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Tori Huster & FSU Will Be Overwhelming Favorites Against Samford in Round One

(1) Florida State (14-6-1, 5-5-0, 6th ACC) vs Samford (14-5-2, 9-0-2, 1st Southern)

When – Friday, November 11, 7:00 PM EST

Where – Seminole Soccer Complex, Tallahassee, Florida

Quick Reaction – Florida State’s late season surge reaped major dividends.

Florida State Thus Far – Tipped by some (OK, tipped by me) as national title contenders, FSU lived up to that tag through their non-conference season. Oregon State, Marquette, and Florida were all vanquished, with the only blemish on the Noles’ resume coming at the hands of Portland on the road. But something weird happened to this team when ACC play started. The team faced six contending teams in the conference…and lost all six. FSU juggled personnel within their formation, including such eyebrow raising experiments as playing Janice Cayman in defense and Toni Pressley further up the pitch in an attacking role. The defense was leaking goals and the offense was firing blanks though, and the Noles were shockingly close to possibly missing the ACC Tournament after a 3-0 loss to Maryland at home. But then a 1-0 win against Boston College in Tallahassee changed the season for FSU. The Noles won their last three league games to finish sixth in the league and earn a date with North Carolina in the ACC Tournament. They were defeated in extra time, while the club then got revenge against Virginia for a 4-3 defeat in the regular season. Suddenly, FSU were in the ACC Tournament final. They had paid little heed to the competition last season, but Florida State lifted the trophy in Cary and got rewarded with a #1 seed that means the road to Kennesaw comes through Tallahassee.

Samford Thus Far – A perennial thorn in the side of many a team from SEC boroughs, Samford also entered 2011 as favorites in the Southern Conference as many thought the Bulldogs would finally usurp UNC Greensboro as league champions. Some also believed that the Bulldogs could cause a shock or two in non-conference play against a motley crew of SEC and ranked mid-major foes. But opinion cooled on Samford after a rather middling non-conference season that saw the team lose to all of their SEC opponents, along with Conference USA sides Memphis and UAB, the latter being especially concerning considering most felt the Blazers were in a rebuilding year. A draw at Elon in the SoCon opener again raised eyebrows as to whether this Samford team would be in the mix for a league title. The next match would be a turning point for Todd Yelton’s side as they beat reigning league champs UNC Greensboro on the road. The title would be theirs as they ran the table the rest of the way save a draw with The Citadel. Brutally efficient, Samford would win eight of their last nine matches by a single goal. That included the three Southern Conference Tournament matches as the Bulldogs completed the double and punched their ticket to the Big Dance.

Who to Watch

Florida State

Tori Huster (M) – Midfield engine is the driving force at the heart of this team. Also second leading scorer with six goals.
Ines Jaurena (D) – Marauding full-back might be a hot commodity back in her native France in a few years.
Tiffany McCarty (F) – Showing no ill effects after missing all of last season. As dangerous a striker as there is in the college game with pace and cool finishing.
Dagny Brynjarsdottir (M) – Icelandic international was desperately missed when away during ACC season for EURO qualifiers.

Samford

Sarah Wilkinson (F) – Senior out of Texas has scored many a critical goal for the Bulldogs over four years.
Michelle Moll (M) – Sophomore really heated up during league play and tied for team lead in SoCo goals with four.
Sabbath McKiernan-Allen (D) – The unlucky soul likely responsible for keeping McCarty quiet. A threat on set pieces both in delivery and getting on the end of them.
Alyssa Whitehead (GK) – 6’3″ keeper has a massive leg and controls her box well. A sleeper on WPS radars if she can improve her handling.

Best WPS Prospect – Huster. You telling me your favorite WPS team couldn’t use a center midfielder who doesn’t stop running?

Palatable? – Florida State aren’t usually ones to be putting up ridiculous numbers on opponents, and Samford’s probably not talented enough to make this one really competitive. So no, not really.

Famous Last Words – Samford couldn’t beat UAB or Vanderbilt, what chance do they have against an in-form Florida State team? Not much of one, though Whitehead and a stingy defense will probably keep it from getting way out of hand.

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