The No. 7 Florida State women's soccer team was back and under the lights of the Seminole Soccer Complex for a heavyweight match against No. 2 Stanford on Thursday.
The Seminoles were coming off a tough loss on the road against No. 1 Notre Dame when they were dominated in the 2nd half to the tune of four goals and ended up losing 4-2. FSU fought hard against the Cardinal on Thursday but came up short 2-1 to extend the losing streak to two.
With only three games left, the Seminoles must take a long look in the mirror as they regroup for the home stretch and prepare for postseason.
“We’re all pretty emotional right now,” FSU coach Brian Pensky said. “It is a problem that we’ve given up six goals in two games. Stanford’s a very good team, Notre Dame's a very good team and, in a lot of ways we had good performances. And we leave both games feeling like we let games get away from us.”
The Seminole Soccer Complex was packed, and the anticipation was in the air as the game started, but Stanford was able to silence the crowd in the fifth minute when redshirt senior forward Andrea Kitahata received a pass from sophomore midfielder Eleanor Klinger for a goal to put the Cardinal on top 1-0.
Stanford showed Florida State why they are one of the best teams in collegiate soccer by running circles around the Seminoles with precision passes that ate up a lot of the clock. The Cardinal played keep away and FSU seemed a step behind when attempting to intercept passes. When the ’Noles did get their opportunity for lengthy possessions and chances to score, Stanford was always there to stop them. The Seminoles’ possessions were quick and hard to sustain. Sophomore forward Wrianna Hudson had a chance during one possession, but her attempted header bounced off the ground and over the net, to the heartache of FSU fans in attendance.
Heading toward the end of the half with the score still at 1-0, Florida State got careless defensively when sophomore forward Charlotte Kohler delivered a strike that bounced off goalkeeper Addie Todd and slowly crossed the threshold behind her. Todd attempted to grab the ball but was too late. After review, the goal was confirmed and Stanford headed into the locker room up 2-0.
The second half was a bunch of nothing for the Seminoles early on as they seemed to be sleepwalking and displayed no sense of urgency. During the 50th minute, the Seminoles turned up the heat on offense and defense. They were threatening more often in Stanford's side of the field but still couldn’t punch it in.
That changed in the 83rd minute when junior forward Jordynn Dudley scored to cut the deficit to 2-1. What transpired next was not expected. After the goal, Dudley ran into Stanford’s goal to retrieve the ball for some reason, which led to a scuffle between her and freshman goalkeeper Caroline Birkel. In an even more surprising turn of events, the Seminoles were hit with a yellow card for the entire team.
The explanation from the referee was not clear on what transpired.
“She said that Jordynn might have initiated the push and the Stanford girl retaliated," Pensky said. “She said she’s happy to continue on, or happy to give them yellows and we said let’s just play.”
Florida State assistant coach Bobby Shuttleworth was visibly upset at the call, and you could hear him yelling all the way from the media seating area. Stanford seemed to get away with one, but the match played on. The Cardinal gave the Seminoles fits defensively, displaying why they are one of the best teams in the nation.
“We didn’t know to what extent they were going to try to press us higher up the field,” Pensky said. “They took away our ability to play out through Gilchrist's side and they shaded their nine over a bit. They’re good in the air and they’re good and active at winning second balls. I thought we could have been better in that category, especially in the first half.”
Up next
FSU must put the two losses in the rear-view mirror and prepare for California at the Seminole Soccer Complex on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Thanks for reading the Osceola. Subscribe now for less than $70 annually to enjoy a full year of coverage of FSU athletics. You’ll also earn discounts at the Osceola’s merch store and Alumni Hall.
