TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Top-ranked Florida State (8-0-0, 2-0-0 ACC) wrapped up its ACC opening weekend with a 1-0 shutout over No. 14 Wake Forest (7-2-1, 1-1-0 ACC) Sunday afternoon inside the Seminole Soccer Complex to remain undefeated on the year.

“This was a great weekend for us,” said head coach Mark Krikorian after posting back-to-back 1-0 shutouts over No. 2 Duke and No. 14 Wake Forest.  “The competition can’t get much better than this; to be able to play a Thursday night match against Duke and get a 1-0 result and then to come back and duplicate that effort against Wake Forest is a great weekend.”

Tiana Brockway scored the lone goal of the contest finding the back of the net in the 23rd minute for her first goal of the season.  The scoring play began on a pass from Dria Hampton to Jessica Price running down the sideline on the left side of the pitch.  Price worked around a defender and then sent a cross into the box where a charging Brockway had the ball deflect off her thigh and into the net just over the outstretched arms of Wake Forest keeper Aubrey Bledsoe. 

“We knew we were going to have our chances so it was a matter of picking our moment and being patient,” said Brockway.  “The play started in the middle and then went out wide.  JP handled it on the outside by beating her player and getting a good cross in.  T-Mac (Tiffany McCarty) made a really hard run near post which opened me up (for the goal).”

The assist for Price was her team leading fourth of the season and 29th of her career moving her within one of the school record held by Mami Yamaguchi. 

The Seminole defense once again turned in another stellar performance en route to posting their third straight shutout and sixth shutout of the season.  Dating back to the 12th minute mark of the Cal State Fullerton match back on September 7, FSU has not allowed a goal in over 348 minutes of action. 

“Once again, I thought our team defending was very, very good all over the field,” added Krikorian.  “We didn’t give up a whole lot of chances today.”

“The defense is making my job a lot easier and I am thankful for that,” said Wys.  “Communication is key part of that and having so much experience back there with Shorty, Kassey, Ines and Grubka, always helps.”

Kelsey Wys recorded her fifth shutout of the season as she made four saves, while playing all 90 minutes between the posts.

“We had a game plan going into today’s game and at the end of the day we all came out and did what we were supposed to do,” added Wys.  “We were all on the same page which helped minimize their chances.”

“Our collective defending was very good today, so it helped out,” said Brockway.  “Plus it always helps to have Kelsey back there.”

With the win on Sunday, Florida State set the school record for the best start in school history at 8-0-0 eclipsing the previous mark of 7-0-0 set in Krikorian’s first season in 2005.  The Seminoles also continued their dominance at home against the Deacs winning for the fifth straight time in Tallahassee. 

“This weekend was a good test,” said Wys.  “It was a good way to open the season in ACC play.  We have respect for every ACC team and I think it was a great test overall.”

Florida State finished the game with the edge in both shots and corners as the Seminoles outshot the Demon Deacons 11-9, while taking 11 corners to Wake’s seven.

“It was a pretty physical game but we knew that coming in,” said Casey Short.  “We really just stuck to our game plan and were able to come through with the shutout.”

Ines Jaurena led the Seminoles in shots with three, while Alisha Woodson paced the Demon Deacons with three shots as well. 

The first real scoring threat in the game came in the eighth minute following a Florida State throw-in by Price.  The ball came to the feet of Tiffany McCarty, who ripped a shot that was blocked by the Demon Deacon defense.  Jaurena corralled the rebound and blasted a shot that was also blocked. 

In the 15th minute, Kristin Grubka sent a header off a corner on frame from about 10 yards but Bledsoe went over the top of McCarty to snare the ball and make the save.

Moments after the Seminoles took a 1-0 lead thanks to the goal by Brockway, Wys came through with a huge save to keep the lead intact.  Jackie Logue slipped in behind the Seminole defense one-timing a shot toward the far post from 17 yards out.  Wys made an outstanding diving save to her right deflecting the ball out of bounds.  Wake could not convert on the ensuing corner as McCarty cleared the ball out of harm’s way.

Wys made her second save of the first half in the 42nd minute following a direct free kick from inside the midfield line on Wake’s side of the field.  Kim Marshall sent the free kick into the 18-yard box where Annick McBryar flicked a header on goal, but the Seminole keeper was there for the save on the left post. 

Florida State came out of the locker room on the attack and drew a foul just outside the 18-yard box in the 49th minute.  Freshman Isabella Schmid took the free kick and sent the ball just high over the crossbar. 

A team save by Wake Forest in the 52nd minute off a shot by McCarty kept the Seminole lead at 1-0.  Jamia Fields slipped a pass into the box to McCarty, who made a nice move to get Bledsoe to dive to her left.  With the Wake keeper on the ground, McCarty made one dribble toward the middle of the field and ripped a shot on goal but McBryar was there for the save one-timing the ball back up the field. 

Woodson put together back-to-back header shots in just over two minutes for Wake Forest as her first went wide of the net in the 56th minute and her second was saved on the near post by Wys. 

Jenai Davidson and Katie Stengel put together a nice passing play in the 72nd minute for a great scoring opportunity as Stengel got in behind the defense and made a long run.  Casey Short did a nice job of closing ground on the play and keeping Stengel to the outside forcing a tough shot that Wys saved, deflecting the ball out of bounds. 

The Seminoles looked to add to their lead in the 80th when McCarty found Short streaking down the left sideline.  Short took the ball to the corner and made a nice move down on the end line to evade a Wake defender.  The senior defender then passed the ball back up the field to Price, who one-time a shot over the crossbar.

Florida State was able to control possession over the final 10 minutes limiting Wake Forest to just one shot over that span. 

The top-ranked Seminoles will wrap-up their three-game home stand on Friday, September 21 at 5:00 p.m. as they host Jackson State.  Live stats for the match will be available via gametracker.  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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