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FLORIDA STATE

Women's soccer

Florida State Wins Third Straight, Downs Boston College 1-0

Junior Mami Yamaguchi nets the game-winner converting a penalty kick in the 83rd minute.

Tallahassee - No. 15 Florida State (9-3-2, 4-1-1) notched its third straight win Sunday afternoon with a 1-0 victory over No. 7 Boston College (8-2-3, 1-2-2), tying the Seminoles' longest win streak of the season. Junior Mami Yamaguchi netted the game-winner in the 83rd minute converting on FSU's first penalty kick opportunity of the season. The win was also the first for the Seminoles over a ranked opponent this season.

"It was a great result for us today," said head coach Mark Krikorian. "We were able to impose our style of play enabling us to keep the ball which certainly played into our hands. I thought our probing play was quite good today. Our backs maintained very good composure making the right choices at the right time and not forcing too many balls down the field."

Florida State remains unbeaten against Boston College running its all-time record to 2-0-2. Both wins over the Eagles have come within the friendly confines of the Seminole Soccer Complex. With today's shutout, the Seminoles have not allowed the Eagles to score in the series.

The Seminole defensive effort was solid once again posting its third straight shutout and eighth of the season. Katrin Schmidt, Libby Gianeskis, Becky Edwards and Erica Sutton limited a Boston College team, who entered today's game averaging 17.5 shots per game, to just seven shots on Sunday. The Eagles' first shot of the game and only shot of the first half didn't come until the 34th minute off the leg of Hannah Cerrone.

Florida State controlled the offensive flow in the first half but managed just four shots. The best scoring opportunity for the Seminoles came in the 37th minute on a header shot that sailed high by senior Kirsten van de Ven. BC was called for a foul setting up a free kick for the Seminoles from about 32 yards out. Edwards took the free kick and sent a ball into the box where van de Ven was able to get a good look with a header, but the ball went high over the crossbar.

Boston College got the first good look of the second half in the 47th minute. Kelly Henderson gathered a deflection off the FSU defense took two touches to her left and went near post with her shot. Seminole goalkeeper Erin McNulty was there for the save to keep the score tied at zero.

In the 50th minute, Florida State went on the offensive as van de Ven sent a long ball down the right side of the field to freshman Sanna Talonen. Talonen dribbled toward the endline and one-timed a pass to Yamaguchi streaking inside the box. The Tokyo, Japan native blasted a shot toward the upper left corner, but Eagle goalie Sarah Buonomo made a spectacular save tipping the ball out of bounds.

On the ensuing corner, Yamaguchi sent a ball into the box where freshman Marissa Kazbour got a header shot on goal but Buonomo was there once again for the save.

Kazbour would get a second opportunity on a header shot in the 66th minute off another Florida State corner, this time taken by Sutton. Kazbour went to the far post with the shot, but an Eagle defender was there for the save as she headed the ball out of harms way.

Schmidt looked as though she would give the Seminoles the lead in the 78th minute blasting a shot from 25 yards out. The ball beat Buonomo but couldn't find the back of the net as it ricocheted off the crossbar.

Less than three minute later, the Eagles were called for a foul in the box as a BC defender tripped freshman Amanda DaCosta from behind setting up the first penalty kick attempt of the season for the Seminoles. Yamaguchi took the pk and fired a shot into the lower left corner of the net for her team leading 16th goal of the season. The goal was also her third game-winner in 2007, tying her with Talonen for the team lead in that category.

"Amanda DaCosta's ability to turn with pressure on her back is magnificent," added Krikorian. "Her escape was fantastic and we saw it in her creating that foul which lead to the goal. Mami stepped up and put a nice finish on the ball for the goal."

"I stepped up to the ball knowing I had to make the kick," explained Yamaguchi. "I was a little nervous, but I told myself that I could score the goal."

With the goal, Florida State has now scored in 20 straight games dating back to last year's ACC Championship final against UNC in Cary, N.C. The school record for consecutive games with a goal scored is 21 set during the 2002 season.

Florida State finished the game out shooting Boston College 14-7, while maintaining an 8-1 corner kick advantage.

McNulty, who started her 14th consecutive game in goal for the Seminoles, recorded her ninth win of the season and fourth career shutout. Both marks set a new school record for wins and shutouts in a season by a Seminole freshman. The previous wins record of eight was set in 2001 by Ali Mims, while Kerry York posted three shutouts that same season. McNulty played all 90 minutes against the Eagles Sunday afternoon making three saves.

"Erin is really starting to understand the game better," said assistant coach Paul Rogers. "She has really improved her play since the North Carolina game. Erin has made some big saves, her communication has really improved and she has really shown a lot of leadership in the backfield these past few weeks."

Florida State returns the pitch next Sunday, October 21 as the Seminoles welcome the Miami Hurricanes to Tallahassee on Senior Day for the last regular season home game of the season. Game time is slated for 1:00 pm at the Seminoles Soccer Complex. The game will be shown live on Sun Sports. As always, fans can follow all the action over the Internet as gametracker will be available for the contest.

SOUTH FLORIDA

Women's soccer

Back-to-Back BIG EAST Victories

TAMPA - Following Friday night's 1-0 victory over Syracuse, the University of South Florida women's soccer team defeated St. John's 4-2, in the Sunday afternoon senior game, to win back-to-back BIG EAST Conference games, earning two consecutive wins for the first time since Sept. 8, 2006.

"It's exciting to get consecutive wins, especially in the BIG EAST," said Head Coach Denise Schilte-Brown. "I'm proud of the team for wanting to win for their seniors. I felt like there was a lot of heart and passion today on the field. Sunday has always been our hard day and I didn't see that today. I saw a bunch of girls wanting to win."

Four Bulls scored for USF today as senior Autumn Browning had one goal and two assists, junior Lindsay Brauer and sophomore Nina Jokuschies both had a goal and a helper, and freshman Alyshia Currey tallied the final goal.

The first two goals were a connection between Brauer and Browning as each scored a goal and made an assist in the first 32 minutes of play.

"The Brauer-Browning connection has been dangerous all season, sometimes it has gone our way sometimes it hasn't," continued Schilte-Brown. "Today it went multiple ways and now it gets even more dangerous the more they play together. The left side picked it up today as well, which helps the right side. [Anna Lea] Crowe and Currey played well on the left side and that helped balance us. Scoring the left-sided goal helped a lot."

Brauer opened the scoring fury just three minutes into the game. Brauer started a run from midfield, played a give-and-go to Browning, who returned the ball to Brauer at the top of the box. Brauer proceeded into the penalty area, where she scored her goal from 10 yards out.

Thirty minutes later the roles reversed as Brauer again started a run from midfield, but this time, as she headed toward the endline, crossed the ball into the box for Browning to hammer home, giving USF the 2-0 advantage.

St. John's continued to pepper USF's goalkeeper Mallori Lofton-Malachi with shots in the final minutes of the half, and finally slid one through with 30 seconds remaining in the period, bringing the score within one.

After the intermission, the Bulls scored two more goals, both recorded as first-career scores for Jokuschies and Currey.

In the 53rd minute Jokuschies flipped the ball forward as Browning ran onto the pass in the midfield. After Browning weaved her way through Red Storm defenders, she slid the ball across the top of the box to Jokuschies. The midfielder from Aukrug, Germany, then beat two defenders to find herself in a one-on-one with the St. John's goalie. Jokuschies knocked a shot into the bottom left corner of the net to take the 3-1 lead.

Just three minutes after that goal, Currey recorded her first-career goal as Jokuschies drew the Red Storm goalkeeper out of the box, then assisted Currey on her shot into the open net.

With a 4-1 lead, sophomore Kristen Kochanik subbed in for Lofton-Malachi in the USF net. Lofton-Malachi has played all but five minutes in goal for the Bulls this season.

In the 77th minute, the Red Storm tacked on the final goal of the game, a 16-yard shot by St. John's, to end the game 4-2.

The last time USF scored four goals was in back-to-back games in the 2006 Dafeldecker Classic, against South Alabama (Aug. 27) and High Point (Aug. 25).

Junior Emily Martin made her first appearance of the season this afternoon. Martin is a transfer from Iona College in New York.

The win over St. John's is Schilte-Brown's 98th career victory. Her all-time coaching record improves to 98-74-19. Schilte-Brown was 77-51-17 in seven seasons at Virginia Commonwealth and 17-18 at her alma mater, Maryland-Baltimore County, in 1998 and 1999, before coming to USF in 2007.

Prior to the game, USF seniors Autumn Browning, Paulina McIntosh and Ashley Quaid were recognized for their seasons with the Bulls.

Quaid made a name for herself early in her career, playing in all but a trio of games her first three years at USF. Now she is just seven games away from breaking into the top 10 in all-time games played at USF. As a midfielder, she has attempted 28 shots, eight of which were on goal. She tallied an assist in the 2005 matchup with Mercer, helping the Bulls to a 2-0 victory that night. A civil engineering major, this native of the Bay Area attended Bloomingdale High, where she was the Hillsborough County Female Soccer Player of the Year in 2003.

A four-year player for the Bulls, McIntosh has helped the Bulls to 14 shutouts during her career. An offensively-minded player, she has attempted 23 shots - nine on goal - in her four seasons at USF. In 2005 she recorded her first-career point, an assist in the September 9 game against Mercer. Exactly one year later she notched another helper, this time against No. 23 Marquette, in the Bulls' upset victory over the Golden Eagles. A two-time BIG EAST Academic All-Star, she was selected to the Women's Premier Soccer League's Final Four All-Tournament Team during the summer of 2007.

Browning has been a key midfielder for the Bulls since she transferred to USF in 2006. In two seasons with USF, she has tallied 12 points, scoring five goals in 23 games. In her first season with the Bulls, she was selected to the Dafeldecker All-Classic Team, recording a pair of goals in two games during the tournament. In 2007 she hit the back of the net twice against Miami, helping USF to a 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes. A BIG EAST Academic All-Star, Browning graduated from USF magna cum laude in May of 2007 with a bachelor's degree in business management. She is now enrolled in graduate classes, earning her Masters of Science in marketing.

USF concludes the 2007 season the same way it began - on the road. The Bulls head to the Midwest Oct. 19 and 21 to play Cincinnati and Louisville, come home to play Georgetown on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m., then end the regular season with trips to West Virginia (Oct. 26) and Pittsburgh (Oct. 28).

Tickets to all USF home matches are $5 for adults, $3 for youth 16-and-under and $2 for groups of 10 or more. Call 1-800-GoBulls or visit www.GoUSFBulls.com for details.

Fans who cannot attend the make up game against Georgetown are invited to watch and listen to the Bulls on the USF Press Pass at www.GoUSFBulls.com . For the first time ever, USF has featured sideline-to-sideline coverage of every women's soccer match played at the USF Soccer Stadium throughout the 2007 season. During the Bulls' match-up with St. John's, USF Press Pass members can enjoy live video and listen to a live play-by-play broadcast with Jim Henderson. Live stats are also available for all matches on USF's website, through the "live stats" link. The unprecedented coverage is free to existing Press Pass subscribers. Visit GoUSFBulls.com for membership details.

Volleyball

Bulls Top Panthers, 3-1

TAMPA - The University of South Florida volleyball team concluded the weekend with a perfect record in two tries, defeating Pittsburgh, 3-1 (30-28, 30-28, 26-30, 30-24) at The Corral on Sunday afternoon.

USF now improves its record to 12-5, 5-3 BIG EAST, while Pittsburgh drops to 11-11, 5-3 BIG EAST.

Sophomore Marcela Gurgel led the Bulls offensively with 24 kills and had a team high .381 hitting percentage. Senior Kristina Fabris was the only other USF player to tally double-digit kills with 17 in the match.

Defensively, junior Stephanie Augustavo led the team with 10 digs, while freshman Mariana Thon chipped in eight. At the net, Alli Arbogast and Kristina Fabris each had five block assists and Nakia Williams added four.

Both teams played each other close in the match and their statistics in the end were close. Both USF and Pittsburgh hit .268 in the contest and the Bulls had one more kill than the Panthers, 65 to 64. Defensively, both teams were fairly equal in blocks with Pittsburgh posting 11 to USF's 10.

In the end, the Bulls pulled through because they played strong down the stretch and made big plays when needed. USF also utilized its serving and came up with 10 aces, which was nine more than the Panthers.

Game one was close from the start and stayed that way most of the way. The opening set featured 16 tie scores and four lead changes. With the score 25-25, the Bulls scored three straight points for a 28-25 lead. Pittsburgh managed to come within one point of USF on two occasions, but the Bulls scored the point needed for the 30-28 win. Even though the game was close, USF's offense had a good showing and hit .421 to Pitt's .270.

The Bulls got off to a slow start in game two as Pittsburgh jumped out to the early advantage, 10-7. The Panthers continued to score and jumped out to their largest lead of seven points, 24-17. USF didn't stay down for long and sparked a comeback with a late run. The Bulls closed out the game going on a 13-4 run for the victory 30-28.

After USF struggled in game three and lost 30-26, it came back in game four for the match victory. Pittsburgh started off the game with an early lead, 3-2, but that was the last time it would see it as USF controlled the score the rest of the way. The Bulls used an 11-6 run to take a 14-9 lead. USF continued to maintain its lead the rest of the way and won, 30-24.

The Bulls continue their homestand and look to continue their winning ways on Wednesday when they host Florida Gulf Coast University at The Corral.

FLORIDA

Women's soccer

Florida Soccer Wins 5-0 at Mississippi State

STARKVILLE, Miss- The University of Florida soccer team (7-4-2, 3-2 SEC) used a season-high goals total to post a 5-0 win over Southeastern Conference Western Division rival Mississippi State (5-8-1, 1-4-1 SEC) Sunday afternoon in front of a MSU Soccer Field crowd of 276.

The Gators upped their season-high match total of goals to five, bettering the four goals turned in by UF versus USF on Sept. 7. This offensive performance was something the Gators have been waiting for, as UF entered today?s match with a 38-10 shots-on-goal advantage over its opponents in league play. "I think we've been waiting for a while to have a little bit of a goal explosion and that finally happened today," UF Head Coach Becky Burleigh said. "They were really good goals , good runs into the box, good services, good individual efforts, so it was a real team effort."

Florida's first goal of the match came from a Gator scoring her first goal of the season. Senior tri-captain Shana Hudson brought the ball up the field, shifting her drive to the center of the field after jumping over a sliding tackle attempt by MSU. She passed the ball left to Megan Kerns located near the top of the box. Kerns touched it right back to Shana Hudson, who continued her run into the box. Shana Hudson put the ball in off a hard eight-yard shot that went in untouched at the near post at 23:23. The goal was the second of the defender's collegiate career.

"It was all Megan Kerns," Hudson said. "She put the best ball on my foot and I give her all the credit for that." The second goal started when sophomore Caitlin Howard, deep in the MSU half, crossed the ball to Stacy Bishop at the near post. She played the ball to the far post, where Ashley Harris put the short shot away at 39:40 to extend her Gator season goals lead to five. The assist was the first of Howard's collegiate career and marked the second consecutive match with an assist for Bishop.

The final goal of the opening half started when MSU tried to clear the ball near the top of the Bulldog box. The clearance didn't travel out of the 18-yard box circle, where Liz Ruberry pounced on her chance. Her right-footed shot was just inside the near post at 43:56 for her first goal of the season and the third of her Gator career. Senior Bianca Gibbs provided all of the Gators' second half scoring Sunday. Early in the half, she took a shot that drew the crossbar at 51:45, but made good on her second attempt just eight second later for her first goal of the season. Shana Hudson, about 10 yards inside the MSU half, collected the clearance attempt off of Gibbs' first shot and sent the ball from the right side to the far post. Gibbs headed the ball untouched into the goal from about six yards at 51:53.

"I was a little frustrated when I hit the post because it was a nice shot. So I just wanted to get it in the goal after that," Gibbs said. "It was a great serve from Shana and I was able to just head it in. I was excited to score with my head, that is something I work on because my timing isn't always on." Late in the second half, Harris brought the ball through the MSU box and crossed it from the endline to the near post. Gibbs just got a foot on it to tuck it away at the near post at 86:13. It was the second multi-goal match of Gibbs career. She also had two goals versus Kentucky in the 2005 season.

"Ashley played it early, which was good because I was able to flick it on," Gibbs said. Next up, the Gators return home to play host to a pair of SEC Western Division teams. The weekend of action at the James G. Pressly Stadium begins Friday, Oct. 19 at 7 p.m. with Western Division leader Auburn (8-3-1, 4-1 SEC). The first 500 fans at Friday's match will receive a replica jersey bottle koozie. Then Florida plays host to Alabama (9-4-1, 2-2-1 SEC) on Sunday, Oct. 21 at 1:30 p.m. (ET) and the first 1,000 fans will receive a hackey sack. Both More information about GatorVision is available at the official website of the Florida Gators' www.GatorZone.com. Match statistics and streaming audio of both matches can also be found on www.GatorZone.com.

[Last modified October 14, 2007, 22:56:40]