Charlotteans are NCAA Women's College Cup champions 

CHARLOTTE SOCCER ACADEMY

Florida State teammates Taylor Suarez (left) and Jaida McGrew of Charlotte earned national championship trophies with the Seminoles' 1-0 win against Stanford in the Women's College Cup final.

Former Carolina Ascent academy contract player Jaida McGrew is now an NCAA College Cup champion. 

McGrew, who helped Providence Day to an NCISAA state title, joined the Ascent as she completed her senior year before joining the Florida State program, which claimed its fifth national title since 2014. The Seminoles beat Stanford 1-0 in the final on Monday. They took down TCU 1-0 in the semifinals while the Cardinal knocked out Duke by the same score.

McGrew played in 21 games, including eight starts, and scored her first collegiate goal in the 3-1 third-round win over Georgetown.

A sophomore, Taylor Suarez, who starred at Ardrey Kell High, assisted on the game-winning goal with three minutes left in regulation after McGrew kept the ball in play off an FSU corner kick. Playing in 22 games with 21 starts, Suarez scored five goals and had nine assists. She was honored as a 2025 United Soccer Coaches Second-Team All-American this season. 

Suarez previously earned a third-place medal with the USA at the 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. 

After this singular final at the home of the NWSL Kansas City Current, the NCAA Women’s College Cup will return to WakeMed Park in Cary for the next two years. The men’s finals are already booked through 2027, including this year, which will be contested this weekend. 

Wolfpack and Paladins look to create history

The semifinals on Dec. 12 will feature local favorites North Carolina State (15-2-4) against Washington (14-6-2), and Furman (16-1-5) against St. Louis University (13-2-8). It is the Wolfpack’s second trip to the final four, and the first for the Paladins. 

Should N.C. State and St. Louis advance, there could be a beer or two on the line between Crown Legacy player/coach Jamie Smith, who played for the Wolfpack (2019-21), and Charlotte FC defender Tim Ream, who played for his hometown Billikens (2006-09).

Ream said on Thursday that such a wager had not yet been made, but he was proud of his alma mater. 

“(Billikens head coach) Kevin (Kalish) was one of my coaches growing up. They've done an incredible job of bringing that program back to really what everybody has always talked about, being a hard-working team, a team that makes deep runs into the tournament, and it's great to see them back where they are. It's, it's been a long time.”

St. Louis is making its 17th College Cup appearance overall, but first since 1997. The 10-time national champions last won it all in 1973. 

The Wolfpack’s history is less auspicious; their highest finish was a 1990 semifinals loss to UCLA on penalty kicks after double overtime. That UCLA team featured future U.S. National team stars Joe Max Moore and Brad Friedel. The Wolfpack had a few stars themselves.

Roy Lassiter, who represented the USA 34 times and hold the record for most goals in an MLS season (27) for 22 years, had transferred from Lees McRae in 1989 after winning the NCAA Division III title the year before. He coached the MLS Next Pro team, the Carolina Core, in 2024. An All-American in 1990, Dario Brose earned four caps with the U.S. National Team.

Upsets have been the norm in this year’s tournament. N.C. State (15) and Furman (16) are the highest seeds left. 

After losing to Syracuse in the second round of the ACC tournament, just their second loss of the season, the Wolfpack received a first-round bye, then beat both Marshall and UNC Greensboro 2-0, in the second and third rounds and outlasted Georgetown, 3-2, in the quarterfinals.

The Huskies are making their second Men's College Cup appearance, the first since 2021 when they lost 2-0 in the national championship to Clemson. 

The one-loss Paladins also had a first-round bye before beating Western Michigan 1-0, surviving Hofstra on penalty kicks after a 3-3 draw, and beating Portland 1-0 in the quarterfinal. That game featured what many would call the goal of the tournament when Braden Dunham dribbled across midfield and let fly a left-footed laser into the top-right corner from almost 40 yards out. https://www.ncaa.com/video/soccer-men/2025-12-06/furman-scores-incredible-long-distance-goal-ncaa-mens-soccer-quarterfinal-win 

The title match is Dec. 15 at 7 p.m. For more: https://www.ncaa.com/sports/soccer-men/d1. 

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