No. 7 FSU soccer rolls over Virginia Tech

(7) Florida State (8-1-1, 1-1 ACC) defeats Virginia Tech (4-2-3, 0-1 ACC) by a 3-0 score tonight at the Seminole Soccer Complex.

Game Recap

Florida State started the game fast. The Seminoles drew a foul in the third minute. Nole forward Kristen McFarland was fouled a couple of feet outside the 18 yard box when she was clipped from behind by a tough challenge from Hokie defender Jordan Hemmen. Deyna Castellanos stepped up to take the free kick and she lifted a beautiful strike above the VT wall that hit the bottom of the crossbar and bounced in the goal. Castellanos proved again that she is absolutely lethal taking set-pieces.

FSU didn’t let up after the goal. In the 22nd minute Anna Patten worked herself free of the Tech defense after receiving a nice back heel pass from Kaycie Tillman. Patten took a left foot shot but VT keeper Mandy McGlynn caught it with no problems.

The Hokies recorded their first shot when Karlie Johnson dribbled the ball in the middle of the field to just outside the 18 yard box. She got off a shot but it was blocked by Natalia Kuikka.

In the 38th minute the Hokies forced Seminole keeper Brooke Bollinger into her first save. After a Hokie throw-in VT’s Bridget Patch received the ball and turned for a shot that was on frame but without much pace and Bollinger had no trouble scooping it up.

In the 41st minute Alexa Orrante recorded her first goal as a Seminole. Malia Berkely took the ball up midfield and found Gloriana Villalobos. Villalobos delivered a perfect chip right into Orrante’s path. Orrante did an excellent job timing her run as she slipped between two defenders. She then delivered a clinical finish and the ball ended up in the side of the goal and FSU was up 2-0. It was an impressive bit of teamwork and it’s nice to see such play get rewarded with a goal.

In the first half FSU had almost all of the possession as Tech was content to let the Noles have the ball and try to get their offense off of mistakes or counter-attacks. In the second half down by two goals the Hokies changed their strategy a bit and the game opened up. In the beginning of the half the VT had more of the ball and looked more threatening offensively but the Noles were up to the task on defense.

In the 54th minute McFarland was fouled again. This time the Noles took the free kick from about 28 yards out. Yujie Zhao floated a beautiful ball into the box. Anna Patten got her head on it but couldn’t get much power on the shot and VT keeper Mandy McGlynn caught it easily.

In the 60th minute Kaycie Tillman was dragged down by Alia Abu El Hawa. El Hawa went into the book with a yellow card and FSU had a free kick. Castellanos took the kick but the Hokie defense was able to clear the ball.

In the 65th minute it was Castellanos again with a bit of her special sorcery. Castellanos received the ball on the left side of the field after she tracked down a cross from the other side of the field. Castellanos juked Hokie midfielder Emma Lee McCarter. Then she spun past another defender and was challenged by Kelsey Irwin. Even though Irwin got part of the ball Castellanos got by her. Hemmen is there to get a foot out to stop Castellanos but Deyna is already in her shooting motion by then and she rockets a shot past keeper McGlynn to give the Noles a 3-0 lead. This was simply a fantastic goal and i wouldn’t be surprised to see it on SportsCenter’s top plays.

However, VT didn’t quit. Emily Gray took the ball down the left side of the field but the shot went well wide.

In the 68th minute defender Natalia Kuikka got forward for FSU. She managed to rifle a shot from just outside the 18 yard box that went just a bit wide.

In the 71st minute Castellanos went for a hat trick. Anna Patten sent a very nice ball to Castellanos inside the box but her header went just wide.

The Hokies never quit in this game but they just couldn’t get anything going even when the Noles emptied the bench as Florida State cruised to an entertaining 3-0 win.

Post Game

FSU limited Tech to only six shots with only two being on goal. Both of those on goal shots were saved by Brooke Bollinger. The Noles had 12 shots with five of them being on goal. Tech keeper Mandy McGlynn had a pair of saves. It got a bit chippy at the end and VT ended up with 17 fouls while FSU committed 12.

This was just the type of performance Nole fans needed to see after the tough loss to North Carolina. FSU played against a good Virginia Tech team (#32 RPI, FSU is #7 RPI) and were never really threatened. Tech has a good coach in Chugger Adair and he had a first half strategy to not challenge FSU in the midfield. Therefore the Noles dominated possession and the Hokies were reduced to getting their offense off of counters or set-pieces. In the second half VT was down two goals so they were forced to open it up a bit but things didn’t really change much as the more talented Seminoles were eventually able to wear down the Hokies.

I understand if you don’t have the time to watch the entire game but you really do need to see Deyna’s second goal. Here is the link for the game. The goal comes in the 65th minute. Do yourself a favor and watch it. Honestly her free kick in the fourth minute is pretty nice as well.

There really wasn’t much to quibble about for FSU in this game. If nit-picking is required, Bollinger did spill a couple of balls that could have been trouble but the defense was there to clear the ball. However, Bollinger has been more than solid all season so those mistakes probably won’t continue.

Next Game

Florida State will travel to Chestnut Hill, MA to face Boston College (9-0, 1-0 ACC) on Sunday at 1pm. The Eagles defeated Syracuse 3-0 tonight in Chestnut Hill. BC was ranked #33 in the RPI before the Syracuse game.