No. 1 Florida State (4-1) bounces back from a 1-0 loss against South Alabama on the road to blank No. 17 UCONN (5-2) 3-0 in their home opener.
The Lady ‘Noles controlled the pace for the majority of the game, out shooting the Huskies 8-2 in the first 45 minutes, 13-6 in the full 90 minutes.
“Coming out and establishing a strong performance was the most important thing and I thought we did that” head coach Mark Krikorian said.
Sophomore forward Elin Jensen delivered a perfect pass from eight yards out to fellow sophomore midfielder Kaycie Tillman in the 43rd minute as Tillman found the back of the net to give the Seminoles the 1-0 advantage before the break.
“She (Kaycie Tillman) is always a dangerous player, but its about production, and I thought she had that tonight” Krikorian said when asked about Tillman’s performance on Thursday night.
Florida State opened opened the second half with a quick shot on goal, but UCONN goalkeeper Emily Armstrong came up with a nice diving save to keep the match at 1-0.
In the 66th minute sophomore defender/midfielder Macayla Edwards put some separation between the Noles and Huskies contributed a goal of her own assisted by Kaycie Tillman.
The Seminoles would strike again in the 68th minute, freshman forward Deyna Castellanos got in on the action with a nice strike from 12 yards out. Castellanos has a team high four goal in five games.
Junior goalkeeper Cassie Miller kept her strong season rolling picking up her third shutout of the season. UCONN had six shots on goal, two of which coming in the closing minutes.
The Seminoles 3-0 win over UCONN gives the Noles 25 consecutive victories in the Seminole Soccer Complex. Almost 1,500 came out to watch the ‘Noles in action.
“It is so nice to be back in Tallahassee” Kaycie Tillman said “to have people cheering for you instead of booing you.”
The Seminoles will not have to worry about traveling again anytime soon, the Noles will play their next five matches in Tallahassee. Continuing with Troy University at 4 P.M. on Sunday.
Troy and Florida State only have one prior matchup, that came in 2007 when the Noles struck eight times to beat the Trojans 8-0.
