TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The No. 5 Florida State soccer team (14-4-0, 8-2-0) took down No. 9 Duke (8-2-7, 3-1-6) 1-0 on Senior Day with outstanding performances from both seniors Deyna Castellanos and Caroline Jeffers.
In a game in which was scoreless for 78 minutes, the Noles hit the game-winner on a Deyna Castellanos strike from around 30 yards out in the 79th minute, fittingly on Senior Day. After the goal, Castellanos ran to celebrate with her mom, who was in Tallahassee to watch her play at FSU for the first time. Her goal was assisted by Jenna Nighswonger and Malia Berkely.
“It was pretty exciting,” Castellanos said of her mother being in attendance. “She thought I wasn’t going to score today, but that almost never happens when she’s watching.”
“It’s a storybook ending, right?” FSU soccer coach Mark Krikorian said after the match. “Big-time players make big plays and she sure did. That was a great strike at the most-needed moment in a very tight game. Obviously, the difference in the game was Deyna’s strike.”
The Seminoles struggled to get good looks in the first half, only getting off five shots and two on goal. The Noles maintained possession nearly the entire game as they held onto the ball for 73 percent of the game, resulting in 15 shots to Duke’s three.
Duke did have some good looks on goal though as Jeffers had to make one great save as she came way out of goal in the 37th minute in a one on one with Duke’s Emmy Duerr. She also broke up a few Duke crosses to keep the Blue Devils off of the scoreboard for the eighth Seminoles shutout of the season and fifth for Jeffers.
The win over Duke handed the Blue Devils their first loss in ACC play as they previously had seven ties, including 0-0 draws with No. 1 Virginia and No. 3 North Carolina.
With the win, Florida State assumed the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament and will play seventh-seeded Clemson in the first round of the 2019 ACC Tournament on Sunday, November 3 at 1 pm at the Seminole Soccer Complex. Tickets for the ACC Quarterfinal are available on Seminoles.com. The First 100 students with a valid Student ID will get in for free.
ACC Tournament Ticket Prices
Reserved – $20
General Admission Adult – $8
General Admission Senior (50+) – $5
General Admission Students (13 and older) – $5
General Admission Youth (3-12) – $3
Ages 2 & Under – Free
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Notes:
- Deyna Castellanos is currently in second at Florida State with 46 career goals.
- With three assists against Boston College in the ACC Opener, Castellanos tied a school record. She currently ranks fourth in the country with seven assists.
- Florida State is 118-55-21 all-time in October, 74-22-13 under head coach Mark Krikorian.
- The Seminoles have had three student-athletes record multi-goal games this season. There have been four games with an athlete to score multiple goals (Jenna Nighswonger vs. Colorado; Jaelin Howell vs. Samford; Yujie Zhao vs. Villanova, Nighswonger vs. Boston College).
- Castellanos is now ranked in a tie for second all-time at FSU with 11 points in her career.
