Florida state women's soccer: Seminoles hosting Florida Gulf Coast on Thursday
Florida State women's soccer has finished its SEC portion of the schedule early in the season.
Following matches against South Carolina, Georgia, Auburn and rival Florida, the No. 8 Seminoles (2-0-2) are scheduled to play host to Florida Gulf Coast (2-3) Thursday at 7 p.m. on the ACC Network Extra.
It is the second to last game before the team heads into ACC play next week.
"I think everyone is just ready to go score some goals," FSU forward Jody Brown said. "Heading into ACC, I think we are just going to be mentally and physically ready to just get at people."
The Return: Florida State soccer: Beata Olsson decided to return after peppering Brian Pensky with questions
Shutout: FSU blanks Florida 5-0 in the Sunshine Showdown in women's soccer
Crowds: FSU soccer ready to face unrelenting crowds in road trips to begin championship-defending season
Florida State is coming off a 5-0 victory over the Gators on Sunday. Jenna Nighswonger scored a first half goal off an assist from Olivia Garcia.
"I think after a 10-day layoff, they were just anxious and eager to get back on the field," FSU coach Brian Pensky said. "Obviously with it being Florida, it added a little bit of additional energy to it. It was the perfect storm from our kids."
The Seminoles ramped up the pressure in the second half with goals from Olivia, Jody Brown and Beata Olsson.
FSU tied Auburn 1-1 in its home opener Aug. 25.
"Ten days ago, we were up 1-0 on Auburn (at halftime), you know how that went," Pensky said. "Against Florida, we asked, 'what are we about, who are we?' They answered that bell with four goals. The first one that came three or four minutes into the second half."
Pensky is in his first season leading the program following legendary coach Mark Krikorian's decision to step away.
Goalie Cristina Roque improved to 28-0-8 in her career.
Florida Gulf Coast is coming off a 1-0 victory over Florida Atlantic. Grace Paradis scored a late goal in the 89th moment to give the Eagles the win.
Louise Lillback leads the Eagles with three goals and seven points, while Leah Scarpelli leads her squad with three assists.
The Seminoles are 2-0 all-time against Florida Gulf Coast, including a 4-0 road victory last season.
Florida State has again relied on ball control to beat its opponents. The Seminoles have possessed the ball at an 67% clip this season after possessing it 65.8% last season.
"I think we're developing pretty well so far," Brown said. "We're still learning. As a team, there's been a lot of changes. But as a team we're sticking together and moving forward as one."
FSU is 113-7-8 in its last 128 matches at home dating back to 2011. The Seminoles also have 40 wins over ranked teams during that time.
The program's last home loss came at the hands of UCLA, 4-0, in the 2019 NCAA Tournament quarterfinals. They have rallied to an unbeaten streak of 18 games, including 17 wins.
Including the victory over the Gators, September has always been kind to FSU. It has an all-time record of 139-56-11 (.701) in September and has won 57 of its last 69 matches played during the month of September.
Contact Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim.
No one covers the ‘Noles like the Tallahassee Democrat. Subscribe using the link at the top of the page.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: No. 8 Florida State women's soccer set for match against FGCU on Thursday
