Two first-half goals proved the difference on Sunday (Oct. 21) afternoon as No. 6 UVA (13-3-0, 6-3-0 ACC) fell to No. 14 Florida State (12-3-2, 5-3-1 ACC) by a score of 2-0 at Klöckner Stadium.
It was the first home loss of the season for the Cavaliers and the first time this season that Virginia had surrendered more than one goal. It also marked the first time for Florida State to pick up a win in Charlottesville in the series.
“It was a disappointing result, but Florida State was the better team today,” said Virginia head coach Steve Swanson. “It was difficult to give away the goals we did, but you have to credit them because they are a team that punishes you for that. It’s a game that we can learn from and get better from.
“Our defending was not as good as I would have liked it to have been. Our attack was good in stretches and we created some chances against them, but not good enough overall. In order to win games like this you have to have a better performance than we did today and we have to look at ourselves and take responsibility for that.”
Two uncharacteristic miscues defensively by the Cavaliers led to the two Florida State goals.
Florida State took the lead in the 18th minute after an uncharacteristic turnover in the box left the ball at the feet of Deyna Castellanos. The Seminole forward took the shot from 15 yards out on the empty net and converted to give Florida State the 1-0 advantage.
The second Florida State goal came in the waning moments of the first half when Anna Patten extended the lead to 2-0. With the Seminoles on the attack, a Virginia defender slid to disrupt a pass near the top of the box but failed to dispossess the ball. The scoring threat following the missed intercept forced Laurel Ivory (Surfside, Fla.) off her line to challenge the attack and Florida State tapped the ball over to Patten for the goal on the empty net.
Virginia got a great chance in the 79th minute with a ball played over the defense to Rebecca Jarrett (Washington Township, N.J.) flashing down the middle of the field. The freshman striker dribbled into the box and lined up to take the shot in stride, but the FSU keeper dove and smothered the ball before Jarrett could take the shot.
Despite a 13-to-10 edge in shots for the match, that included the Cavaliers out-shooting the Seminoles in both halves, Virginia couldn’t find a way onto the scoreboard as Florida State picked up the win.
Virginia will now return to action on Thursday (Oct. 25), hosting NC State in the regular-season finale at 6 p.m.
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Chris Graham
