 For the fourth consecutive season and the 14th time in school history, Leilanni Nesbeth and her Florida State (FSU) Women’s Soccer teammates are headed to the College Cup after a 3 - 0 win over Pitt in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals in front of a sold out crowd at the Seminole Soccer Complex.
FSU improved to a perfect 14-0 against Pitt and defeated them for the third time this season.
FSU got off to a hot start and had four shots in the first three minutes but were unable to convert. Both teams began to settle in and got some good looks but neither team was able to put the ball in the back of the net leaving the game tied at zero after the first 45 minutes with FSU holding a 9-5 shots advantage.
The teams combined for just four shots in the first 15 minutes of the second half, but Florida State finally broke through in the 63rd minute. Jordynn Dudley took a shot from just inside the 18-yard box that hit a Pitt defender and was ruled a handball giving them a penalty kick. Taylor Huff calmly stepped up and found the back of the net to give FSU a 1-0 lead. Just over five minutes later, Leah Pais, a graduate transfer from Pitt, drew another foul inside of the box and scored her second goal of the season to give Florida State a 2-0 lead.
One minute later, Dudley broke away from the defense and had a one-on-one opportunity with the goalie, Pitt's Ellie Breach made the save, but Onyi Echegini was there for the rebound and beat two defenders to give FSU a commanding three-goal lead. Echegini scored her 15th goal of the season which is the most goals scored in a single season by a FSU player since Deyna Castellanos in 2017. FSU scored all three of their goals in six minutes and five seconds of game time.
Pitt recorded just one shot on goal in the final 20 minutes of play, and the FSU defense put together another terrific performance recording their seventh shutout in the last eight games. FSU has not allowed a goal through four games in the NCAA Tournament and is the first team since Duke and South Carolina in 2017 to hold their first four opponents of the NCAA Tournament scoreless.
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