Florida State vs. Virginia has many storylines (and plenty of talent) but none better than the defending national champions playing one of two unbeaten teams left in this year's NCAA women's soccer season.
Defending champ FSU, ranked in the top 10 since the start of the season, takes on one of the most offensively formidable teams in the country. No. 1 Virginia has put up some absolutely lethal numbers up front and are third in the NCAA in total goals scored this season.
MEET THE UNDEFEATED TEAMS: Virginia is one of just two DI women's soccer teams still unbeaten
This is the second match of the week for both Florida State and Virginia. Virginia notched its third draw of the season and third draw in ACC play against NC State on Oct. 9. FSU knocked off No. 20 Virginia Tech in overtime, 3-2, on Oct. 10.
|
VIRGINIA
|
TALE OF THE TAPE |
Florida State
|
|---|---|---|
| No. 1 | Ranking | No. 5 |
|
Steve Swanson, 19th season at Virginia 308-92-48 all-time at Virginia |
Coach |
Mark Krikorian 15th season at Florida State 269-62-30 all-time at Florida State |
| 10-0-3 | Current Record | 11-2-0 |
| 16-5-1 | 2018 record | 20-4-3 |
| Lost in the round of 16 | 2018 NCAA tournament | Won NCAA Championship |
| 31 | NCAA tournament appearances | 19 |
| 0 | NCAA championships | 2 |
| Diana Ordonez, 12 | Current top goal-scorer this season | Deyna Castellanos, 7 |
| Alexa Spaanstra, 7 | Returning assists leader from 2018 | Deyna Castellanos, 8 |
| vs. Notre Dame, 2 p.m. ET Sunday, Oct. 20 |
Next match | vs. Miami, 5 p.m. ET Friday, Oct. 18 |
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Virginia's offensive firepower has been coming from an unlikely source this season — a freshman. Diana Ordonez has taken the women's college soccer world by storm this season, netting 12 goals. That mark leads the ACC and puts Ordonez tied for fourth in all of Division I women's soccer.
The Virginia forward will have some competition during this match though, as Florida State has a goal-scorer of their own. Deyna Castellanos leads the Noles in goals and assists. The do-it-all Venezuelan senior is a MAC Hermann trophy contender is one of the main reasons Florida State won it all last season.
GATORS JOIN THE PARTY: Top 3 remain the same and Florida cracks the top-25 in this week's rankings
FSU has been on fire as a team as well. They currently are riding a nine-game winning streak, and are 5-0 in the ACC, leading the conference. The Noles have wins against four ranked teams — Virginia Tech, Colorado, Clemson and Wisconsin — but have suffered versus teams ranked in the top 5. Florida State is 0-2 in that category losing a pair of matches against USC and UCLA early in the season.
UVA has 10 wins on the year and three ties. The Hoos are one of two undefeated teams in Division I women's soccer so far this season — the other is BYU. They are undefeated against ranked teams, knocking off current and former ranked squads like Virginia Tech, Georgetown, West Virginia and Penn State.
Although the Cavaliers do have a perfect record against ranked teams, they have been trending down lately — something opposite of Florida State. The only three non-wins of the season for Virginia have come in ACC play, where the tied Wake Forest 1-1, then-No. 10 Duke 0-0 and NC State 0-0.
It should be a showdown like no other in Tallahassee, as FSU looks for its first marquee win of the season, and Virginia hopes to stay unbeaten as Diana Ordonez and company will attempt to stare down the defending champs and win one in Florida State's house.
Virginia-Florida State women's soccer: How to watch, follow live
Florida State versus Virginia play in Tallahassee, Florida, at 1 p.m. ET on on Sunday, Oct. 13. The match can be watched on ACC Network and streamed at espn.com/watch. You can also follow live via Florida State and Virginia's women's soccer Twitter pages.
TIE ON THE TOBACCO ROAD: No. 3 North Carolina and No. 11 Duke tie 0-0 in a defensively dominated match
Virginia-Florida State women's soccer history
Virginia versus Florida State has been competitive since the series began in 2001. UVA leads the all-time battle 12-9-5, but Florida State has been dominant lately. The Seminoles have won five out of the last eight, with two ties. The Hoos will hope to get a win in Tallahassee Sunday — something they haven't done since 2008. A win for the Cavaliers would be their first one against FSU since 2015. Florida State will hope to deal UVA their first loss of the season.
| Date | Location | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 28, 2001 | Charlottesville, Va. | UVA, 3-2 |
| Nov. 9, 2001 | Winston-Salem, N.C. | FSU, 3-2 |
| Nov. 2, 2002 | Tallahassee, Fla. | UVA, 2-1 |
| Oct. 4, 2003 | Charlottesville, Va. | UVA, 3-2 |
| Sept. 24, 2004 | Tallahassee, Fla. | UVA, 1-0 |
| Sept. 29, 2005 | Charlottesville, Va. | UVA, 1-0 |
| Nov. 4, 2005 | Cary, N.C. | UVA, 2-0 |
| Sept. 28, 2006 | Tallahassee, Fla. | Tie, 0-0 |
| Oct. 4, 2007 | Charlottesville, Va. | Tie, 1-1 |
| Sept. 25, 2008 | Tallahassee, Fla. | UVA, 1-0 |
| Oct. 30, 2009 | Charlottesville, Va. | UVA, 1-0 |
| Oct. 21, 2010 | Tallahassee, Fla. | Tie, 0-0 |
| Oct. 8, 2011 | Charlottesville, Va. | UVA, 4-3 |
| Nov. 4, 2011 | Cary, N.C. | FSU, 2-1 |
| Nov. 25, 2011 | Tallahassee, Fla. | FSU, 3-0 |
| Oct. 14, 2012 | Tallahassee, Fla. | FSU, 1-0 |
| Nov. 2, 2012 | Cary, N.C. | UVA, 4-2 |
| Oct. 27, 2013 | Charlottesville, Va. | UVA, 1-0 |
| Sept. 28, 2014 | Tallahassee, Fla. | FSU, 1-0 |
| Nov. 9, 2014 | Greensboro, N.C. | FSU, 1-0 |
| Dec. 7, 2014 | Boca Raton, Fla. | FSU, 1-0 |
| Oct. 25, 2015 | Charlottesville, Va. | UVA, 1-0 |
| Nov. 8, 2015 | Cary, N.C. | Tie, 2-2 |
| Sept. 25, 2016 | Tallahassee, Fla. | Tie, 1-1 |
| Oct. 21, 2018 | Charlottesville, Va. | FSU, 2-0 |
| Nov. 2, 2018 | Cary, N.C. | FSU, 3-1 |
