TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – No. 3 Florida State (13-0-3, 8-0-2 ACC) scored a goal in each half and then held off a late threat from Maryland (8-8-0, 4-6-0 ACC) to remain unbeaten on the year with a 2-1 victory over the Terps Sunday afternoon inside the Seminole Soccer Complex.
FSU’s Icelandic duo each a scored a goal in the win as the Seminoles remained unbeaten at home this year running the nation’s longest current home unbeaten streak to 29 games (28-0-1).
The victory on Sunday avenged the last home loss for Florida State when Maryland came to Tallahassee back on October 13, 2011 and defeated the Noles 3-0. FSU out shot Maryland 21-3 in that match, but the Terps converted on all three shots for the win.
“Maryland came in here after playing against Miami on Thursday and battled us hard,” Florida State head coach Mark Krikorian said. “I thought there were a lot of segments throughout the course of the game where we were not sharp enough. We had a lot of different chances to create opportunities, the final pass wasn’t the right weight or the run wasn’t quite proper. Overall, we are happy with the win but I’m not sure if we are thrilled with the way we played.”
With the win, Florida State kept pace with Virginia, who defeated North Carolina on Sunday, near the top of the ACC standings. The Seminoles currently sit in second place with 26 points, four points shy of the first place Cavaliers (30 points).
Berglind Thorvaldsdottir opened the scoring on Sunday with a goal in the seventh minute finishing from about 16 yards out with a low-lining shot inside the right post for her seventh goal of the season. Megan Campbell began the scoring play winning possession off an attempted Maryland clear from Terrapin goalkeeper Rachelle Beanlands. The ball went to Isabella Schmid, who sent a pass to Thorvaldsdottir. The freshman forward slipped the ball behind the Terrapin defense, ran in on the ball and one-timed a shot into the back of the net for the goal.
Shots were hard to come by in the first half as the two teams combined for three shots through the first 45 minutes with the Noles taking a 2-1 edge into the locker room.
Both schools turned up the offensive intensity in the second half with each team taking eight shots including two shots on goal.
The Seminoles pushed their lead to 2-0 in the 63rd minute on Dagny Brynjarsdottir’s seventh goal of the season. Florida State put together another great passing combination to score the goal as Jamia Fields sent a beautiful pass to Michaela Hahn that sailed just over the head of a Maryland defender. Hahn dribbled the ball down toward the end line where she sent a cross into the 6-yard. Brynjarsdottir timed her run perfectly one-timing the pass from Hahn into the back of the net.
“That’s how I want to play, that’s the view I am looking for, quick combinations,” said Krikorian on the build-up that led to Florida State’s two goals on Sunday. “On the first goal, Bella gave Berglind a fantastic ball and Berglind showed great quality in picking her spot and finishing. The second one was on a corner kick that was cleared out. Jamia gave Michaela a nice ball; Michaela of course had a wonderful touch and sent a well driven ball across the six for Dagny. That is my view and vision of the game and I am hoping to see more of that in the future.”
The two-goal margin would hold up until the 88th minute when a failed clear by the Seminoles led to a Maryland goal. Ashley Spivey flicked the ball over her left shoulder and into the upper left corner of the net for her sixth goal of the season.
The Terrapins would attempt a corner with just over a minute to play, but the Seminoles were up for the challenge successfully thwarting the threat to hold on for the one-goal victory.
“We weren’t as sharp as we needed to be this afternoon,” added Krikorian. “We are going to get bit pretty hard if we are not more precise than we were today.”
Brynjarsdottir led the Noles with three shots on the afternoon, while Hahn and Carson Pickett each attempted two shots.
Kelsey Wys picked up the win as she played all 90 minutes between the posts and registered a save.
Florida State will hit the road for a pivotal two-game swing in the state of Virginia as the Seminoles will face No. 6 Virginia Tech in Blacksburg on Thursday, October 24 before taking on No. 1 Virginia in Charlottesville on Sunday, October 27.
Thursday match against the Hokies will air live on ESPN3, while Sunday’s match against the Cavaliers will be streamed live over the internet. Live stats will be available for both matches. As always Seminole fans can follow the Noles on twitter @FSU_Soccer and remember to like the Seminoles on Facebook (www.facebook.com/FSUSoccer) and Instagram (NoleSoccer).
