FSU Defeats Washington State 4-1

Jessica Price and Tiffany McCarty pace the Seminoles with five points a piece.

9/6/09

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Fifth-ranked Florida State (5-0-0) scored twice in each half to post a 4-1 victory over Washington State (3-2-0). Jessica Price and Tiffany McCarty were responsible for all the Seminole goals on Sunday afternoon to keep FSU unbeaten on the year.



“I thought it was a good solid performance,” head coach Mark Krikorian said of the win. “Sunday games are often a challenge and sometimes the quality of the games aren’t as good because of the fatigue of the team. I thought this (game) was a good job of battling through and finding a way to get a result.”



In what was the first meeting between both schools, Price and McCarty proved to be too much to handle as the forward duo each tallied two goals and an assist against the Cougars. The striking pair now shares the team lead in goals with five, while Price is the out right leader in points with 15.



“They are so explosive,” Krikorian said. “They are so hard to deal with. Their pace is exceptional. They have enough craft to be able to set up the defenders and find a seam or find some space. I think it is one of those things where if you take the space away centrally and force them outside and create a one on one, sooner or later they are going to break you down.”



With the win, Florida State improved to 45-27-4 all-time when facing an opponent for the first time, while stretching its unbeaten streak against first-time opponents to nine (8-0-1).



Price began the scoring on Sunday with a goal in the 13th minute. Following a WSU foul just inside the Seminole zone, Marissa Kazbour took the free kick and lofted the ball from 40 yards out into the 18-yard box. Becky Edwards out jumped the competition to win the header flicking the ball to the feet of Price. The Libertyville, Ill., native one-timed a shot off the hands of Cougar goalkeeper Stephanie Phillips and off the crossbar. Price collected the rebound and went top shelf for the goal. Kazbour and Edwards were both credited with an assist on the play.



In the 25th minute, FSU’s Ines Jaurena just missed on her second goal of the season as her header off a corner sailed high over the crossbar.



Less than four minutes, the Seminoles increased their lead to 2-0 on McCarty’s first goal of the afternoon. Following a throw-in by Price, Toni Pressley put a header on goal that caromed off the crossbar. Jaurena flicked the rebound to the feet of McCarty who found the back of the net to give FSU a two-goal advantage.



Katie Bolinsky forced Phillips into a diving save in the 35th minute blasting a shot on goal from just inside the box.



Washington State had a golden opportunity to cut into the deficit just before the half, but FSU keeper Erin McNulty made an outstanding save to maintain the Seminoles two-goal lead. In the 40th minute, Elysse Van Leer got behind the Seminole defense and found herself one-on-one with McNulty. Leer tried to go far post from about 15 yards out on the left side but McNulty was there for the diving save.



It took just three minutes and four seconds into the second half for the Garnet and Gold to add to their lead. McCarty made a beautiful inside out move following a pass back into the box by Price for the score. McCarty made a quick turn to her left and beat the Cougar keeper with a low shot inside the right post.



The Cougars got on the scoreboard in the 65th minute on Kiersten Dallstream’s team leading sixth-goal of the season. Dallstream created the goal on her own making a long run down the left side of the pitch before turning the Seminole defense around with a nice inside out move. Down on the end line, Dallstream chipped a shot from about four yards out that found the back of the net for the score.



Just over five minutes later, the Seminoles pushed their lead back to three on Price’s second goal of the afternoon. After running onto a pass from McCarty from the left side, Price sent a crossing shot inside the right post from seven yards out for the goal.



“I think it took a while to get used to each other, but now we know how each other plays,” Price explained on the relationship she has with McCarty. “We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”



“We have developed our relationship as frontrunners together,” McCarty added. “We played last year too, but this year we have been really linking up. I think we are a good pair.”



Florida State finished the game out shooting Washington State 22-9. The Seminoles also held a 7-0 advantage in corner kicks. McNulty played all 90 minutes in goal for the third straight game to pick up her fifth win of the season. The win also moved McNulty into sole possession of fourth place all-time for victories with 23.



The Seminoles will travel to Orlando to face UCF in their next game on Thursday, September 10 at 7:00 p.m. As always, fans can also follow Seminole Soccer action all season long on gametracker, Twitter and Facebook.