CARY, N.C. – It was another terrific second half performance for the No. 1 Florida State women’s soccer team (15-0-1) as they scored two goals in the final 20 minutes to defeat No. 11 Pitt (14-5-1) 2-0 to advance to the ACC Championship. FSU will look for their fourth consecutive title on Sunday at noon when they take on Clemson. FSU has now outscoring their opponents 39-4 in the second half and 22-4 in the final 25 minutes of the match.
It was a dominant first half for the Seminoles as they outshot the Panthers 10-2 and held possession for 58% of the time but were unable to find the back of the net. The Noles got a couple of good looks though as Onyi Echegini hit one off of the top crossbar in the 19th minute. Jordynn Dudley also had a great look that went just wide in the 32nd minute.
The two teams were very even to begin the second half, and Pitt threatened twice in the 52nd minute and again in the 59th minute, but Cristina Roque and the Seminoles’ defense prevailed to keep the Panthers off the board. FSU ended Pitt’s momentum as Leilanni Nesbeth sent a great ball from just beyond the midfield to Jody Brown. Brown took a couple of dribbles and sent it into the box to Dudley who easily converted on the header to give FSU a 1-0 lead in the 70th minute. Dudley scored her 10th goal of the season to join Echegini as a double-digit scorer for the Seminoles. This is the first time since 2014 that FSU has had two double-digit scorers.
Just five minutes later, FSU created a corner kick opportunity for Taylor Huff who sent a perfect ball to the front post where Beata Olsson just got a piece of it to send it to the back of the net to give FSU a 2-0 lead. This was Olsson’s fourth goal of the season and her first goal since Sept. 21 against Syracuse. Huff recorded her ACC-leading 12th assist of the season.
FSU was able to shut down the Panthers for the final 20 minutes to record their ninth shutout of the season. This was just the second time all season that Pitt had been shutout.
FSU will now take on No. 7 Clemson on Sunday at noon. The two teams met on Sept. 15 in Clemson, S.C., where after falling behind 2-0, FSU scored four straight goals to defeat the Tigers. FSU will be looking for their 9th ACC Championship in the last 11 years while Clemson will be looking for their first ACC Championship in school history in their first appearance in the ACC Championship Game since 2002. Sunday’s game can be seen live on ESPNU.
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State soccer ousts Pitt to advance to ACC championship game on Sunday