Virginia women’s soccer falls in heartbreaker to No. 1 FSU

The Virginia women’s soccer season came to an end Thursday night in heartbreaking fashion as the Cavaliers fell in penalty kicks to No. 1 Florida State. The two teams played to a 0-0 tie through 110 minutes, and the Hoos fell 3-0 in PKs.

Virginia finishes the season 14-5-2, but gave a valiant effort down the stretch. The first half was all Virginia as the Cavaliers outshot FSU 6-1 over the first 45 minutes. Forward Becca Jarrett had an outstanding look on frame that ricocheted off the crossbar and straight down in front of the goal line. The Hoos kept pressure on the Seminoles, moving the ball well and keeping the top-seeded team on their heels.

All of the good work didn’t amount to a goal, and FSU flipped the switch after the halftime break. The Seminoles outshot Virginia 6-2 in the second frame, but goalkeeper Laurel Ivory and the Virginia defense kept FSU at bay. Virginia had a couple good looks in the second 45 minutes, but to no avail.

Defensively, first year Samar Guidry and redshirt senior Lizzy Sieracki were outstanding and made everything extremely difficult for FSU’s attack. First year Lia Godfrey controlled things in the middle of the field and finished with a team-high four shots.

Both squads got some good runs in the two overtime periods, but the scoreboard remained empty to force PKs.

Alexa Spaanstra led off the shoot out, but missed over the crossbar after getting Cristina Roque to bite in the wrong direction. FSU’s Clara Robbins gave the Noles a 1-0 advantage as she got one by Ivory just inside the left post. Ordoñez’s shot was saved, and Roque sealed the victory with a save on Taryn Torres’s lefty knock.

FSU will now face off against the winner of UNC-Santa Clara for the NCAA title.