or more goals in a game since 1996. This was the first national championship match between two undefeated teams and Florida State became the first undefeated champion since Stanford in 2011.

Changes from 2022

Coaching changes

There were 33 coaching changes during the 2022–23 offseason.

Conference realignment

The 2023 season was the last for at least 18 teams in their current conferences.

Other headlines

* August 12, 2022 – The

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

and

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

systems announced that

Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) was a public university from 1969 to 2024 in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. It was a collaboration between Indiana University and Purdue University system, Purdue University, of ...

will be dissolved in 2024 and replaced by separate IU- and Purdue-affiliated institutions. The current athletic program, the

IUPUI Jaguars The IU Indy Jaguars are the 18 intercollegiate teams that represent Indiana University Indianapolis, in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. They compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The teams were established by Indiana ...

, will transfer to the new IU Indianapolis. * October 14, 2022 –

Conference USA Conference USA (CUSA) is a collegiate athletic conference of member institutions in the Southern and Western United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. CUSA's offices are located in Dallas, Texas. Mem ...

announced that

ASUN Conference The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. ...

member Kennesaw State would join C-USA in 2024. * July 20, 2023 – The Colonial Athletic Association announced a name change to

Coastal Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

. * October 4, 2023 – The Division I Council approved changes to the transfer window for all sports. In fall sports other than football, including men's and women's soccer, the

transfer portal The NCAA transfer portal is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) application, database, and compliance tool created to manage and facilitate the process for student athletes seeking to transfer between member institutions. It is in ...

now opens for a total of 45 days. A 30-day fall window opens 7 days after championship selections are made, followed by a spring window from May 1–15. * October 23 – The

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC, ) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I. Its current 13 full members are located in five Northeastern states: Connecticut, Maryland, Massachuse ...

(MAAC) announced that Merrimack and

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

would join from the

Northeast Conference The Northeast Conference (NEC) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools are members of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Teams in the NEC compete in Division I for all sports; football competes in the Division I Foo ...

in July 2024.

Rankings

Preseason polls

Regular season

Major upsets

In this list, a "major upset" is defined as a game won by a team ranked 10 or more spots lower or an unranked team that defeats a team ranked No. 15 or higher. All rankings are from the

United Soccer Coaches The United Soccer Coaches (formerly known as the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)) is an organization of American soccer coaches founded in 1941. It is the largest soccer coaches organization in the world, with more than ...

Poll.

Conference standings

Conference winners and tournaments

Postseason

NCAA Tournament

Final rankings

Award winners

All-America teams

Major player of the year awards

Hermann Trophy The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) and th ...

: Onyi Echegini –

TopDrawerSoccer.com National Player of the Year Award TopDrawerSoccer.com (TDS) is an American association football, soccer website that is dedicated to youth soccer in the United States. Specifically, the website focuses on Academy soccer, high school soccer, and college soccer in the United State ...

Lexi Missimo Alexis Danielle Missimo (born January 30, 2003) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a midfielder for USL Super League club Dallas Trinity. She played college soccer for the Texas Longhorns, for which she is the all-time top sc ...

–

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Other major awards

* United Soccer Coaches College Coach of the Year: Brian Pensky – Florida State * Bill Jeffrey Award: Becky Burleigh *

Jerry Yeagley Award The Jerry Yeagley Award (Jerry Yeagley Award for Exceptional Personal Service Award) is an award given to a former college soccer player, either women's or men's, that has demonstrated exceptional personal achievements either on or off the soccer ...

: Rob Stone * Mike Berticelli Award: Rob Herringer * NCAA Tournament MVP: Offensive:

Jordynn Dudley Jordynn Araya Dudley (born November 21, 2004) is an American college association football, soccer player who plays as a forward (association football), forward for the Florida State Seminoles women's soccer, Florida State Seminoles. She helped le ...

Defensive: Lauren Flynn

Attendances

The 40 women's college soccer teams with the highest average home attendance:

References

{{2023 in American women's soccer