Florida State Sports Notebook: Road Trip Edition

Florida State soccer (7-0-2, 2-0-1 ACC) is currently on a 32 game unbeaten streak which includes being unbeaten in 12 straight road games. FSU has also scored in 43 straight games. The Seminoles are also the only ACC team that is still unbeaten this season. The Seminoles are ranked sixth in the Coaches Poll, ninth in the RPI, and fourth in the Massey rankings.

The Seminoles have a full roster again as all of the players have returned from the U20 World Cup. Their arrival is just in time as the Noles are about to embark on their longest road trip of the season with away games at Wake Forest, Virginia Tech and Boston College. Therefore, it seems like this is a good time for another edition of the Seminole Sports Notebook.

These are real questions posed by real people in the sense that they are actual questions (they end in a question mark) and I am a real person. I have written (almost) all of the questions.

The first question was submitted by Tomahawk Nation member Maddyrat.

I see that Wake is ranked number five—do you see the upcoming away match as a serious test, or are they a paper Tiger, or Deacon, or whatever?

When Maddy submitted the question Wake Forest was ranked fifth in the coaches poll. The Demon Deacons are now fourth. They are also fourth in the RPI while Massey has them ranked 23rd.

The Deacs are definitely a serious team. This will be FSU’s toughest road game of the season. The last three or four seasons I have picked Wake as my sleeper ACC team and they have disappointed every season. Well, not this year. Wake has an experienced and talented team and they have an identity. They know how they want to play.

Their two top scorers are Caiya Hanks – 15 points (5 goals, 5 assists) and Emily Colton – 13 points (5 goals, 3 assists). Both of these players are talented and could cause problems for FSU’s backline if they get proper service or are allowed to get to their spots on the pitch. The other player to watch is Emily Murphy – 7 points (1 goal, 5 assists) . The senior striker has not found the back of the net as much I would have expected this year but if the Wake offense gets going Murphy will likely be a big reason.

This team reminds me a bit of last year’s Clemson team. They have several talented players who happen to be seniors or graduate students so they have experience and they are comfortable playing together. This Wake team isn’t as good as that Clemson team that went to the College Cup last year but I could see the Deacs making a serious run in the NCAA Tournament and making the Elite Eight. They are that good.

One thing to watch for is how head coach Tony da Luz approaches this game. Will he trust his players and basically play the way that they normally do – aggressive up top while trying to control the midfield with physicality – or will he be more conservative and sit back looking for counter-attack opportunities. If he plays like they normally do the risk is that they will push up too far and get burned by FSU’s speed. Alternatively, if they sit back they will presumably help their defense but at the cost of limiting their own offensive opportunities.

Massey gives FSU a 61% chance to win while giving Wake a 23% chance to win with a 16% chance of a draw.

I think that the Deacons will struggle with FSU’s speed and athleticism. My pick is a 3-1 Florida State victory.

The Seminoles are trying to repeat as National Champions and win a fifth straight ACC Championship. Are they on track?

Time will tell. Next question.

Oh, you want more. Okay.

Florida State has elite team speed combined with very good athleticism. The Noles also have experience going deep in the NCAA Tournament. The last time that Florida State missed the College Cup was 2019. For context, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 28,164.00 on the day that FSU was eliminated in 2019. It closed on Wednesday at 42,196.52. In other words, it’s been a while since FSU missed the College Cup.

This team is also blessed with considerable depth. That depth was tested when the six players were at the World Cup but the Seminoles will now start to reap the benefits as several players got valuable experience in the absence of the World Cup players.

Florida State is still integrating the World Cup players back into the roster. The coaching staff is still tinkering a bit trying to find the right lineup. However, the Noles have time to figure things out as there are seven games left in the regular season.

I have said this before but I believe that the Seminoles have the most talented roster in the nation. They are basically healthy right now and as long as that remains the case it will be very hard to beat them.

How are things looking in the ACC?

The standings are a complete jumble right now. There is a team that has played only two conference games (Duke) and there are teams who have played five. Therefore, it is hard to know where things stand.

However, the best teams seem to be North Carolina, Duke, Stanford, Notre Dame, Wake and of course FSU. Yes, the ACC is again loaded.

Here are some quick thoughts on each team of relevance:

UNC – They had a ton of upheaval over the summer as several players transferred or turned pro. In addition their legendary coach Anson Dorrance unexpectedly retired right before the season. However the Heels have bounced back in fine fashion sporting an impressive 11-1 record. The downside is that almost all of their wins are by a single goal. They have some tough games ahead but they seem to be on track to make the ACC Tournament and that was far from a given when the season started.

Duke – This is my surprise team. In coach Robbie Church’s last season before retirement the Blue Devils have finally learned how to score. Their offense is humming and they have a stud keeper in Leah Freeman. This is a team to watch.

Stanford – Typical stingy defense. Typical anemic offense. Now that Elise Evans has returned from the World Cup Jasmine Aikey can go back to her normal midfield position. Perhaps that will help the offense.

Notre Dame – Tons of weapons on offense but their first two ACC games don’t inspire confidence.

Wake Forest – see above

Virginia – Started off hot but have now lost three straight ACC games and their tournament hopes (ACC and NCAA) are in jeopardy. They will likely not make the ACC tourney but they still have time to right the ship for the NCAAs. The Hoos need to find the scoring punch that has deserted them in the last three games.

Pitt – The Panthers have been a disappointment frankly. However, their two ACC losses have been by 1-0 scores so they aren’t getting blown out. They have serious talent on the roster and will probably show up in Tallahassee on October 20th sporting a three game winning streak.

California – The Bears are somehow 10-1-2 with their starting keeper (Teagan Wy) missing most of the season at the World Cup. I am in wait and see mode with this team. They have a great record but the schedule has been light thus far. The Bears have UNC, Duke and Notre Dame in their next three. We’ll check in after that stretch.

As always, the comments are yours.