Florida State women's soccer defeats Arkansas Razorbacks, advances to College Cup
Jenna Nighswonger initially had a bad feeling when the corner kick left her foot.
The senior midfielder for the Florida State women’s soccer team delivered a corner kick in the 53rd minute that landed just before the near-side goal post. But the ball bounced perfectly around a cluster of players near the post before an Arkansas defender unintentionally knocked it in for an own goal.
The No. 1 Seminoles (17-2-3) only needed that score in their 1-0 win over the No. 3 Razorbacks (13-4-5) in an Elite Eight matchup at the Seminole Soccer Complex on Saturday before a sold-out crowd of 2,667.
It represented the largest postseason crowd in FSU history.
With the win, FSU coach Brian Pensky now advances to his first College Cup.
The Seminoles will square off against ACC foe North Carolina in Cary, N.C. next Friday. Alabama has advanced to the College Cup for the first time in program history, while the winner between Virginia and UCLA on Saturday night in Los Angeles will round out the field.
Alabama is coached by former FSU assistant Wes Hart, who helped lead the Seminoles to their first national title in 2014.
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“I think luck had it that it went in,” Nighswonger said. “That was not on purpose. I usually try to go for it in the air to try to get a header.
“The soccer gods were with us today.”
Nighswonger has established herself as quite the corner kick specialist, scoring or assisting on 11 goals in such opportunities this season. She led FSU with four shots – three of which were on target – against Arkansas.
The Seminoles had all five of their corner kicks in the second half.
“They were under it, and we were putting it on them,” Pensky said. “That stress is probably what led to some of the fortune she talking about. So total credit to our team for creating those moments. You create your own luck, and our kids did that.”
Below are three takeaways from the game.
Arkansas created pressure early
The Razorbacks had the Seminoles playing out of their element in the early going.
They won the possession battle in the first half (52-48%) and forced FSU to commit some uncharacteristic errors.
“Playing against Arkansas is a different animal,” Pensky said. “From the way they play to the stuff that comes from the bench, it is constant and it is for 90 minutes.”
The Seminoles ultimately bounced back in the second half. They finished with more shots (13-11) and shots on goal (9-5) than the Razorbacks. They also had 54% of the possession total.
Midfielder Clara Robbins nearly extended FSU’s advantage to 2-0 in the 77th minute. Her shot hit the top of the post. She uncorked another shot on the ricochet, but Arkansas goalkeeper Grace Barbara was there for the easy save. Barbara finished with seven saves.
“With the success we had last year, we are a very experienced group,” Nighswonger said. “So we know how to handle some toughness and adversity. Although we were a little shaken up by their pressure in the first half, we were able to collect ourselves, be confident in ourselves and in each other and be able to have a better second half.”
Cristina Roque impresses again
Another game, another clean sheet from Cristina Roque.
The FSU goalkeeper recorded five saves against an Arkansas team that registered 14 goals in its last three matches to start the postseason. The Razorbacks defeated Missouri State (6-0), Ohio State (5-2) and Memphis (3-3, penalty kicks).
“I don’t know the numbers, but once again, (Roque) came up huge in the NCAA Tournament,” Pensky said.
Coming up in the College Cup: North Carolina
FSU now advances to the national semifinals of the NCAA Tournament and will face No. 2 North Carolina (19-4-1) in Cary, N.C. next Friday.
The Seminoles squared off against the Tar Heels twice this season and split those matches. FSU suffered its only home loss of the season to UNC in 2-1 fashion on Oct. 20. They met again in the ACC Championship, and the Seminoles left with a 2-1 victory.
The Tar Heels defeated Old Dominion (5-0), Georgia (3-1), BYU (3-2) and Notre Dame (2-0) before advancing to the national semifinals.
“It’s the standard here. I’m pretty lucky to be their coach,” said Pensky on FSU making its 13th appearance in the College Cup and fourth in the last five years. “As we went through the ACC and the ACC Tournament, we leaned on them a lot. Jenna was talking about the experience, there is no substitute for that.
“I feel like at the end of the day, maybe this means that we did not let the kids down. We have been able to maintain what is a very, very high standard. (Former FSU coach) Mark Krikorian built this thing and has been the best in the business.
“I have said that ad nauseum, but deservedly so, because he built a monster. For us to be sitting here right now going back to it, obviously there is some satisfaction and some gratification that hopefully we didn’t let this group down.”
Reach Carter Karels at ckarels@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @CarterKarels. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU women's soccer: Seminoles defeat Arkansas, advance to College Cup
