TALLAHASSEE – Soccer can be a game of momentum. It can feature swings and it can feature teams claiming it for large portions of a time. On Thursday night in Tallahassee, the No. 11 Notre Dame women’s soccer team had a tall task in trying to topple No. 1 Florida State. In the end, the Fighting Irish (9-2-3, 5-1-1) received their first ACC loss when the Seminoles (11-0-1, 6-0-1) won 4-1. Florida State improved to 28-0-0 at home when ranked No. 1.
FSU scored in the opening 10 minutes, but then the Irish fought back to equalize it at 1-1. The Irish were less than a minute away from going into the half tied, but the Seminoles surprised ND with a last-second goal. That coveted momentum we talked about was the game-changer, and FSU never looked back after that, moving on to the final score.
Kristina Lynch scored the lone Irish goal tonight, marking her sixth of the season. She is now tied for the team lead in goals.
Leah Klenke registered the assist, which marked her ninth of the season. She continues to lead the ACC in that department.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half was momentum shift after momentum shift where it saw each team dominate for lengthy periods of time.
Florida State struck first in the eighth minute and it’s one that Notre Dame wished they had back. The Irish had the numbers back in the box but the Seminoles’ cross found Onyi Echegini who snuck loose from her marking.
After the Irish weathered the early goal and the early pressure, they began to turn the tide. Then just like that, the equalizer was had in the 29th minute. None other than the ACC assist leader Leah Klenke, doing what she does best, which was working the ball into the left side of the box and hitting a perfect cross. This time it found Kristina Lynch’s head for the goal.
With the momentum shifted, it looked like the Irish would get the go-ahead goal in the final 20 minutes of the half. Both Kiki Van Zanten and Charlie Codd had some close opportunities. Yet, soccer can be cruel, and just when it looked like it was going to be a tie going into the half, Echegini struck again from just outside the box – sneaking one by Atlee Olofson on the near post.
With momentum and the home fans on their side, the Seminoles tacked on two more in the second half – in the 69th and 78th minute.
UP NEXT
The road gauntlet continues for Notre Dame. They’ll get a week off before hitting the road once more, this time to No. 3 North Carlina on Oct. 19 at 8 p.m. ET on ACC Network.
– ND –