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Soccer Holds Off Pitt On Senior Day – Seminoles.com
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Closing out the home portion of the 2017 regular season on a high note, No. 18 Florida State (11-5-0, 5-4-0 ACC) clinched a spot in the upcoming ACC Tournament with a 2-1 victory on Sunday over Pitt (3-11-3, 0-8-1 ACC) at the Seminole Soccer Complex.
Prior to the match, the 2017 senior class – Haylie Grant, Ari Hudson, Emma Koivisto and Cassie Miller – were recognized and honored for their cumulative 67-13-9 overall record in the Garnet and Gold, including three ACC Championships, two trips to the College Cup and the 2014 NCAA National Championship.
“Today was a day that we needed to really come and grind it out,” said FSU head coach Mark Krikorian. “We’ve played an awful lot of very good teams over this stretch. And I didn’t think we were at our finest today, but certainly Pitt deserves credit for that. They came in with a good gameplan and competed and made it hard for us. It is good to come away with three points and continue to move forward.”
It was back and forth in the early part of the match, with the Noles getting a quality chance in the ninth minute, after a foul to Gloriana Villalobos on the right. Megan Connolly’s free kick from 25 yards found Clara Robbins in the box, and a diving save was required by Pitt’s GK Amaia Pena to keep the match at 0-0.
Pitt earned a corner of its own in the 11th minute and FSU’s Miller punched the ball away from initial danger. As the play continued, Pitt’s Kendall Higgs was able to take a shot from the top of the box that was high.
Florida State opened the scoring in the 18th minute on Dallas Dorosy’s sixth goal of the season to take a 1-0 lead. Freshman Adrienne Richardson passed the ball to the junior forward near the penalty spot and Dorosy used a controlling touch to create space for a finishing shot past the Pitt keeper.
The Panthers nearly found the equalizer in the 28th minute as a counterattack on the left turned into a shot from 20 yards by Taylor Pryce, but Miller was able to secure the save and maintain the FSU lead.
Richardson and Dorosy almost combined for the second Seminole goal, but UP’s Pena saved the shot in the 32nd minute. The Noles were able to get a pair of corners on the extended possession, but were unable to convert the chances.
As the match approached halftime, Pitt squared the game at 1-1 after gaining possession in the midfield and Hanna Hannesdottir slid a ball behind the FSU backline for Sarah Krause all alone in the penalty box. The junior scored her first goal of the season at 41:08, as Pitt and FSU entered the intermission tied at 1-1.
It marked the first ever goal scored by Pitt against FSU in its five-game history of the series, lasting a span of 401:08 of match time.
The Seminoles were able to regain the lead early in the second half, albeit off the foot of a Panther defender. In the 48th minute, a Pitt foul set FSU up on the left side about 25 yards from the goal. As Megan Connolly sent her free kick into the box, Pitt’s Seyla Perez attempted to clear the ball, but misplayed it and the ball was redirected into the net for an own goal to give FSU a 2-1 advantage.
FSU continued the pressure and a trio of shots by Villalobos from the 55th to 59th minutes all needed saves by the Pitt goalkeeper to keep the match at 2-1 Seminoles.
Pitt gave a spirited finish in the final two minutes of the match as Perez’s shot was blocked at 88:25 to set up a corner kick. The corner was headed out wide for Christiana Davey, but her shot at 88:53 was wide of the net. The Panthers earned a corner with 15 seconds left and the free kick found Davey again on the far side, but FSU’s Miller was able to secure the save as time expired.
Overall, Florida State outshot Pitt, 13-7, including a 10-3 advantage in corner kicks.
Florida State will play its final match of the 2017 regular season on Thursday, October 26at 7:00 p.m. at Clemson (9-5-2, 3-3-2 ACC). The match will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra and admission is free. Live stats will be provided on Seminoles.com.
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