Florida State Opens 2007 Season At Portland Tournament

The Seminoles will take on host Portland and Cal State Northridge this weekend.

8/29/07

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Believe it or not, the fall semester has arrived and the campus is buzzing with students, new and old, ready for the school year to begin. On the field, the student-athletes are gearing up for the start of their respective seasons ready to switch gears from training and practice mode to real, live game situations. And that day for the women’s soccer team begins this Saturday, September 1 when the Seminoles travel out west to play Portland and Cal State Northridge at the Portland Tournament to open the 2007 campaign.



For the second straight year, Florida State will open the season against Portland. This marks the first meeting between the two teams in Portland and the third meeting overall. The overall series is tied at one game a piece with the Seminoles riding a one-game win streak after capturing last year’s match 2-1 in Tallahassee. FSU scored two unanswered goals in the second half to capture the come-from-behind victory over the top-ranked Pilots. Mami Yamaguchi scored the game-winner in the 80th minute to give the Seminoles their first win over a top-ranked team in school history.



The Seminoles will remain in Portland and face Cal State Northridge on Monday, September 3 in the first meeting between the two schools. It also marks the first time FSU has faced an opponent out of the Big West Conference. The Seminoles own an all-time record of 14-19-6 all-time when facing an opponent on a neutral site field.



Fans can follow all the action at the Portland Tournament over the internet as live stats will be available at http://www.portlandpilots.com/livestats/wsoccer/xlive.htm . Fans can also take advantage of a free live radio broadcast of the FSU/Portland match on Saturday only at the following web address:

http://www.portlandpilots.com/broadcast/



WHO’S BACK AND WHO’S NOT IN 2007

Florida State returns six of 11 starters from the 2006 College Cup team and 14 of 24 letterwinners for the upcoming season. The Seminoles return just four seniors in 2007, the smallest senior class since 2003 and 2005 when Florida State listed two seniors on the roster. Those four seniors include Libby Gianeskis, Holly Peltzer, Melissa Samokishyn and Kirsten van de Ven. Ironically, in both those seasons FSU advanced to the College Cup.



The Garnet and Gold will look to replace three of their top four scorers from a season ago. The 10 letterwinners lost after last season accounted for 56.3% (72 of the 128 total points) of the total scoring in 2006. The Seminoles will be without the services of three key players in Selin Kuralay, Kelly Rowland and India Trotter. The trio combined for 55 starts a year ago. Kuralay and Trotter ranked one, two on the team in goals scored, points and shots on goal. Rowland tallied 14 points on five goals and four assists last year. Kuralay led the Florida State offense the past two seasons with a combined 29 goals, 70 points, 202 shots and 11 game-winning goals.



The Seminoles will also be without the services of Ali Mims in 2007 who graduated after last season. Mims started all 26 games a season ago posting a record of 18-4-4. The senior keeper set single-season school records for shutouts (11) and GAA (0.65) last year. She also leaves Florida State as the career leader in minutes played (5,926), wins (46), shutouts (20), GAA (0.93) and starts (61). She finished second in saves with 235.



NATIONALLY RANKED RECRUITING CLASS

Florida State achieved yet another program first as the 2007 recruiting class, which features 12 newcomers including three transfers, earned its highest ranking in school history. The Seminoles were recognized by Soccer Buzz with the nation’s second best recruiting class in 2007, while grabbing the top spot in the Southeast Region. Both rankings are the highest garnered in the program’s 13-year history. Five of FSU’s freshmen recruits in 2007 were ranked among the top 150 in America by Soccer Buzz Magazine. Those student-athletes include Amanda DaCosta, Marissa Kazbour, Casey Lademann, Margo McAuley and Jessica Price. Erin McNulty was listed among the top international recruits in 2007 by Soccer Buzz as well.



OPENING DAY RECORDS

Florida State has posted a record of 7-4-1 on opening day including a mark of 2-3-0 when opening the season on the road. The Seminoles are 2-0-0 on opening day under head coach Mark Krikorian with one of those wins coming on the road. In his debut as Seminole head coach in 2005, FSU defeated nationally ranked Southern California 4-0 in Los Angeles. Florida State has won three straight season openers and is unbeaten in six of its last seven. This marks the second consecutive year that Florida State will open its season playing Portland.



ROAD WARRIORS

When Florida State takes to the pitch against the Pilots in Portland on September 1, they will be riding a streak that has been in existence for over three years. The Seminoles have not lost a non-conference regular season road game since falling 3-1 to the University of Kansas in Lawrence on September 12, 2003. Since that game, the Seminoles have won 11 straight on the road against non-conference foes outscoring the opposition 32-6. During the streak, FSU has posted six shutouts and won by two or more goals seven times.



Road Date, Destination, Results

September 14, 2006, Boca Raton, FL, Defeated Florida Atlantic, 2-1

September 3, 2006, Tempe, AZ, Defeated Loyola, Md., 3-1

September 1, 2006, Tempe, AZ, Defeated Arizona State, 1-0

September 16, 2005, Gainesville, FL, Defeated Florida 4-2

September 11, 2005, Oxford, MS, Defeated Ole Miss, 1-0

September 7, 2005, Orlando, FL, Defeated UCF, 3-0

August 28, 2005, Los Angeles, CA, Defeated Loyola Marymount, 2-1

August 26, 2005, Los Angeles, CA, Defeated Southern Cal, 4-0

October 7, 2003, Orlando, FL, Defeated UCF, 3-0

October 1, 2003, Tampa, FL, Defeated USF, 3-0

September 14, 2003, Lawrence, KS, Defeated San Diego State, 6-1



MILES AND MILES AWAY FROM HOME

Florida State will travel approximately 2,310 miles (3,717 kilometers) when it opens the 2007 season at the Portland Tournament. Surprisingly, the trip is the second farthest distance the Seminoles have traveled to play a match, regular and postseason, in school history. In 2000, FSU made its first trip to the state of Oregon taking on both the University of Oregon and Oregon State. Corvallis, Ore., the home of the Beavers, is the farthest any Florida State team has traveled to play a match covering approximately 2,323 miles (3,739 kilometers). Here is a look at how far some of the Seminoles on this year’s roster traveled to attend Florida State University.



Name, Hometown, Mileage To Tallahassee

Erika Sutton, Arvada, Colorado, 1,339 miles (2,154 km)

Erin McNulty, Winnipeg, Canada, 1,505 miles (2,422 km)

Kirsten van de Ven, Heesch, the Netherlands, 4,553 miles (7,327 km)

Katrin Schmidt, Schleiden, Germany, 4,748 miles (7,640 km)

Sanna Talonen, Tampere, Finland, 4,941 miles (7,952 km)

Mami Yamaguchi, Tokyo, Japan, 7,055 miles (11,354 km)

* distance determined by drawing a straight line from Tallahassee to designated hometown



WEST COAST PERFECTION

Florida State’s trip to Portland to face the Pilots and Cal State Northridge marks the third visit to the West Coast in school history. The two previous occasions were quite successful for the Seminoles as FSU is 4-0 lifetime when visiting the West Coast. In 2000, Florida State made its first-ever trip out West defeating Oregon (1-0) and Oregon State (2-1). Then in 2005, the Seminoles returned, this time playing for the first time in California, as they defeated Loyola Marymount (2-1, 2OT) and Southern Cal (4-0).