Florida State Blanks Virginia Tech to Advance to ACC Championship Finals

Nov. 6, 2009

CARY, N.C. - Top-seed Florida State broke open a tight game in the second half and advanced to the Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Soccer Championship finals for the fifth time in school history with a 2-0 victory over fourth-seeded Virginia Tech Friday night at WakeMed Soccer Park.

"It was a hard-fought game," said FSU coach Mark Krikorian. "Our kids played hard and had some decent chances through the flow of play, but Virginia Tech was hard to break down and gave us all we could handle."

FSU forward Jessica Price scored her 12th goal of the season with 23:28 remaining in the match to break a scoreless tie. The second-team All-ACC selection put the ball in the net from five yards out after Virginia Tech goalkeeper Kristin Carden swatted away a shot by midfielder Marissa Kazbour.

Fourteenth-ranked Virginia Tech (14-7-0) put some pressure on the nationally third-ranked Seminoles (16-3-1) with six shots in the final 14 minutes, but it failed to capitalize on the opportunities. The Hokies outshot the Seminoles, 13-10, including a 9-6 advantage in the second half.

The Seminoles, however, made their shots count. With less than two minutes to play, midfielder Amanda DaCosta scored on a shot from the left corner to give the Seminoles a 2-0 lead. Price and midfielder Casey Short tallied assists on the play.

"I thought our possession was really poor in the first half, but our defending was really good," Virginia Tech coach Kelly Cagle said. "And then I think we got more dangerous in the second half. I thought we had some good chances when it was 1-0 at the end, and I think we put one of those away and it's a different story. Credit goes to Florida State, but our kids battled."

FSU improved to 8-0-1 all-time against Virginia Tech with its second win against the Hokies in six days. The Seminoles defeated Virginia Tech, 2-1, in the regular-season finale on Sunday in Blacksburg.

Florida State advanced to Sunday's 2 p.m. championship game and will play the winner of Friday night's contest between second-seeded Boston College and third-seeded North Carolina. Virginia Tech will await the announcement of NCAA pairings on Monday.