The No. 7 Texas Longhorns' road to the national championship reached a dead end in Tallahassee. When the final whistle blew, Florida State won 4-0 and Texas was beat in almost all aspects of the game.
That's not to say Texas didn't belong in the third round. The Longhorns battled and played great soccer through the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament, beating both BYU and Texas A&M, but Florida State has been playing on a different level. Through the first three rounds, they have outscored their opponents 11-0, looking like the soccer equivalent of the New England Patriots - and that's kind of how this game went.
"We got outplayed by a very good team tonight, and I don't know if we were ever really in the game," said head coach Chris Petrucelli. "They created chances, and being down one-nil at halftime seemed like it was four or five."
In the first half, Texas was outshot 15-3 but was still able to get some opportunities off of clears and counterattacks in the first 17 minutes. But after that, Texas seemed to lose any offensive push they had, and Florida State started piling on the shots, leading to forward Sanna Talonen planting a hard kick into the right side of the net in the 38th minute.
"The kind of game we were looking for was a game where they had the ball a lot and we would be kicking the ball off and countering," Petrucelli said. "The first half was a little like that, but certainly not the second half."
When the second half started, Texas needed to come out strong and shooting. Instead, the onslaught of shots from the Seminoles continued, and by the 47th minute, forward Mami Yamaguchi put a header in the back of the net.
"That second goal just killed the mood of the team," said junior defender Kasey Moore. "We came out ready to be fired up and ready to go at them, and a minute and a half in, they score a goal."
Florida State didn't go on cruise control after that, outshooting Texas 14-2 in the second half. The Seminoles also took six corner kicks to Texas' one, while the shots on goal favored the 'Noles 11-2.
In the 67th and 69th minutes, Yamaguchi, the second-highest goal scorer in the nation, notched assists on goals by Marissa Kazbour and Rachel Lim. What had been a strong defense all season was completely overwhelmed, and Texas goalkeeper Dianna Pfenninger really had no chance, allowing four goals for the first time in 69 matches
Even though the Longhorns ended the season with the second-highest win total in program history at 16, won their second consecutive Big 12 Tournament Championship and advanced to the third round for the second consecutive season and the third time in program history, the only feeling in the locker room was disappointment.
"The goal of our program is to win the whole thing. It's what you do at Texas - you win," Petrucelli said. "We're disappointed that we're not going on, but I talked to [the players] afterwards and told them, '[Florida State] was good.'"
"I have to give them all the credit in the world. I think that's the most dynamic front line we've played against all season long," Moore said. "I could see them going on and winning a national championship. They were amazing."
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