Florida State Region Women's Soccer 2nd and 3rd Round Tournament Breakdowns
#1 Florida State vs. Texas Tech
The Seminoles, as expected, rolled in their opening round match against Mississippi Valley State 6-0. Tiffany McCarty’s two goals led a very balanced scoring attack as five different players scored for Florida State on Friday night. The ability to generate shots was another encouraging sign for the Seminoles as they outshot the Devilettes 39-1 in the match. The Red Raiders in their first ever NCAA Tournament match treated fans in Lubbock to an excellent performance in a 2-0 win over North Texas. Texas Tech was led by the two goal performance of Dawn Ward as she scored in both the 51st and 59th minute. The Red Raiders aren’t going to be intimidated by traveling to Tallahassee. The questions to be answered are how the team will carry forward the confidence gained from beating North Texas and how they handle the program’s first ever road match in the NCAA Tournament.
The Golden Grizzlies pulled the upset in the opening round by winning a penalty kick shootout 3-1 over Ohio State to advance on to the round of 32. Oakland did an excellent job of not allowing Ohio State to really create much danger wise in the final attacking third of the field. The Buckeyes were relegated to more of a long range shooting attack which cost them. The Aggies knocked off in state rival Stephen F. Austin 1-0. Annie Kunz’s goal was the difference in the 29th minute. The defense for Texas A&M logged their 14th shutout of the 2012 season. I would look for the Golden Grizzlies to give the Aggies a tough battle with Texas A&M finding a way to advance on to the Sweet 16.
The Seminoles should have enough to get through a tough Red Raider squad but it won’t be easy. But being at home at the Seminole Soccer Complex is a definite advantage for Florida State. Texas Tech, in order to advance, is going to have to grind the tempo into a 1-0, 2-1 caliber of contest. In the other match I would suspect the Aggies to eventually grind out a win by wearing down Oakland as the game goes along. The increased ability to defend well for Texas A&M has been a huge asset all year long and is really going to pay dividends in the NCAA Tournament. The end result Friday should lead to a fantastic power conference showdown between the Aggies and Seminoles for the right to move on to the Elite Eight.
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