Women’s Soccer: #3 Florida State scores in first minute, and goal holds up in 1-0 win over #2 UVA

Third-ranked Florida State scored in the opening minute, and made it stick in a 1-0 win at #2 UVA on Thursday night at Klöckner Stadium.

Florida State (9-0-2, 5-0-0 ACC) struck in the opening minute when Jody Brown’s shot from a one-on-one chance deflected off the cross bar and in for the goal. The scoring opportunity came as a Seminole pass forward on the attack was broken up by a Virginia defender, but the deflected ball caromed to Brown in stride in the box for the finish.

Virginia (10-2-1, 3-2-0 ACC) would press the attack in the second half, pelting Florida State with 15 shots to only three taken by the Seminoles in the second half, but the early goal would stand as the difference in the result.

“It was a tough loss,” UVA coach Steve Swanson said. “I thought we had a good effort. For the most part our performance was good, but we were inconsistent at times and against good teams you have to be consistent all the way through. We created enough chances to get goals and we didn’t finish. The quality in the attacking third for a game like this wasn’t as good as it had to be. We feel like it’s a bit of a lost opportunity, but I was proud of the effort. We came back, worked hard to get this amazing crowd into the game and we almost had it there. Their goalkeeper made some really good saves. The difference in the game was little plays here and there and they obviously made one more than we did.”

Virginia will return to action on Sunday when the Cavaliers host Syracuse in a 2 p.m. game at Klöckner Stadium.