By Jordan Shim–
Women’s soccer dropped their second straight conference game of the season in a 2-1 loss to Florida State.
The Seminoles jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead from goals by Dallas Dorosy and Deyna Castellanos. Emina Ekic scored free kick to make it a one-goal game, but the Cardinals couldn’t find the equalizer.
Despite the loss, coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes was pleased with the way the performance.
“I thought we were really good defensively and offensively,” Ferguson-Dayes said. “We fought and played with a belief. We played with confidence and composure. We were locked in. We played very well against an excellent team.”
After a quiet start, the Seminoles broke through in the 20th minute.
Louisville goalkeeper Gabrielle Kouzelos couldn’t properly handle Gabby Carle’s initial shot, and Dorosy closed in to tap in the rebound.
After a water break, Florida State went on the attack again. In the 28th minute, Glorianna Villalobos drew a foul at the edge of the box. Castellanos bent her free kick over the wall to the left post, beyond the grasp of Kouzelos for her ninth goal of the season.
Minus the two goals, there wasn’t much disparity between the two teams.
“We could go back and look at it, but 11 players give up a goal,” Ferguson-Dayes said. “I don’t fault any one person, and I think that it’s a team effort. We were unfortunate. They were against the run of play and just unfortunate.”
Something positive to take away from the first half was that the team didn’t back down from physical play. They chased down balls and fought to win it back.
Ekic made it a one-goal game with 20 minutes to go. After the Louisville native drew a foul at the top of the box, she bent her free kick around the wall, giving Seminole goalkeeper Cassie Miller no time to react.
“I’ve told people from the beginning, something special that probably goes unrecognized with Emina is her defending,” Ferguson-Dayes said. “Her individual defending and her commitment to team defending. You don’t see many special offensive players with the willingness to defend, and she’s outstanding.”
Niamh Nelson fed Kaela Dickerman deep in the box for a chance to equalize in the 82nd minute. The San Diego native’s cross was long and found Dickerman unmarked. She connected on the volley but went directly to Miller, who made an easy save.
The Cardinals are on a quick turnaround hosting Miami in the second of a three-game ACC homestand. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
You can follow Jordan on Twitter @tlcjordanshim.
