Seminole Saturday Summary: FSU Soccer’s Season Ends One Win Shy of College Cup, Noles Win Emerald Coast Classic

Florida State soccer’s dreams of repeating as national champions came to an abrupt halt on Friday as the top-seeded Seminoles were dominated by No. 2 seed UCLA in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in Tallahassee, 4-0.

UCLA’s Chloe Castaneda scored in the eighth minute and from there, the rout was on. Castaneda would add a second goal while Mia Fishel also scored a pair of goals and added an assist for the Bruins in the victory.

UCLA finished with 12 shots to just seven for FSU. Four of the six shots on goal for the Bruins found the back of the net. FSU managed just two shots on goal with both being saved by Teagan Micah.

The loss for FSU was its worst since falling to Stanford in the 2010 NCAA Tournament, 5-0. It is also the Seminoles’ first home loss in the NCAA Tournament since 2009.

FSU finishes the year 18-6 with two of those losses coming to UCLA. The Bruins advance to the College Cup where they will face Stanford. FSU’s loss will continue the string of no repeat national champions since North Carolina in 2008 and 2009.

Florida State won a pair of contests in Niceville to claim the Emerald Coast Classic title. (FSU athletics)

FSU basketball made the most of its short trip to Niceville as the Seminoles claimed the Emerald Coast Classic title with 3-point wins over No. 17 Tennessee and Purdue.

The Seminoles opened their trip with a 60-57 victory over the Volunteers on Friday night. FSU opened the contest on a 12-2 run and never trailed. Florida State forced 21 turnovers and held Tennessee to 33 percent shooting. Devin Vassell led the Seminoles with 13 points while Tennessee’s Lamonte Turner led all scorers with 20 points.

Defense was again the story in the championship contest as FSU forced 24 turnovers and held Purdue to 34 percent shooting in a 63-60 overtime win. RaiQuan Gray’s free throw with under a minute to play in the extra period put the Seminoles ahead for good on Saturday night.

FSU trailed with less than a minute to play in regulation before Trent Forrest’s runner evened the contest. Forrest scored the game-winner to beat Purdue in last season’s ACC/Big Ten Challenge contest in Tallahassee, 74-73. The senior guard led all scorers with 17 points. Purdue’s Matt Haarms paced the Boilermakers with 16 points.

Since dropping its opener, Florida State has won seven straight contests. The Seminoles will have another tough one on Tuesday night at Indiana for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Football

Record: 6-6 (4-4 ACC)
Ranking: None
Past Week: Idle
Upcoming: TBD
Recognitions: None
Weekly Commitments: None
2020 Recruiting Class Ranking: No. 18 nationally, fourth in ACC (17 total commitments)*
Big Picture: Saturday night’s loss to Florida showed there is still quite some distance between FSU and its arch-rival. The Seminoles will learn their bowl destination and opponent next weekend.

Weekly Review

FSU 17, (11) Florida 40
Saturday, Nov. 30
Florida quarterback Kyle Trask passed for 343 yards and three touchdowns while the Gators’ defense recorded eight sacks as they beat FSU at home for the first time since 2009. Freddie Swain and Van Jefferson each caught two touchdowns for Florida. For FSU, Cam Akers finished with 102 yards rushing and a score. Tamorrion Terry caught seven passes for a game-high 131 yards to eclipse 1,000 for the season. Florida finished with 467 yards of offense to 250 for the Seminoles.

Men’s Basketball

Record: 7-1 (0-1 ACC)
Ranking: None
Past Week: (3-0), defeated Chicago State, 113-56; defeated Tennessee in Emerald Coast Classic, 60-57; defeated Purdue in overtime in Emerald Coast Classic Championship, 63-60.
Upcoming: at Indiana (Tuesday, ACC/Big Ten Challenge)
Recognitions: None
Weekly Commitments: None
2020 Recruiting Class Ranking: No. 25 nationally, sixth in ACC (3 total commitments)*
Big Picture: Perhaps disrespected by the pollsters, FSU made a strong showing in Niceville with two quality wins. The Seminoles have won seven straight contests.

Weekly Review

Chicago State 56, FSU 113
Monday, Nov. 25 (Emerald Coast Classic Campus Game)
Florida State shot 66 percent from the field and held a 23-rebound advantage over Chicago State as the Seminoles set numerous new season-highs. Patrick Williams and Devin Vassell each scored 16 points to lead five Seminoles in double figures. Nathanael Jack shot 4-for-6 from deep and scored a season-high 14 points. Trent Forrest added 12 points, six assists and three steals. Andrew Lewis led Chicago State with a game-high 18 points.

(17) Tennessee 57, FSU 60
Friday, Nov. 29 (Emerald Coast Classic)
Florida State opened on a 12-2 run and never looked back as it held off Tennessee for its second win of the season over a ranked SEC opponent. The Seminoles forced 21 turnovers and held the Volunteers to just 33 percent shooting. Devin Vassell led FSU with 13 points while M.J. Walker returned from injury to finish with 10 points. Lamonte Turner led Tennessee with a game-high 20 points. Yves Pons finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for the Volunteers in the loss.

FSU 63, Purdue 60
Saturday, Nov. 30 (Overtime, Emerald Coast Classic Championship)
Neither team led the championship game by more than seven as Florida State slipped past Purdue for the second straight season. The Seminoles trailed 58-56 in the final minute of regulation before Trent Forrest’s runner with 38 seconds remaining tied the contest. It was a RaiQuan Gray free throw with 38 seconds remaining in overtime that put FSU ahead for good. The Boilermakers had multiple chances to go back in front, but could not convert. Forrest finished with 17 points in the win while Devin Vassell added 13. 7-foot-3 center Matt Haarms led Purdue with 16 points in the loss.

Women’s Basketball

Record: 6-0
Ranking: No. 12 AP Poll; No. 13 USA Today Coaches Poll
Past Week: (1-0), defeated Florida, 66-55
Upcoming: at Texas A&M (Sunday, Maggie Dixon Classic); vs. Michigan State (Thursday, ACC/Big Ten Challenge)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: FSU won its fourth straight contest over rival Florida. The Seminoles now prepare for a relatively difficult stretch.

Weekly Review

(12) FSU 66, Florida 55
Tuesday, Nov. 26
Florida State notched its fourth straight win over Florida on Tuesday night by pulling away late. FSU led by just two after three quarters, but outscored the Gators 20-11 over the final quarter. Kiah Gillespie finished with 17 points and 18 rebounds — both game-highs — to lead the Seminoles. Nicki Ekhomu and Valencia Myers added 15 and 10 points, respectively, in the win. Kiara Smith led Florida with 14 points. Zada Williams tallied 12 points and 11 rebounds in the loss.

Soccer

Record: 18-6
Ranking: No. 1 seed NCAA Tournament
Past Week: (1-1), defeated South Florida, 2-1; lost to UCLA, 4-0
Recognitions: Malia Berkely, D (MAC Hermann Award semifinalist)
Big Picture: Florida State’s repeat bid came up short as the Seminoles finish another outstanding season just one win shy of the College Cup.

Weekly Review

South Florida 1, (1) FSU 2
Sunday, Nov. 24 (NCAA Tournament Sweet 16)
Florida State overcame an early deficit and advanced to the round of eight on Deyna Castellanos’ penalty kick goal in the 53rd minute. South Florida became the first team to score on FSU in this year’s NCAA Tournament and took an early lead on Aubrey Megrath’s goal in the fifth minute. The Seminoles drew even in the final minute of the first half on a goal by Jaelin Howell. FSU’s Heather Payne and South Florida’s Katie Kitching each added assists. The Seminoles took 16 shots to just four for South Florida.

(2) UCLA 4, (1) FSU 0
Friday, Nov. 29 (NCAA Tournament Elite Eight)
UCLA scored in the eighth minute and never stopped as Florida State’s reign as national champions came to an end. Chloe Castaneda and Mia Fishel each scored a pair of goals for the Bruins in the win. Fishel added an assist. UCLA finished with 12 shots to seven for FSU. Caroline Jeffers tallied two saves for FSU. Teagan Micah did likewise for the Bruins.

Volleyball

Record: 19-9 (12-6 ACC)
Ranking: None
Past Week: (2-0), defeated Duke, 3-0; defeated Miami, 3-1
Upcoming: TBD
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: Florida State closed the season with consecutive wins and in a third-place tie in the ACC. FSU will find out its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday.

Weekly Review

Duke 0, FSU 3
Sunday, Nov. 24
Florida State seniors celebrated a straight-set victory in their final home match. After FSU won the first set, 25-22, Duke managed just 17 points total over the next two sets. Payton Caffrey led FSU with a match-high 15 kills in her final home match while sophomore libero Taylor Roberts added 10 digs. Payton Schwantz finished with nine kills and eight digs for the Blue Devils.

FSU 3, Miami 1
Wednesday, Nov. 27
Florida State completed the season sweep of Miami and finished the regular season strong. The Hurricanes won the third set, 25-15, to avoid the sweep, but didn’t score more than 16 points in any other set. Payton Caffrey finished with 17 points and 14 digs to lead the Seminoles. Taylor Roberts and Morgan Chacon added 17 and 15 digs, respectively, in the victory. Elizaveta Lukianova led Miami with 11 kills.

Swimming and Diving

Ranking: Men No. 17 CSCAA
Past Week: The FSU men won the Georgia Tech Invite while the women finished fourth
Upcoming: vs. Alabama (Jan. 11)
Recognitions: None
Big Picture: Florida State’s swimming and diving teams had strong finishes to the fall season. The Seminoles will be back at it in mid-January.

Weekly Review

FSU Men 1st, Women 4th at Georgia Tech Invite
Friday, Nov. 22 to Sunday, Nov. 24
The Florida State men were 90 points better than second-place Utah among nine teams and the women finished behind Florida, North Carolina and Alabama among 10 teams in Atlanta. FSU’s Griffin Alaniz took first place in the men’s 200-yard freestyle. Maurice Ingenrieth and Max Polianski finished second and third in the men’s 200-yard butterfly. FSU also took first in the 400-yard freestyle relay. Nina Kucheran in the 200-yard breaststroke and Aryanna Fernandes in the 200-yard butterfly had the best trips for the FSU women as each finished third in their respective events.

Other News

FSU men’s tennis unveiled its 2020 schedule and will open against Penn State on Jan. 5 in the Bahamas.

Former FSU safety Leroy Butler is a semifinalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

*247Sports Composite rankings

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.