TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Top-ranked Florida State (13-0-0, 6-0-0 ACC) needed just one goal Thursday night in blanking No. 19 Virginia Tech (11-4-0, 2-4-0 ACC) 1-0 to remain undefeated on the year.

“I thought it was a very solid performance,” said head coach Mark Krikorian. “The defending once again was quite good as we limited their chances on goal.  We had some pretty good chances throughout the match.  Hikaru’s goal was very nice.  We did have a few other chances that we should have finished and when you finish those, the game will come a little bit easier for us.  But overall against another nationally ranked program, I thought it was a good, solid performance.”

Sophomore Hikaru Murakami scored the only goal of the match finding the back of the net in the 27th minute for her first career goal.  The midfielder from Japan took a pass from Jamia Fields dribbled once to her left and blasted a shot that hit under the crossbar and over the line from 25 yards for the eventual game-winner. 

“I was so happy, I didn’t know it was a goal but when I turned (around) everyone came to hug me,” said Murakami.  “It hit the crossbar so I didn’t know it went in, I was really happy.”

“We were all really happy for her,” said Tiffany McCarty on Hikaru scoring her first collegiate goal. “She has been playing well coming off the bench for us this season and she showed that she can be deadly with a powerful leg.  It was nice to see her get on the board.”

The Seminoles controlled possession for a majority of the evening outshooting the Hokies 19-3.  Virginia Tech managed just one shot on goal the whole night as the Florida State defense did a nice job of limiting the Hokies chances in and around the goal.  After taking two shots in the first 19 minutes of action, Virginia Tech was held without a shot for over 59 minutes before recording its lone shot of the second half at the 78:45 mark. 

“In the first half, the players that came off the bench did a great job of lifting us including Hikaru,” added Krikorian. “But I thought each of the players came in and gave us a big boost.  When you have that depth and you can bring those players in, it really does add to the quality of the game.”

The shutout was FSU’s eighth in a row and 11th in 13 games this year.  In the process, the Seminoles extended their consecutive shutout streak to over 798 minutes, just 51 seconds off tying the school record of 799:29 set in 2003.

With the win Thursday night, Florida State extended its unbeaten streak over Virginia Tech to 12 (11-0-1), while improving to 9-0-0 in one-goal games in 2012. 

Kelsey Wys played all 90 minutes between the posts for the Seminoles as she made one save to earn her seventh shutout of the season. 

“That’s our goal every game to limit their shots, so we were happy to hold them to three tonight” said Seminole defender Casey Short. “Kelsey came up big for us a couple of times and hopefully we can keep it up.  We are starting to put the pieces together and really gelling as a unit in the backline.”

Virginia Tech registered the first real scoring chance for either team in the 13th minute as Jazmine Reeves got in behind the Seminole defense.  Ines Jaurena did a nice job to break up the run by Reeves forcing the Hokie forward to make a pass back up toward the top of the box.  Shannon Mayrose took the pass and one-timed a shot right into the hands of Wys for the save.

Florida State looked as though they broke the scoreless tie in the 19th minute converting on one of eight first half corner kicks as Kassey Kallman came flying through the box placing a header into the back of the net on a beautifully placed corner by Tiana Brockway.  But the goal was taken off the board when a foul was called on the Seminoles inside the box. 

After giving FSU a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute, Murakami looked to add a second goal on the evening in the 39th minute, but a diving save by Dayle Colpitts kept the Hokie deficit at one.  Murakami sent a low-liner to the left post following a cross by Casey Short.  Colpitts dove to her right and deflected the shot.  The loose ball was kicked out of harm’s way by a Hokie defender. 

Florida State went into the locker room with an 11-2 advantage in shots, while taking eight corners to Virginia Tech’s one. 

Jessica Price was denied a goal by Colpitts in the 53rd minute as the Virginia Tech keeper made another nice diving save near the right post.  Short sent a pass between two Hokie defenders right to the feet of Price.  The redshirt senior forward dribbled along the 18-yard box before firing a shot on frame. 

The lone scoring chance for the Hokies in the second half came in the 79th minute as Reeves flicked a header just high over the crossbar from about eight yards out. 

The top-ranked Seminoles are back in action on Sunday, October 14 at 1:00 p.m. against No. 13 Virginia on Senior Day at the Seminole Soccer Complex.  Be sure to arrive early as Florida State will honor its seven-member senior class before the start of the match. The game will broadcast live ESPN3.  Live stats for the match will be available via gametracker, while fans can always receive in-game updates on Twitter @FSU_Soccer.  Also, do not forget to like the Seminole Soccer team on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FSUSoccer.  

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