TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A late goal by the Wolfpack and a pair of scoreless overtime periods resulted in a 1-1 draw for No. 13 Florida State (10-3-2, 3-3-1 ACC) and NC State (9-4-3, 2-3-2 ACC) on Senior Day for FSU at the Seminole Soccer Complex on Saturday afternoon.
FSU’s Yujie Zhao scored what appeared to be the game-winner in the 69th minute, but the Wolfpack earned a corner with three seconds left and Hannah Keogh’s kick found Taylor Porter on the far post, and her shot went over the line on the final second of regulation to force overtime.
The Seminoles remain unbeaten against the Wolfpack in their last 20 matches of the series, posting a 17-0-3 mark since 1998. The goal by Porter snapped a scoreless streak by NC State of 773:59 against Florida State, dating back to 2010.
Florida State outshot NC State 37-5, including 18-2 in shots on goal and held a 13-1 advantage in corner kicks.
“One goal today could have been enough to win the game, but we didn’t finish the game strong,” said FSU head coach Mark Krikorian. “We were a little bit naïve at the end of the game and probably should have just killed the game off, but so many players want to attack, attack, attack for a second goal, when one goal should be enough. Certainly, our quality around the goal wasn’t good enough, but credit to their goalkeeper for making a few very good saves as well. I thought we had some really good looks at the goal, but we didn’t finish our chances.”
NC State got a strong offensive chance in the opening minute as Kia Rankin worked behind the Seminole defensive line, but her shot from 20 yards was wide of the net.
Kaycie Tillman received a great cross in the box from Kristina Lynch in the eighth minute, and her shot required a diving save by NC State’s Sydney Wootten. Deyna Castellanos took a shot of her own a minute later from the top of the box, but it sailed high.
NC State’s Rankin had the best scoring chance for the Wolfpack prior to the final whistle in the 14th minute as Paige Griffiths sent a pass from midfield up to the NCSU forward in the box and she created space for a shot from 15 yards that FSU GK Brooke Bollinger saved with her left hand and was cleared by the FSU defense.
FSU’s Yujie Zhao was taken down in the penalty box in the 22nd minute, allowing Castellanos to take the PK, but her shot was saved by Wootten.
In the 25th minute, Castellanos slid a pass to Anna Patten on the right and the sophomore’s shot from outside the box went off the crossbar and fell at the feet of Lynch, but her follow-up shot was blocked.
NC State’s Tziarra King managed a pair of shots in the 40th minute, but the match remained scoreless heading into halftime.
The Seminoles had three shots blocked in the 60th and 61st minutes, part of nine FSU shots on the afternoon that were stopped by the NC State defense.
Zhao broke the scoreless tie in the 69th minute, receiving a pass from Tillman 25 yards from the goal and working into the penalty box and going through three NC State defenders before burying a shot from six yards to give the Noles a 1-0 lead. It was the sixth goal of the season for Zhao, which leads the team.
Olivia Bergau had two great chances to make it 2-0 late in the second half as the senior received a pair of crosses from Megan Connolly in the 76th and 79th minutes, but NC State’s Wootten saved both shots, and pushed the ball up into the crossbar on the second shot.
NC State’s Ella Bonner helped earn the late corner for the Wolfpack that turned into the game-tying score as time expired.
The Seminoles were the only team to take a shot in either of the overtime periods, and NC State’s Wootten saved three in the first overtime from Lynch, Castellanos and Patten and another from Patten in the second overtime. NC State had a team save in the 106th minute as Kristen McFarland got Wootten to trip on her own feet and took a shot from 10 yards that was stopped by Porter.
The Seminoles will play its final three games of the 2018 regular season on the road, beginning on Thursday, October 18 at Pitt (4-8-1, 0-6-0 ACC). The match will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra and a link for live stats will be available on the soccer schedule page on Seminoles.com.
