The Florida State Seminoles used a dominant second half to overcome the Virginia Cavaliers 3-1 in the ACC Soccer Tournament Semifinal on Friday night.
No. 7 Florida State and No. 11 Virginia squared off in the semifinal of the ACC Tournament to decide who would go to the championship. Seven of the last eight matches between the two schools were determined by one goal or ended in a draw. The Seminoles defeated the Cavaliers in the regular season, 2-0.
Virginia struck in the final three minutes of the first half. After a grinding defensive battle in the initial 40 minutes, the Cavaliers drew up a set play from a corner kick. The Seminoles left Virginia defender Zoe Morse unmarked at the edge of the box, and she chipped it in for the 1-0 lead.
Florida State came right back down and had a numbers advantage near the Virginia goal, but Gloriana Villalobos’ attempt was blocked. The Cavaliers took the 1-0 lead into the locker roon.
By intermission, Virginia had outshot Florida State 7-3 and recorded the same amount of saves.
The second half picked up right where the two teams left off. In the first five minutes, Florida State’s offense turned the tide and began threatening in Virginia territory. It finally paid off with another goal from Deyna Castellanos — her eighth of the season.
About 20 minutes later, the Seminoles once again found Castellanos near the goal for another strike. This time it was a cross that took a fortunate bounce to the feet of the Venezuelan star, who rocketed the ball in for a 2-1 Florida State lead.
The game sealing goal came from Kristen McFarland on a routine attack. The Seminoles had three running down the field and gave it to McFarland on the left side of the field. She had room in front of her and chipped the ball in from 15 yards out, making it 3-1 Seminoles with less than 10 minutes remaining.
Florida State pulled off its second victory over the Cavaliers in the 2018 season by dominating the second half on both sides of the pitch. Even though the Seminoles had attempted five less shots than Virginia at the end of the first, they finished above the Cavaliers in shots with an 11-9 margin.
The Seminoles will face off against the No. 3 North Carolina Tar Heels in the ACC Championship on Sunday, November 4 at 12 p.m. EST. North Carolina is the top seed in the tournament. No. 7 seed FSU has already knocked off No. 2 seed Duke and third-seeded Virginia.
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