Irish freshman midfielder Morgan Roy steps up to a corner kick during Notre Dame's 3-1 defeat of Wake Forest at Alumni Stadium on Sep. 15, 2023.
In a marquee ACC matchup on Thursday, Irish women's soccer traveled to Tallahassee to play the No. 1 Florida State Seminoles. For the Irish, this match followed a dominant 7-2 win against Miami earlier in the week.
Despite its previously excellent showing, Notre Dame had to be elite in order to earn a result from this match. Entering this game, the Seminoles had a perfect record of 27-0-0 at home when ranked number one all-time.
Early in the first half, it was clear that the match would be hard-fought for the Irish. Despite a strong press from Notre Dame that forced interceptions, the Seminoles struck first in the match. In the eighth minute, a strong run through traffic from forward Jordynn Dudley set up midfielder Onyi Echegini for a goal inside the box. Moments later, Dudley had an opportunity to raise Florida State’s lead to two. But she was denied by freshman goalkeeper Atlee Olofson's clean save.
After the opening goal, Notre Dame maintained a more defensive shape, dropping back and allowing the Seminoles to have the majority share of possession. However, the Irish were still dangerous on the counterattack. A deflected shot from freshman forward Meg Mrowicki created trouble for Cristina Roque, the Florida State goalkeeper. But nothing came of it and the Seminole lead held.
Olofson was tested again after a perfectly weighted through ball left Dudley open in the box. The young keeper reacted perfectly, diving to her right to collect the ball. This save set up the Irish for a play on the other end of the ball as well. Excellent dribbling from sophomore midfielder Leah Klenke preceded a curved shot that went just wide of the post.
Notre Dame continued to show fight despite pressure from the Seminoles and got an equalizer in the 29th minute. Klenke’s run down the wing opened her up for a cross into the box, which was met with a header by graduate student midfielder Kristina Lynch. Lynch, a former Seminole, beat her defender to put the ball in the corner of the box with ease.
This goal marked the end of a three-game shutout streak for Florida State.
After the equalizer, the momentum began to shift in favor of Notre Dame. The Irish had opportunities to take the lead on shots from freshman forward Charlie Codd and freshman midfielder Morgan Roy that forced saves from Roque.
The match continued its intensity for the rest of the first half, with both teams creating potential goalscoring opportunities. Florida State was able to convert on its chance, however, with a shot outside the box by Echegini ending up inside the near post.
Notre Dame reverted to its defensive form at the start of the second half, entering the last 45 minutes down 2-1. Florida State maintained a strong press throughout the second, keeping Notre Dame on the back foot for most of the half. The Irish kept their cool defensively until a backheel from Jody Brown ended up in the back of the net.
Notre Dame was unable to generate much on offense and Florida State continued to press the Irish defense. Leilanni Nesbeth extended the Florida State lead to 4-1 with a strong shot outside the box late in the match. Despite conceding four goals, Atlee Olofson made great saves throughout the game.
The match ended 4-1, with Florida State taking sole possession of first place in the ACC. Notre Dame is three points behind the Seminoles with 16 points in the conference.
Despite the loss, this game was particularly special for graduate student midfielder Kiki Van Zanten. She was able to face off against her younger sister Mimi Van Zanten following a substitution late in the first half.
Notre Dame has another difficult ACC matchup coming up against No. 3 North Carolina at 8 p.m. next Thursday.
Sign up for our Observer Sports newsletter!Have an Irish sports question? Ask it for our Observer Sports mailbag!
Read More
Trending
