CARY, N.C. – Jordynn Dudley makes it seem simple on the pitch.
The Florida State women’s soccer freshman calmly readied herself for a crucial penalty kick. She picked up the ball, carried it to the penalty box and placed the ball.
She measured her shot, stared down the Stanford goalkeeper and shot it into the back of the net in the 29th minute.
Goal.
Twenty-six seconds later, the Seminoles scored again, as the floodgates began to open against a staunch Cardinal defense. FSU collected its fourth NCAA Women’s Soccer National Championship in a 5-1 win over Stanford to complete a perfect season.
“For her to get the penalty and to take it, we all have full confidence in her and she has full confidence in herself,” FSU senior Beata Olsson said.
“That’s incredible.”
It was a similar shot she made against Texas in the third round a couple of weeks prior. It was her 14th goal of her freshman season.
“Business as usual, we practice them. I didn’t want to change anything that I usually do. I just went for it,” Dudley said about the opportunity.
“That’s what I go with a lot of the time and I just don’t mix it up, especially in that moment, because I don’t want to get in my own head.”
Dudley later added an assist to Olsson in the 58th minute when the Seminoles needed a response following a Stanford goal to cut the lead to 2-1.
The performance earned the talented freshman from Milton, Georgia, the Most Outstanding Offensive Player of the College Cup.
She also earned All-American honors and ACC Freshman of the Year for her impressive season.
“What makes it even more impressive is that two weeks ago against Texas, she stepped up and took a penalty,” FSU head coach Brian Pensky said. “Therefore, they’ve seen Jordynn take a penalty. They know where she went on her prior penalty, right?
“And she didn’t change the side she went to. She just went there, again, because of the unequivocal confidence with which she plays.”
Sticking with Brian Pensky
Dudley originally committed to former FSU head coach Mark Krikorian. When Krikorian quit in March of 2022 and Pensky was hired in April, Dudley decided to stick with the Seminoles and signed her NLI in December of the same year, despite the coaching change.
“I think the communication and just the way all the new coaches came in just made it feel like a really good space to be in,” Dudley said. “They just did a really good job and I all in after that. It was a hard thing to happen for everyone on the team, even people coming in. So that was a really good job bringing us in.”
Monday’s performance on the biggest stage continues to amaze Dudley’s teammates about what she can do on the pitch as a freshman.
But that doesn’t mean it surprises them.
“That girl is incredible,” FSU senior forward Leilanni Nesbeth said. “Her work ethic, while you guys obviously don’t see how she practices every day, but that girl is incredible and just an all-around really amazing kid who cares about her craft and who cares about the people around her.
“She’s a little shy, but she’s slowly breaking out of her shell and it’s been literally amazing to watch her progress, to watch her grow. I’m so excited. I wish I was staying for a couple of years just to play with these freshmen and the sophomores because they are incredible.
“But all season she stepped up in a way that I’ve never seen before. It is shocking. It’s phenomenal. She is that girl.”
Dual-sport Dudley
Dudley played both soccer and basketball at Cambridge High. In soccer, she earned Georgia All-State honors all four years and was the 2022 and 2023 Region Player of the Year.
She ended her career as the school’s all-time leading scorer in basketball.
“I grew up playing both my whole career,” Dudley said. “It was a struggle which one I wanted to play my whole life. But I just knew soccer was wanted I wanted to do.”
But she was still very good on the hardwood.
Her basketball abilities caught the eye of another FSU coach.
“My first summer here I got a text from Brooke [Wyckoff], our women’s basketball coach, she was at an AAU tournament,” Pensky said. “And she said, ‘Is Jordan Dudley really coming to FSU for soccer? I’m watching her play basketball right now just tearing it up.'”
Did her ability on the basketball court help her on the pitch?
“Both involve a lot of footwork, so it comes together,” Dudley said.
Her performance Monday makes it seem like she made the right decision to pick soccer.
Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports), Instagram (tlhnolesports) and YouTube channel (NoleSportsTD).
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