TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Adding another accolade to her already impressive career, redshirt senior goalkeeper Cassie Miller matched the Seminole record in shutouts as No. 16 Florida State (9-2-0, 4-1-0 ACC) earned a 3-0 win over Boston College (8-5-1, 2-2-1 ACC) on Thursday night at the Seminole Soccer Complex.
Miller earned the 45th shutout of her career, moving into a tie for fifth place in NCAA history, matching her Seminole predecessor Kelsey Wys (2010-13) as well as Milwaukee’s Erin Kane (2005-08).
“Cassie is a model of consistency,” said FSU head coach Mark Krikorian. “Sometimes goalkeepers can be a little erratic, but we are very fortunate to have one that is steady as can be. I thought the number crosses that Boston College put in, corner kicks and so on, Cassie came and handled them cleanly which really settled the game for us on a number of occasions. She’s continuing to have an outstanding career here and we’re thrilled with her development and progress and look forward to what’s ahead. But right now, we feel very good about playing against a good Boston College team and coming away with three points.”
FSU opened the scoring shortly afterward as Robbins was taken down in the penalty box in the 13th minute. Freshman Gloriana Villalobos stepped to the spot and converted the penalty kick for her first career goal, giving the Noles a 1-0 lead.
Florida State earned a corner kick in the 25th minute, but Boston College was able to secure possession and create a counterattack as Jenna Bike sprinted through the midfield with the ball. Senior defender Emma Koivisto was able to catch up and block her shot from 15 yards, creating a corner opportunity for the Eagles. It was one of six corners in the first half and 10 for the match for BC, but the Eagles were unable to get a direct shot off any free kick chance on Thursday night.
Freshman Emily Madril helped the Noles close out the first half on a high note, taking possession of the ball near midfield and creating a give-and-go opportunity with fellow freshman Bella Dorosy on the right side. Once Madril got the ball back, she took on three BC defenders before burying a shot from 15 yards into the net in the 44th minute to make it 2-0 Florida State. It was the first goal of her collegiate career.
The second half started with continued FSU pressure as Dallas Dorosy and Castellanos each had shots on goal in the first five minutes of the second period. Kaycie Tillman started the first scoring chance, slipping a ball into Dorosy, but BC’s Alexis Bryant came off her line and was able to nearly reach the ball before the shot and deflected it away. Castellanos was the recipient of a great cross into the box by freshman Gabby Carle, but the sophomore’s header went into the hands of Bryant.
Boston College continued to push and pressure and Sam Coffey had a solid scoring chance in the 61st minute, but Natalia Kuikka was able to get in front of it to block it away from danger.
Dallas Dorosy extended the Seminole lead to 3-0 in the 64th minute as after a Seminole corner, Villalobos sent in a ball to the top of the box for Castellanos. After being deflected by several players, the ball bounced out into space for Dorosy to cleanly finish for her fourth goal of the season.
FSU’s Miller made a pair of saves down the stretch to preserve the victory for the Noles as they won their fourth match in a row.
Overall, FSU outshot the Eagles 14-9, with a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal.
The Seminole freshmen again filled up the box score and continued to be a key part of the success of the FSU soccer team this season. Five of the eleven starters tonight were freshmen and eight total freshman saw playing time. Overall, five goals and 11 assists have come from freshmen in 2017, as the newcomers have quickly adjusted to collegiate soccer.
“The freshmen are doing pretty well,” said Krikorian. “I think that the freshmen class is going to continue to develop, get better and create chances to score goals for us, as they did today. The future is very bright for us.”
The Seminoles will close out the weekend on the road at No. 4 Duke (12-1-0, 5-0-0 ACC) with a match at Koskinen Stadium beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 8. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra, with live stats available on Seminoles.com, while tickets are available for $5 at GoDuke.com.
Follow Florida State soccer on Twitter (@FSUSoccer), Instagram (@nolesoccer) and like our Facebook page (Facebook.com/FSUSoccer) to keep up to date with everything about Seminole soccer.
