CARY, N.C. -- Frannie Crouse scored in the 24th minute to help Penn State beat Rutgers 2-0 on Friday and reach the championship game of the NCAA Women's College Cup.
The Nittany Lions will try to win their first national title on Sunday against Duke, a 2-0 winner over 2014 winner Florida State in the second semifinal.
Kaleigh Riehl added a goal in the 79th minute for Penn State (21-3-2), which advanced to the championship game for the second time in program history.
"Every time I turn around, it feels like there's another player scoring for us," Penn state coach Erica Walsh said. "You just never know where it's going to come from, and I think that's one of the reasons this team has been so successful. You can't really key on one player or another."
Crouse took advantage of a mistake by Rutgers in the midfield with a sliding, right-footed goal on the first shot by either team.
Rutgers' Katelyn Walters controlled the ball near the left sideline before sending a pass back toward her own goal, but the ball rolled into the top of the box.
Crouse sprinted after it, sliding and shooting in one motion just ahead of a slide by Rutgers' Brianne Reed. The topspin blast sailed just over the outstretched right arm of leaping goalkeeper Casey Murphy.
"I kind of felt like I was cherry picking, but I wasn't," Crouse said.
Rutgers finished with just five shots, including one shot on goal, in its first College Cup appearance.
The Scarlet Knights entered the game with an NCAA-best 19 shutouts, including four in a row since their last game against the Nittany Lions.
The Big Ten rivals split their previous two meetings. Rutgers won 1-0 on Oct. 18, and Penn State won 2-0 on Nov. 8 in the conference championship game.
"When you play against a team like that, the details are so important," Rutgers coach Mike O'Neill said. "There were some opportunities, some mistakes that we made, that they capitalized on. When you get to this level, that's what happens."
DUKE 2, FLORIDA STATE 0
Toni Payne had a goal and an assist, and Duke beat defending champion Florida State 2-0 on Friday night to reach the championship game of the NCAA Women's College Cup.
Duke (14-5-5) is one win away from the first national title in program history after failing to qualify for the NCAA tournament a year ago.
"Wow," Duke coach Robbie Church said. "We're obviously very, very excited to be playing on Sunday. As you start this journey, your dreams are that you end on the last day. I really could not be prouder of this team."
Kayla McCoy broke through in the 32nd minute in a first half otherwise dominated by the Seminoles (18-3-4). She took a feed from Payne just to the right of the goal and blasted the ball past goalkeeper Cassie Miller into the lower left corner of the net.
Payne added a goal on a breakaway with a second left in the game.
But it was her run down the right flank and pass to McCoy after drawing four defenders that changed the match.
"We have a little bit of connection where she sees me running and plays me through," McCoy said. "I was very fortunate to have finished it this time."
Florida State was denied its third consecutive appearance in the national title game.
The Seminoles also had their record streak of 10 consecutive NCAA tournament shutouts come to an end at the hands of an Atlantic Coast Conference rival.
Florida State finished with a 16-8 advantage in shots, but Duke's EJ Proctor made four saves in her 11th shutout of the season.
The Seminoles had three exceptional chances to score in the first half, including once when Duke's Ashton Miller stopped a shot at point-blank range after the ball eluded Proctor.
"The way the game was going, I don't know if we would have played another hour whether we would have scored or not," Florida State coach Mark Krikorian said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.