TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Scoring a pair of goals in the first 30 minutes, No. 10 Florida State (10-3-1, 3-3-0 ACC) withstood a late rally by Wake Forest (6-6-1, 2-4-0 ACC) as the Noles held on to defeat the Demon Deacons by a score of 2-1 on Sunday at the Seminole Soccer Complex.
“I thought that we came out in the first half and were very, very good,” said FSU head coach Mark Krikorian. “We had a nice rhythm in the game, played well and scored a couple of nice goals. I thought we could have had another goal or two, but we didn’t finish those chances. In the second half, credit to Wake Forest as they came out with a great deal of energy and commitment to battle and fight. They put us under some pressure and I don’t think we dealt with it as well as we needed to. Still happy to come away with a win on a hard-fought weekend.”
Kristina Lynch opened the scoring in the fifth minute as the first shot from either team went into the back of the net after the freshman took the ball down the left side, cut behind her defender and worked into the penalty box for a strong shot from 15 yards for her third goal of the season.
Wake Forest had its best scoring chance of the first half in the 15th minute as Vicky Krug’s cross from the endline on the right found Hulda Arnarsdottir in the six-yard box, but her header shot went over the goal.
Anna Patten had a quality chance in the 19th minute after working into space on the right side and received a pass from Kaycie Tillman in the box, but her shot was saved away for an FSU corner.
Patten was key on Florida State’s second goal as the sophomore made a run down the right and Jaelin Howell sent a long ball down near the corner for her. Patten crossed the ball near the penalty spot for Yujie Zhao to finish and put the Noles up 2-0 at 28:10.
Florida State nearly added to its lead in the 37th minute as Malia Berkely found Megan Connolly on the right and the senior midfielder dribbled to the endline before sliding a dangerous ball through the six-yard box that went untouched, just out of reach of a pair of teammates.
The Noles continued to pressure into intermission as FSU recorded three shots in the final three minutes of the first half, all on frame, but Wake Forest GK Nonie Frishette was able to save them all.
In the second half, the Demon Deacons created a strong opportunity in the opening minute as Mariah Lee’s run down the right turned into a cross into the six-yard box that slid under FSU’s Brooke Bollinger as she dove for the ball. Bollinger fought to get back into position and saved Madison Hammond’s shot from eight yards to keep WF off the board.
An FSU foul in the 52nd minute gave Wake Forest a free kick on the left side, near the endline and just outside the penalty box, but Patten was able to clear away the attempted cross.
The Deacs got on the scoreboard with an FSU own goal in the 59th minute. Estelle Laurier took the ball down the right side and cut back into the penalty box and sent a low ball toward her teammates. Berkely extended her leg to block the pass, but the ricochet instead bounced behind her and over Bollinger and into the net, cutting the FSU lead to 2-1.
Wake Forest nearly tied the match in the 70th minute as Giovanna DeMarco slid a dangerous ball through the penalty box and multiple shot attempts by WF players missed the ball and FSU eventually took possession to end the threat.
Zhao almost scored her second goal in the 72nd minute as the freshman’s redirection of a low cross from Connolly bounced off the left post and was secured by WF’s Frishette.
The Demon Deacons were given a pair of free kicks late in the match in their offensive third, but neither shot was on goal as the first went high and the second went into the side netting.
Overall, FSU outshot Wake by a total of 14-7, including 10-3 in shots on goal.
The Seminoles will play their final home regular season game next week as NC State comes to Tallahassee for a match on October 12. Kickoff will be at 7:00 p.m. and we will be honoring our eight-member senior class prior to the game. The match will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra and links for the stream and live stats will be available on the soccer schedule page on Seminoles.com.
Throughout 2018-19, the Seminoles will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of women’s intercollegiate athletics at Florida State and there are many events and reunions planned for all women’s sports. Head to www.seminoles.com/50th/ for more information that will be updated throughout the year.
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.
