By PAUL GOTHAM
Wrianna Hudson has delivered her fair share of spectacular goals.
In the Women’s College Cup National Semifinal, the Florida State sophomore snapped a scoreless tie in the 73rd minute, and the No. 3 seed Seminoles went on to beat No. 2 Texas Christian University (TCU), 1-0.
The goal was a combination of skill and athleticism as the 6-foot-2 forward went airborne for an acrobatic volley of a cross from teammate Sophia Nguyen.
Three nights later with the game deadlocked at zero and the national title on the line, it was Hudson, again, who converted the winning goal.
This time it was a display of technical proficiency as she redirected a cross from teammate Taylor Suarez into an open net.
“I’m just grateful that I was in the right place,” the former Greece Athena standout said via a phone call.
If only it was that simple.
Hudson was on the far post for the championship-winning goal and also for her marker in the national semifinal.
Running back post requires patience and discipline. It calls on the player to stay ready and make the best of the situation with a minimum of touches, often just one chance to convert. A split-second too soon or too late could result in being off-balance and missing an opportunity.
In that moment the shooter needs to deliver the right touch on the ball.
“I thought if I stayed in my area and the ball happened to come through, I could be there to finish it,” she said.
The play started with a corner kick from the right flag. Teammate Yuna McCormack stopped Stanford’s clearing attempt with an over-the-head volley. McCormack initiated a sequence of four different Seminoles playing the ball with a first touch. Jaida McGrew followed with an over-the-head volley of her own. Janet Okeke served a diagonal to the right flank that hit Suarez in stride.
While the ball pinged from player to player, Hudson and teammate Jordynn Dudley anticipated the play.
“Most defenders are going to be focused on the near post especially since I had my teammate Jordyn there,” Hudson said of Dudley who led FSU with 36 points this season.
Adding to the degree of difficulty, the game-winner came from a deflected ball.
Off a bounce, Suarez served a cross from the right flank about four yards from the end line that eluded the outstretched leg of a Stanford defender that was marking her. Cardinal center back Elise Evans, covering the goal line, lunged and redirected the ball.
Hudson, standing on the six-yard line, didn’t hesitate and slotted the ball into the net.
FLORIDA STATE FINDS A WAY IN FRONT 🤯🤯🤯#WCollegeCup x 🎥 ESPNU / @FSUSoccer pic.twitter.com/7G60nhzLp8
— NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer) December 9, 2025
If this was the game of basketball, it was a rebound and putback. If it was ice hockey, this was a tap-in or a point-after attempt in football.
With 3:01 left in this game, Hudson’s team-leading 15th tally of the season clinched a title.
“My teammate busted her butt to get to that ball to cross it,” she said. “It was definitely a team-effort goal.”
In that situation, Hudson wouldn’t have been the first player to allow the moment to be too big and send the ball over the crossbar. Instead, it was a slight turn of her right foot to send it into an open net.
“I’m not going to lie, I wasn’t thinking of anything,” she said of the sequence. “My body reacted before my mind did. Not until after I scored did I realize what had happened. I was like, wait a minute, we can win this. It was surreal.”
Hudson’s two game winners coming 72 hours apart might best represent what separates her from others on the pitch. In both situations, she recognized what was needed an adjusted to the moment. Not trying to do too much and certainly not doing too little.
“I say it all the time, she’s got ice in her veins,” commented FSU head coach Brian Pensky after the national championship game. “She’s calm in those moments, and she’s clutch.”
That mindset is something fans in Rochester have come to expect. Hudson scored 12 goals as a ninth-grader at Athena then followed that with 26 goals and 12 assists to earn a Third Team All-State selection as a sophomore. One year later, she netted 32 goals and added seven assists to earn First Team All-State.
She credits her family for her success and in particular sisters and Winsom and Waniya who both played collegiately.
“They’re the reasons why I play soccer in the first place,” she said of her sisters. “They definitely paved the way for me growing up.”
Winsom played at Buffalo State and Roberts Wesleyan. Waniya was a three-year starter at the University of Notre Dame. She has since played professionally for the Washington Spirit of the NWSL and Kristianstads DFF of the Swedish Scania Football Association.
“I found my love for the sport because of them. They also love the sport. They’re both so supportive. They were both at my game (national championship) that night.”
The title was the second in three years for FSU and fifth overall for the Seminoles’ program.
“It feels completely unreal,” Hudson said. “It’s absolutely amazing. I never would have thought that I would be in this situation, so this is crazy.
“Playing for the national championship, was something that I’ve only dreamed of. It was an amazing experience.”
Winning a championship was something that eluded Hudson during her high school career. As a sophomore, she was part of an Athena team that had its season end in penalty kicks against Pittsford Sutherland. As a junior, the Trojans lost to Spencerport in the Class A semis. Spencerport went on to win its eighth straight sectional championship.
Hudson got a late start to her senior year after an ankle surgery kept her on the bench for the first seven games of the 2023 season.
She returned in late September.
“I love playing in general,” she said. “Not being able to play because of my ankle was absolutely devastating for those couple of months I was out.
“I had an amazing coach in Coach (Jeremiah) Bergan. He was always so supportive with me through that whole entire process. I knew as soon as I got my strength back in that ankle, I was going to want to play right away. I’m so glad that I did.”
She finished with 10 goals and three assists in nine games, but Webster Schroeder eliminated Athena in the Class AA quarterfinals.
With winning the national championship, Hudson joins Abby Wambach on a list of two as the only student-athletes to come out of Section V Girls’ Soccer and go on to win an NCAA Division I championship in the sport.
“I looked up to her so much while growing up” Hudson said of Wambach who helped lead the University of Florida to the 1998 title. “She was an amazing player, everything I want to be. The fact that I’m on that list with her is insane.”
Wearing No. 42
When it came to picking a number, Hudson wanted that worn by the late Jackie Robinson.
“He’s a big inspiration to me as a black athlete,” she said of the hall-of-famer who broke the color barrier in professional baseball and whose number is retired across Major League Baseball.
Hudson started wearing the number as member of the Western New York Flash.
“I couldn’t get one of the traditional soccer numbers because they were all taken when I joined the team late. That number stood out to me, and I knew I had to take it.”
Also: Hudson collects hat trick, leads Athena past Aquinas
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