FSU soccer team falls in national title game to Santa Clara in PKs
CARY, N.C. — After advancing through the NCAA Tournament's quarterfinal and semifinal rounds with victories in penalty kicks, the No. 1 seed Florida State soccer team apparently went to that measure one too many times.
The Seminoles fell Monday night to 11th-seeded Santa Clara in PKs, giving the Broncos their second national championship and costing FSU its third.
Florida State actually led 1-0 for much of the second half before Santa Clara scored an equalizer in the 84th minute. Neither team could score in the two 10-minute overtime periods.
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The first half was pretty even as both teams only got off two shots with one shot on goal each.
The field opened up in the second half as both teams got a few more looks and capitalized. Florida State struck first in the 63rd minute and Santa Clara rebounded to tie things up in the 84th minute.
In the 63rd minute, the Seminoles moved the ball down the left side of the field. Clara Robbins received the ball at the top left corner of the 18-yard box and passed it to the top of the box to Yujie Zhao. Zhao spun around and passed it to Jenna Nighswonger, who fired a shot into the left post that then ricocheted in the back of the net, giving the Seminoles a 1-0 lead and their first goal on their fourth shot.
Santa Clara's Kelsey Turnbow scored her 10th goal of the season after scoring from 11 yards out on a one-on-one opportunity with Cristina Roque. Turnbow received the ball after an FSU turnover.
For the third straight game, the Seminoles went into overtime. FSU had a few good looks in the first overtime, resulting in three shots. In the 100th minute, Zhao fired a shot that went off the crossbar.
In the second overtime, FSU did not get off a shot as the game remained in a 1-1 tie. The Garnet and Gold were not as fortunate this time in PKs as Santa Clara converted on their first four and the Seminoles only converted on one.
Florida State had four players make the College Cup All-Tournament team, including Jenna Nighswonger, Emily Madril, Clara Robbins and Yujie Zhao.
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