GAINESVILLE, Fla. – After a goal by Deyna Castellanos just 66 seconds into the match, the Seminoles took a lead that they would not relinquish as No. 16 Florida State (10-3) recorded a 2-0 shutout at No. 10 Florida (11-3) on Thursday night at James G. Pressly Stadium in the Fresh From Florida Sunshine Showdown.
It marked the fifth shutout by Florida State in the all-time series with the Gators, and the third in the last five matches. The shutout by Cassie Miller also set a Florida State record with 46, surpassing Kelsey Wys’ total of 45 shutouts set from 2010-13. Miller is also now tied for fourth in NCAA history with Jackie Kerestine from North Texas (2011-15).
The Seminoles quickly got on the board in the second minute after Florida misplayed a ball back to the goalkeeper in the second minute, awarding FSU with an indirect free kick from 15 yards. Freshman Gloriana Villalobos slightly tapped the ball back to Castellanos and the sophomore blasted it into the net for her 11th goal of the season.
UF had a decent scoring chance in the seventh minute after earning a corner kick on the left side. With the sun still setting behind the grandstands at Pressly Stadium, it made the service hard to track by FSU goalkeeper Miller. She lost it in the sun, allowing the ball to get to Deanne Rose, but her shot was kept out of the net by Villalobos, who was hugging the left post.
Florida managed its best scoring chance of the half in the 23rd minute as Lais Araujo crossed a ball through the box from the right and found Gabby Seiler all alone on the left from 10 yards out. The midfielder’s shot was well over the goal as the game remained 1-0 FSU.
The Seminoles made it 2-0 less than a minute later as Emily Madril took the ball on the right side and fed it to Villalobos in space in the midfield. The freshman worked the ball towards the penalty box before slipping a ball into Dallas Dorosy for the junior to slot into the net for her career-high fifth goal of the season.
Florida’s Briana Solis lined a shot from 20 yards in the 41st minute, but it narrowly went over the crossbar as the game went to intermission with Florida State leading 2-0.
Florida pressured throughout the second half to try and get their first goal, but the Seminole defense stood strong throughout with quality positioning and precision passing to get the ball out of danger and keep possession.
UF’s Rose took several shots for the Gators in the second half, but her shot in the 51st minute was blocked by Emma Koivisto, her attempt in the 60th minute was saved by FSU’s Miller and her counterattack shot in the 64th minute was wide of the net.
The Gators took two shots and earned two corners in the final 15 minutes, including a blast from Araujo that was impressively saved by Miller in the 88th minute, but they were unable to get on the scoreboard as the Seminoles closed out the match for a 2-0 win.
Overall for the match, Florida outshot the Noles 10-8, but the Noles held the advantage in shots on goal, 5-4. Florida had four corners throughout the match, while FSU finished with three.
Florida State will continue its road trip on Sunday, October 15 with a match at Wake Forest (9-3-2, 3-2-1 ACC) at 1:00 p.m. The Seminoles are 10-11-5 all-time against the Demon Deacons, but are unbeaten (2-0-2) in the last four matchups, dating back to 2011. That streak includes FSU’s first ever ACC tournament championship, as the teams finished with a 1-1 draw and then the Noles triumphed 3-1 in penalty kicks.
The Seminoles have struggled on the road at Wake Forest, holding just a 1-7-2 record at Spry Stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C., with the lone victory coming in 2006 by a score of 3-2.
Sunday’s match will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra and tickets are available for $5. Live stats will be available on Seminoles.com.
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