No. 1 Virginia knocked off No. 5 Florida State 2-1 in overtime Friday afternoon to advance to the ACC Tournament championship. The Cavaliers (16-0-3, 6-0-3 ACC) had a slow offensive start, but were able to find the golden goal to beat the Seminoles (15-5-0, 8-2 ACC).
Florida State took offensive control of the ball early in the game. The extended possession led to two shots during the first half, including one from freshman forward Jenna Nighswonger.
The Cavaliers’ offense was forced to recalibrate when freshman forward Diana Ordonez was taken out of the game with 21 minutes to go in the first half. Senior forward Alissa Gorzak replaced her.
The Seminoles had a corner kick with 12 minutes to go in the half, but junior goalkeeper Laurel Ivory easily blocked the shot.
However, with a foul called less than a minute after, the Seminoles nearly recreated the goal that had won them their quarterfinal game. Castellanos sent a corner kick towards sophomore midfielder Jaelin Howell, but her header went high, keeping the score tied 0-0 going into halftime.
Ordonez returned to the game with 25 minutes to go in the second half, and she and sophomore forward Alexa Spaanstra took shots following a corner kick not long after. But it was a header from senior defender Zoe Morse in the 67th minute that secured Virginia the first goal of the match.
However, the Seminoles responded not long after. A header by junior forward Kristen McFarland found the net to tie the game with about eight minutes remaining.
Florida State had a chance to win with a free kick with 15 seconds to go in regulation, but the shot went high. As a result, the match went to overtime, in an echo of the teams’ overtime matchup during the regular season.
An initial red card call threatened to remove Gorzak from the game five minutes into overtime, which would have left the Cavaliers down a player either in the ACC final or in their opening NCAA tournament had they not advanced. However, the call was then reviewed and ultimately overturned.
Sophomore forward Rebecca Jarrett was ultimately able to secure the victory for the Cavaliers with her golden goal off an assist from Spaanstra.
Virginia will play in the ACC Championship Sunday against North Carolina, seeking the team’s first ACC championship since 2012.
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