The Daily Nole

Florida State Defeats Loyola-Chicago 1-0, Advances in NCAA Tournament

Phil Kelly/FSU Athletics

Florida State soccer advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament after cruising by the Loyola Chicago Ramblers 1-0 on Friday night. While the margin was tight, the Seminoles dominated the game for the most part and did what they needed to do to advance.

Florida State suffered a setback before the game had even started, when it was announced that starting goalkeeper Brooke Bollinger would not play. Bollinger suffered an injury against North Carolina in the ACC Championship that kept her status day-to-day throughout the week. Her backup Caroline Jeffers surrendered two goals in limited time during that match.

Jeffers did not have to do much in the first half. Loyola-Chicago was unable to register a single shot or shot on goal for the entire 45 minutes. The Seminoles swarmed at every chance they got, and it did translate to opportunities for Florida State. By contrast, they recorded 19 shots overall and seven on goal. Unfortunately, they were unable to convert it to any scores. The two teams entered intermission tied 0-0 despite Florida State’s dominance in the stat sheet.

The Seminoles finally put themselves on the board in the 52nd minute on their 22nd shot of the game. Anna Patten scored her fourth goal of the season with an assist from Gloriana Villalobos, when she chipped in a ball from the outer right side of the box and snuck it in the corner.

Things began slowing down after that, as Loyola-Chicago continued to struggle with possession. There was a close shot attempt in the 83rd minute, but Jeffers made a nice save to extend the shutout.

A final 1-0 score made the contest seem a bit closer than it actually was. The Seminoles outshot the Ramblers 26-2 and dominated time of possession.

Florida State will face either South Florida or Albany in the second round of the tournament. That game will be on November 16th, with time to be announced.

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