TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Top-seeded Florida State (20-1-3) registered two goals from Dagny Brynjarsdottir and a pair of assists from Jamia Fields as the Seminoles defeated No. 22 Ole Miss (16-6-2) 3-1 Thursday night inside the Seminole Soccer Complex in second round action of the NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship.
The Seminoles maintained a two-goal advantage after the first 45 minutes of play thanks to goals by Brynjarsdottir and Isabella Schmid. An Ole Miss goal by Gretchen Harknett in the 70th minute cut the deficit in half but Brynjarsdottir sealed the victory for Florida State in the 78th minute on her second goal of the evening to push FSU’s lead back to two.
With the win, Florida State advances to the third round for the ninth year in a row and 12th time overall. The Seminoles will face Colorado, who defeated No. 19 BYU 2-1, on Saturday, November 23 at 12 noon.
Brynjarsdottir gave the Seminoles a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute putting away a loose ball off a deflected shot from Fields. Fields blasted a shot from just inside the 18-yard box that caromed off a Rebel defender. The ball went right to a wide open Brynjarsdottir, who one-timed the deflection inside the right post from about 12 yards out for the goal.
The Seminoles added to their lead right before the half on a great combination play from Schmid and Fields. Following an Ole Miss corner kick, Schmid gathered the ball and made a long run down the middle of the field before finding Fields streaking down the right side of the pitch. Fields then sent a beautiful low lining cross across the box where Schmid timed her run perfectly with a sliding finish to the far post for her second goal of the season.
The assist from Fields was her second of the evening marking her fourth multi-assist game of her career and second of the season.
Ole Miss cut the deficit in half in the 70th minute on a great shot from Harknett. The Rebel defender sent a well struck ball just beyond the reach of Seminole keeper Kelsey Wys that found its way inside the upper left corner for her first collegiate goal.
Brynjarsdottir thwarted any kind of momentum that the Rebels were riding just over seven minutes later when the Icelandic native put away a header inside the left post off a cross from Megan Campbell on the left side to give the Seminoles a 3-1 lead.
It marked Brynjarsdottir’s third multi-goal game of the season while pushing her team leading goal total to 12 on the year. Campbell also entered the Seminole record books with her assist on Thursday night becoming just the seventh player in school history to register 10 or more assists in a season.
Florida State had a great scoring chance in the sixth minute of play on two nice efforts from Carson Pickett. The sophomore midfielder struck a ball off the cross bar from about 16 yards out and then seconds later her low liner toward the left post was saved by a diving Kelly McCormick.
Wys, who played all 90 minutes between the posts, finished the night with a one save. And it was a big save that came early in the 17th minute on a defensive miscue by the Seminoles. Olivia Harrison intercepted a pass from inside the 18-yard box and tried to sneak a shot inside the near post, but Wys was there for the save to keep the game knotted at zero.
Florida State’s win Thursday night pushed its home unbeaten streak to 33 games (32-0-1) – the longest active streak in the nation, while FSU’s 20 wins on the year ties a school record – matched just twice before (2005 & 2012) – as all three times have come under the direction of head coach Mark Krikorian.
Third round action of the 2013 NCAA Women’s Soccer Championship continues Saturday, November 23 when Florida State hosts Colorado at 12 noon.
