The Florida State Women’s Soccer team defeated Pepperdine University on Sunday, Nov. 21, at the Seminole Soccer Complex in Tallahassee, Florida. The number one ranked Seminole Soccer team (19-1-2) advances to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 win over No. 19 Pepperdine (17-4-1).
In a postgame interview, Florida State soccer coach Mark Krikorian, Jody Brown and Jaelin Howell talk about the Seminoles 1-0 win over Pepperdine. As the three were answering questions from the press, Krikorian states, “I think overall we did what we needed to do…they say as you know, survive in advance and I would say that’s what it was today.”
The Seminoles get comfortable hosting the NCAA Tournament this year with this win. This win marked the 50th Seminole win at home in NCAA postseason history. Florida State improved to 69-18-5 overall postseason and 15-3-1 in third-round matchups. The Seminoles displayed an amazing defense against the Waves, earning their 11th shutout of the season. With the help of Kirsten Pavlisko, Emily Madril, Lauren Flynn, Gabby Carle and Jaelin Howell, Cristina Roque was able to hold the Waves to only four shots during the game.
As Jody Brown continued her streak of goals in postseason play, she scored the game-winner in just the fifth minute of the game. Brown has scored on goal in each of the last three NCAA Tournament games. The game-winning goal started with Howell flicking the ball with her head to Clara Robbins down the right side. Robbins sent a one-touch ball deep into the Waves’ half in the direction of Brown. Showing off her impressive speed, Brown outworked the Waves’ defense inside the 18-yard box. Brown struck the ball to the far-left post before bouncing in on the right side of the net.
The Waves managed to keep the Seminoles out of the back of the net during the second half, although there were many close chances. The Seminoles had a streak of close offside calls inside the Waves’ 18-yard box.
Beata Olsson had the best chance of the half on a breakaway play. Olsson approached the keeper one-on-one and attempted to place the ball on the far-left side. This time, the post was not in favor of the Seminoles and the ball bounced back out into play.
According to Seminoles, “Florida State entered the NCAA Tournament as the overall number one seed. This is the 10th time in school history the Seminoles have been named a No. 1 seed and the fourth straight season. It is also the 17th straight season and 18th time overall that Florida State received a national seed to the NCAA Tournament.”
This game was exhilarating and showed the true grit and power that is the Women’s Soccer team at Florida State. While the Waves played a great game, the Seminoles came out on top and defeated Pepperdine, securing their spot in the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament. The Seminoles will play No. 9 Michigan on Friday, November 26 at the Seminole Soccer Complex. Follow @nolesoccer, the official account for FSU Soccer on Instagram to keep up to date on all the details of the NCAA tournament.
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