After the Florida State Seminoles racked up five goals against Ole Miss on Friday night in Tallahassee, the Rebels’ season ended in defeat during the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels finished this season with a 10-7-3 record and marked the program’s third NCAA Tournament appearance in the last five seasons.
The Rebels fell behind early when Seminole forward Deyna Castellanos scored four minutes into the first half, giving Florida State a quick lead. With the assist from midfielder Clara Robbins, Castellanos scored after applying the slightest of touches to a cross from Robbins to send the ball into the back of the net.
Down a goal just minutes into the game, Ole Miss kept its focus and was able to find space on the counter-attack. However, the Rebels were unable to connect the ball to the net to put themselves on the board.
Castellanos led Florida State to strike again 28 minutes into the first half. After dribbling past multiple defenders, the Venezuelan sophomore took a gap inside the 18-yard box to deliver a shot that gave Rebel goalie Marnie Merritt no chance at making a save and brought the score to 2-0.
The Rebels continued pushing but were unable to break through and headed into the locker room with the Seminoles in the lead at halftime.
With both sides coming out of the locker room ready to fight, the action was fairly even to start the second half. Halfway through the period, the Seminoles were able to string together a number of passes and break down the Rebels’ defense. This time, Dallas Dorosy bagged a goal and put Florida State up 3 points.
Just five minutes later, Ole Miss turned the ball over, and the Seminoles quickly made it pay for the mistake. Megan Connolly found Kaycie Tillman in front of goal with a wide-open net at her disposal.
Shortly after the fourth goal, Seminole Gabby Carle put the final touches on things for Florida State, scoring off of a set piece to make the lead 5-0 for the Seminoles. Anna Patten’s direct free kick rebounded off the post and fell right at the feet of Carle, who had a simple tap-in for the finish.
Ole Miss, who only had seven shots with two shots on goal, was ultimately outshot and outscored by Florida State throughout the game. The Seminoles had 19 shots and 12 shots on goal.
With the Ole Miss season coming to a close, Courtney Carroll, Bella Fiorenzo, Danielle Gray and Liza Harbin end their careers as Rebels.
Florida State, who has added another win to its series record of 5-0-1 over the Rebels, has knocked Ole Miss out of the NCAA Tournament twice in the past, in 2003 and 2013. The Seminoles will continue on in the tournament, playing the University of Arizona in the second round.
