It only took nine seconds. From the time that Florida State won the ball in front of its own box, to Jody Brown’s cool finish, only nine seconds had dwindled off the clock. It was a deadly, vertical move: three passes, five touches and a jubilant celebration. Brown’s goal was the first of five Seminole strikes as they breezed past a languishing Duke side.

But there were bigger lessons to be learned in their 5-1 victory on Thursday night. Florida’s State head coach abandoned some of his attacking principles and reimagined his attack. And with one of its biggest ACC rivals visiting, those brave tactical tweaks facilitated a blowout win.

The Seminoles have been blissfully formulaic so far. Head coach Brian Pensky has made use of a technically impressive team to mold an offense based around keeping the ball. Here is a side that operates with patience and spreads its opponents with smooth passes. It’s a principle that has carried the Seminoles to a 9-1-2 record. But Thursday night, that attacking ethos was abandoned. Here was a team near unrecognizable from the Florida State of this season so far. Everything was quick, direct and vertical. Jody Brown ran behind the Duke defense with regularity, slipping in the worryingly open channels between the Blue Devils’ three center backs. That was how the first goal came, with Brown darting down the right channel. Jenna Nighswonger released a wonderful pass, the kind that would be somehow rude to intercept. And Brown applied the finish.

The next goal was a Duke one, a Grace Watkins wack from close range following a scramble off a floated free kick. And that 1-1 score felt fair at half time. For all of Flirt State’s attacking intent, Duke had its moments, too. Though the Seminoles marked Duke’s Michelle Cooper with aplomb, Duke was smooth going forward, a flurry of neat passes and half chances. Sophie Jones was typically reliable in the center of midfield, keeping the Blue Devils ticking — a near metronomic presence.

Still, as the second half began, that Duke solidity started to fade. Florida State’s build up became more aggressive, the pockets of space once blocked in the midfield steadily opening. Nighswomger found herself on the ball more, bridging the gap between a solid midfield and buzzing attack. But the second goal was all thanks to Onyi Echegini. She plucked a ball out of the sky, fed Brown, who arrowed her second of the night into the bottom corner. At 2-1, the Seminoles exerted further control. A foul on the counter afforded Nighswonger a dead ball opportunity, where she found the head of Olivia Garcia for Florida State’s third. There was something of a Duke response. Passes were strung together, runs were made. But the Seminoles stayed glued to Cooper, forcing Duke to hit passes to a player essentially marked out of the game.

The fourth was a far simpler thing. With the Seminoles more opportunistic and Duke languishing, Leilani Nesbeth converted off a Nighswonger corner. And the fifth — an Olivia Garcia header off a whipped cross from Maria Alagoa — put proceedings far beyond doubt. There were further opportunities from both sides. Duke’s Mackenzie Pluck put one narrowly wide while Alagoa saw a shot sail over the bar. But a 5-1 win seemed a fair result for a team that was simply willing to change.

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