Women’s Soccer Falls to #1 Florida State.

By Jesse Cook,  WSOC Beat Reporter

Twitter: @jessecooktv

No stranger to injuries, Syracuse women’s soccer experienced some scary moments with team captains F Meghan Root and D Jenna Tivnan in their 5-0 loss at No. 1 Florida State.

Tivnan took two kicks to the face, one at the beginning of the match, and the second at the onset of the second half. She returned after both near-disasters.

Root experienced an ankle injury in the second half. She attempted to return, but she reaggravated the pain and needed help walking off the pitch. It had been her 44th consecutive match before the injury.

With Tivnan just returning from the injured list, a turn-for-the-worse from Root would put five of the original roster out of commission.

Florida State forward Beatta Olson cited a major difference between European soccer and American soccer as the physicality that has cost the Orange so many players thus far. “I feel like the biggest difference might be that here it’s way more physical and in Europe it’s maybe more tactical, especially in the defense,” Olson said.

With a heavy defensive presence for Orange defenders Grace Franklin, Kate Murphy, and Emma Klein, the Cuse cutoff tons of through-balls throughout the match. The Seminoles created opportunities off of crosses, however the S.U. line deflected most of those opportunities.

F.S.U. committed many offsides penalties throughout the bout. Every single one would have led to a score.

The seemingly endless onslaught from the ‘Noles kept pressure on net for almost every one of the match’s 90 minutes.

Clad in pink uniforms for breast cancer awareness, the crew out of Tallahassee dominated in possession, corners, and shots.

While the Orange sent one shot on net, the Seminoles fired eight. While that difference shows a drastic mismatch, the total shots tell an even more pronounced story.

Syracuse recorded one total shot. Florida State recorded 21.

F.S.U. head coach Mark Krikorian plays tonight’s keep Mia Justus for half the matches, while splitting the time with Cristina Rocque. “Mia and Cristina are really very good goalkeepers–we’re fortunate that we have two playing at the level that they are and both of them have competed very favorably with one another,” Krikorian said, 

Justus stopped the only shot sent her way tonight.

Following a career-best performance at Duke, in which S.U. keeper Lysianne Proulx made 15 saves. Tonight she recorded four.

F.S.U. forward Amelia Horton scored her first collegiate goal to kick off the scoring, making her the 17th member of that roster to add to the scoresheet this season.

This match marked both Florida State’s 15th-straight A.C.C. victory, as well as their 28th-consecutive regular season match with a goal.

Olson leads the team in scoring, but she voiced her admiration for her teammates’ ability to put balls on net. “There’s so many goal scorers; everyone can score on this team,” she said, 

She continued that being the leader of the top team in the nation does not add gravity to her role. “I don’t feel the pressure for that because I know that everyone here can do it,” she said, 

Another tough matchup awaits the Orange when they head back home on Sunday to take on No. 2 Virginia. Play starts at 12 p.m.