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Soccer FSU hosts Vanderbilt on Friday (5:30 p.m., ESPN+)

Bob Ferrante

Ultimate Seminole Insider
Staff
May 10, 2022
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The No. 1 seeded Florida State soccer team will host No. 8 seeded Vanderbilt in the NCAA Tournament Second Round on Friday evening. The Seminoles will look to defend its status as reigning national champions.

The second round will begin with Penn State and TCU squaring off at 2 p.m. before Florida State and Vanderbilt follow afterward at 5:30 p.m. The winners from Friday will meet in the third round on Sunday evening at 5:30 p.m.

FSU has been one of the most dominant forces in all of women’s soccer this past decade. The Seminoles have claimed four national championships, five national championship appearances, and seven College Cup appearances since 2014. FSU has also made four consecutive College Cup appearances and will make its 20th consecutive appearance in the second round of the tournament.

Florida State has advanced in 21 of the 23 second round appearances and has won seven consecutive dating back to 2017.

Florida State will host Vanderbilt for the first time since 2018 and will meet for the first time in the postseason. The two sides have only met twice with two victories for the Seminoles. The last meeting came in the 2018 season opener as Natalia Kuikka scored the game’s lone goal as the Seminoles went on to claim its second national title.

Vanderbilt head coach Darren Ambrose returns to Tallahassee after his one-year stint as an assistant coach in 1999 under then FSU head coach Patrick Baker.

FSU is currently averaging over three goals a game in the nine-game unbeaten streak. The Seminoles have scored 67 goals this season, tied for the fourth-most scored in program history.

Taylor Huff leads the squad in all scoring categories with 12 goals and 10 assists for 34 total points. She recorded her 100th career point with the opening goal in the ACC semifinal match against No. 3 Wake Forest and scored the second equalizer in the ACC Tournament Championship. She was named the 2024 ACC Tournament MVP.

Huff became the fastest to reach 20+ points in the past five seasons and ranks among the conference’s best in points, goals, assists, shots on goal, and total shots. She was also named to the All-ACC First Team and ACC All-Tournament Team this season and has claimed four all-conference team honors in her four seasons of play.

Jordynn Dudley has continued to deliver offensive brilliance in her sophomore season. The reigning national freshman of the year has registered 27 points off eight goals and 11 assists in 14 games played. Dudley is averaging just under two points per game and leads the reigning champions in assists.

Dudley repeated several accomplishments in her second season as she was named to the All-ACC First Team and ACC All-Tournament Team. She recorded her career best point performance with two goals and two assists in the first round victory over Samford on Friday. The forward also scored multiple goals for the United States to record a bronze medal at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup through the early stretch of the collegiate season.

The Seminole defense has held firm with 10 shutouts throughout the season and has scored 12 goals with Kameron Simmonds and Mimi Van Zanten each scoring four goals. Defenders Heather Gilchrist and Van Zanten were named to the All-ACC Third Team while redshirt freshman goalkeeper Addie Todd and Gilchrist were named to the ACC All-Tournament Team.

The freshman class has performed brightly with a combined 77 total points, 26 goals and 25 assists. This marks the most freshmen goal contributions in the past five seasons across all three metrics. Five of the six freshmen field players contributed double-digit points.

The freshmen made a huge impact all season and contributed to all three goals in the ACC Tournament Championship. Taylor Suarez scored the first equalizer before Ashlyn Puerta drew the penalty to allow Huff to score the tying goal before Hudson sealed the fifth straight conference title with a half-volley effort. Solai Washington was named to the ACC All-Tournament Team.

Gates are scheduled to open at 1 p.m. and tickets are available online. The first 100 students will be granted free admission with a student ID. The 5:30 p.m. game will be available to stream on ESPN+. Live video and stats will be available at Seminoles.com.
 
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Headbutts are legal now? Stunning there was no foul called there and would have been a free kick for FSU in prime scoring territory.
 
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