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Nov. 21, 2006
NCAA Quarterfinal Notes | Player Bios
This is the third time in seven trips to the NCAA Tournament that
CLEMSON (11-7-5)
SERIES RECORD: Series tied 7-7-2
IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT: Clemson leads 2-0
WIN STREAK: FSU is 5-0-2 in the last seven
LAST MEETING: FSU 0 CLEM 0 (at FSU)
NCAA Berth: ACC At-Large
Clemson was the first ACC team FSU ever beat and that win came back in 1996. It was the lone bright s
Clemson is one of just two original ACC teams FSU has played in the NCAA Tournament and the Tigers have eliminated the Seminoles both times. In 2000 Clemson sent FSU home in a third round match and in 2001 the loss came in the second round of the NCAA’s. Florida State has never scored a goal versus the Tigers in the NCAA Tournament. After losing 2-0 and 1-0 in the first two seasons FSU ever was invited to the NCAA Tournament, the teams have not met in NCAA’s since 2001. When the teams meet Friday, it will be the third time they have played in the NCAA’s equaling the most games versus a team for FSU who has also faced Auburn on three occasions. FSU has not fared well in the NCAA Tournament versus current members of the ACC. On top of the two losses to Clemson, FSU also tied Boston College and was eliminated by the Eagles in the 2004 tournament. FSU has never won an NCAA Tournament game versus an ACC team and had never advanced past an ACC school in the NCAA’s until the quarterfinals last season versus North Carolina.
Florida State and Clemson faced off to conclude the regular season November 1 in Tallahassee in a 0-0 game. Since then the teams have taken different paths to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals. Since the teams ended the regular season against one another FSU has gone 4-1-1 and played in the ACC Championship while Clemson has gone 1-1-3 winning once in the ACC Tournament and tying all three of their NCAA Tournament matches. The Tigers have been outscored 5-3 in those five games while FSU has beaten its six opponents by a combined score of 13-3. The only common opponent the teams faced was North Carolina. The Tar Heels beat Clemson 3-0 in the ACC Tournament Semi-Finals and FSU lost to the Heels 2-1 in OT in the ACC Championship.
SINCE FSU & CLEMSON PLAYED
FSU CLEM
Record 4-1-1 1-1-3
Goals 13 3
GA 3 3
SO 4 2
PK Wins 1 3
Florida State may not be a grizzled veteran when it comes to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals but the Seminoles have adapted pretty well. Both times FSU has played in the quarterfinals they have advanced to the College Cup. In 2003 it was a 2-1 win over Florida and in 2005 a 1-1 tie with North Carolina before a shootout win. Entering the 2000 season the Seminoles had not been to a single NCAA Tournament. Seven years later the squad will play in its third NCAA Quarterfinal. Only one school (UCLA) has been to more quarterfinals over the last four seasons than FSU and overall just five other schools have played in three of the last four quarterfinal rounds. Three of those six schools have won a National Championship. This group of only six schools represents some of the most successful programs in the history of women’s college soccer including North Carolina, Portland, UCLA and Notre Dame among others. FSU and UNC are the only ACC schools on the list and both have made three appearances in the last four seasons. The ACC is the only conference with two schools on that list. Regionally speaking, FSU is the only southern team to make into this elite group.
Quarterfinal’s Since 2003
UCLA 4
Florida State 3
UNC 3
Santa Clara 3
Penn State 3
Notre Dame 3
SCHEDULING CONFLICT
The Seminole soccer team came into the NCAA Tournament having
Games Versus NCAA Teams
Team 1st Rnd. 2nd Rnd. 3rd Rnd. QF
North Carolina 15 12 9 6
Florida State 12 10 7 4
Clemson 10 9 6 3
Texas A&M 10 8 7 3
Penn State 10 6 6 2
Portland 5 3 3 2
UCLA 7 6 3 2
Notre Dame 10 7 0 0
NOTHING NEW
One of the reasons for Florida State’s success in the NCAA Tournament has been playing in the ACC. The conference continually proves itself to be the best in the nation and with seven of 11 teams making the NCAA Tournament and three still playing in the final eight nobody can make an argument against the ACC once again in 2006. Although one of the three ACC teams still alive will be knocked out when FSU and Clemson meet, the ACC is guaranteed a team in the final four for the 24th time in 25 years. The best case scenario will see two ACC schools advancing and the conference will make up half of the final four teams for the sixth time in ACC history. Teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference have excelled in NCAA Tournament play because of the level of competition. The ACC season is basically like playing in the NCAA Tournament. For example, when FSU takes on Clemson Friday, it will be the Seminoles 11th straight game versus a 2006 NCAA Tournament team. No other team has played even seven straight versus NCAA Tournament teams heading into the NCAA quarterfinals. Of the eight teams still remaining only three teams have played six in a row and every other team has played five or less. The three ACC schools have the three longest streaks. Not only has FSU played 11 straight versus NCAA Tournament teams they have dominated that competition. In the previous 10 games versus NCAA Tournament teams leading up to the quarterfinals FSU posted a 6-2-2 record.
Consecutive games versus
NCAA Tournament Teams
Florida State 11
Clemson 6
UNC 6
Penn State 6
Portland 5
Texas A&M 5
UCLA 4
Notre Dame 4
REPRESENTING
ESPN soccer writer Graham Hayes dubbed the 2006 NCAA Tournament’s third round the ACC Invitational and that statement holds true for the quarterfinals as well. The ACC sent three of its seven NCAA Tournament teams through to the quarterfinals, making it the only conference with more than one team still playing this week. Florida State, North Carolina and Clemson are all still alive as the ACC represents 38% of the eight teams still playing soccer this week. No other conference sent even two teams through. What’s even more impressive is the way the ACC’s teams have performed in the 2006 tournament. In the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament the ACC posted a record of 8-1-5 with the only loss coming in a match-up of ACC teams between Virginia and Wake Forest. No other conference in the entire NCAA Tournament recorded a victory versus an ACC team until the round of 16. This past weekend Texas A&M defeated Virginia 2-1 and Penn State beat Boston College 1-0. Compare that to the Big East which was tied with the ACC placing seven teams in the NCAA Tournament. Of the seven teams only Notre Dame is still alive. The Big 12 had fared very well also as three of the four teams the conference sent to the NCAA Tournament all advanced to the round of 16 but Texas A&M is the only school still alive.
16 By Conference
ACC 3
Big 12 1
Big 10 1
Pac-10 1
Big East 1
WCC 1
Florida State head coach Mark Krikorian has proven he can win anywhere and at any time but if you have to choose one time of the year to really excel it would be in November. Obviously because that is conference and NCAA Tournament time and if you are playing well in November your team is playing for a title. With Florida State’s win over Illinois Sunday Krikorian raised his record at FSU to 8-2-2 in November for a .750 winning percentage. Before he came to FSU the Seminoles were 13-15-4 in November for a .496 winning percentage. Krikorian knows how to win at the most crucial time of the year and that pre-dates Florida State. In his 12-year coaching career Krikorian is now 27-10-2 in the month of November for a .718 winning percentage. That kind of record in the most crucial month of the season goes a long way to explain Krikorian’s two National Championships, three NCAA semi-final appearances, one quarterfinal appearance and one other round of 16 appearance. In just two seasons at FSU he is more than proving his success at Franklin Pierce and Hartford translates inside the toughest conference in America. Krikorian is the first FSU coach to lead his team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals and the first to lead FSU to three or more wins in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments. If Krikorian is able to coach FSU past Clemson this Friday he will try to do something neither he nor FSU has ever done and that is win a game in December.
Krikorian in November
Franklin Pierce 7-3-0
Hartford 12-5-0
Florida State 8-2-2
The Florida State offense stole the headlines opening weekend of the 2006 NCAA Tournament but versus Illinois the Seminoles continued to do what they have done best all season and that is shut people down. FSU blanked Illinois for the team’s 14th shutout of the season as the team held the Fighting Illini to just one shot on goal. The Seminole’s have played stellar defense all season long and the team’s record number of shutouts and 0.60 GAA are proof of that. So far in the NCAA Tournament the Seminoles have allowed just one goal and recorded two shutouts in the same NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. In the team’s last nine NCAA Tournament games dating back to 2004 FSU has recorded four shutouts so the squad’s excellent defensive play in the NCAA’s is really nothing new. No team in the quarterfinals has allowed fewer goals as Florida State is one of six teams that have allowed just one goal in the first three games. Only North Carolina and UCLA have given up more than one goal in the NCAA Tournament. What is so impressive about FSU though is the job they are doing on both sides of the pitch. Of the six teams that have allowed just one goal, the Seminoles are third behind Notre Dame and Texas A&M for goal differential in the 2006 NCAA Tournament at nine. Overall, only three teams have a better goal differential than FSU as UNC is +15 and Notre Dame and Texas A&M are +10.
Doing It At Both Ends
TM GA GF DIFF SO
UNC 2 17 +15 2
Notre Dame 1 11 +10 1
Texas A&M 1 11 +10 2
FSU 1 10 +9 2
UCLA 4 12 +8 0
Portland 1 7 +6 2
Penn State 1 6 +5 2
Clemson 1 1 0 2
WAKE-UP CALL
When FSU surrendered three goals to the Blue Devils it was a low point of the season for the defense especially since all of them came in the second half. One was a late goal with Kelly Rowland playing in the net but still it was and still is the most goals allowed by the FSU defense all season. Since that game against the Blue Devils FSU has responded. In the eight games since the Duke loss FSU is 5-1-2 and has allowed just three goals in 768 minutes for a 0.35 GAA. The Seminoles have outscored teams 16-3 in that eight game span and what is so impressive about this run is the teams FSU has played. Of those eight games two came in the regular season versus NCAA Tournament teams, three came in the ACC Tournament and three others came in the NCAA Tournament. The only teams that have scored on FSU in the last eight matches are North Carolina who scored twice and Cal who got on the board after the Bears were down 3-0. During these last eight matches FSU has recorded six shutouts and scored the game’s first goal six times. The only times FSU has failed to score the first goal of the game in the last eight matches came in 0-0 ties with Clemson and Wake Forest.
SHOES ON THE OTHER FOOT
The last two games for FSU in the NCAA Tournament have been rematches from the 2005 postseason. Florida State has now ended Cal and Illinois’ seasons for the second straight year. Nobody knows their pain like the Seminoles. In Florida State’s first four NCAA Tournament trips the Seminoles were eliminated by the same team in back-to-back-years twice. In 2002 and 2003 it was Connecticut who sent FSU home. Those seasons UConn eliminated FSU in the third round (2002) and the College Cup (2003). The other team that sent FSU packing in back-to-back seasons was this week’s opponent Clemson. In both 2000 and 2001 the Tigers eliminated Florida State. This will be just the third time in seven NCAA Tournament trips that FSU will have a chance to avenge a loss that ended the team’s National Championship hopes. The previous two obviously didn’t go so well versus UConn and Clemson in 2001 and 2003 as the Seminoles were shutout in both of those games.
ROWL CALL
Kelly Rowland is leaving a legacy at Florida State that is going to be hard for any other player to touch. Her 87 consecutive starts and 93 total career starts should hold up for some time. With Sarah Wagenfuhr missing starts due to commitments with the US U-20 National Team and Katrin Schmidt missing a start in 2005 on senior night it could be a long time before anyone challenges Rowland’s start records. As a defender she holds FSU records for goals (14), assists (17) and points (45). The only defender at FSU has who has shown the ability to attack like Rowland is Katrin Schmidt but the left back is three goals and five assists short of where Rowland was through the first two seasons of her career. One area that no player will ever threaten when it comes to Rowland is her unselfishness. After three seasons establishing herself as one of the best center backs in America, Rowland has played forward and midfielder this season. She moved from a position where she had excelled for three years to a spot of need and as usual she has done nothing but play spectacularly. Since the Florida Atlantic game Rowland has played three games up top before settling in to her role as a defensive midfielder. In these 19 games she has scored four goals and assisted on two others. In this stretch she is tied with Selin Kuralay for the most game-winning goals (3) and first goals of a game (3). She is one of just five players with double digit points in these 19 games.
Not surprisingly she has been at her best when the Seminoles have needed her the most. In the 2006 NCAA Tournament she is second on the team in goals and points and she has two of FSU’s three game-winners. Coming into 2006 Rowland had never scored an NCAA Tournament game-winning goal but in three games as a senior she has already secured wins over Jacksonville and Illinois with goals. With her productive start to this year’s NCAA Tournament Rowland has moved up the career lists at Florida State. She is now second all-time in NCAA Tournament points (11), goals (4) and game-winning goals (2). Rowland is just the fourth Seminole to ever record multiple game-winning goals in an NCAA Tournament.
GWG In An NCAA Tournament
India Trotter 3 2005
Kelly Rowland 2 2006
Leah Gallegos 2 2003
Cindy Schofield 2 2002
THEY’RE SPECIAL
If there was ever any question to how special seniors India Trotter and Kelly Rowland are there are really just two categories you need to look at. What these two players have done when it comes to career starts and NCAA Tournament play is a testament to how much they have done for this program. Trotter and Rowland are first and second all-time at FSU for career starts with a combined 185. The only other Seminole to ever start 90 games was Amber Tollefson. No other FSU player has ever even started more than 83 games besides that trio. No two players in the same class have ever started more games than Trotter and Rowland who bested the record of 169 combined starts set by Tollefson and Kristin Boyce from 2000-2003. The other are where these two have been dominant is in the NCAA Tournament. Trotter and Rowland have already played in two College Cups and with a win Friday they will finish their careers in a third. The postseason success FSU has experienced the last four years has a lot to do with these two players. Trotter and Rowland are either first or second in career NCAA Tournament goals, points and game-winning goals. The pair has 26 career NCAA Tournament points, 11 goals and six game-winning goals. What they have combined to do on the biggest stage has never been done by any FSU players. No two Seminoles, regardless of the years they played, have ever combined for more than 20 points, 10 goals or five game-winners.
REGULAR SEASON NCAA TOURNEY
PLAYERS YRS STARTS PTS GLS ASSTS GLS PTS GWG
Rowland/Trotter 03-06 185 116 40 36 11 26 6
DID YOU EXPECT SOMEONE ELSE?
The 2006 NCAA Tournament is down to eight and there are very few surprises in the quarterfinals. All six of the teams with the best winning percentages in NCAA Tournament history are still playing. North Carolina, Portland, Notre Dame, UCLA, Penn State and Florida State all have NCAA Tournament winning percentages above .725 and they are all still playing. Of the eight teams remaining six are seeded and one of the two unseeded teams is defending National Champion Portland. The other unseeded team is Clemson who FSU will face Friday. The teams in the 2006 quarterfinals have been perennial powers in the women’s game. This group has combined to make 18 trips to the College Cup this decade. The only team not to advance to the semi-finals at least once since 2000 is Clemson and they are just one win away from joining that group. North Carolina, Portland, Notre Dame and UCLA have all played in the championship game and all of those teams except for UCLA have captured a title this decade.
ARE YOU EXPERIENCED?
When Florida State played Florida in Gainesville in the quarterfinals of the 2003 NCAA Tournament the team really had no idea what to expect. It was just the third time FSU had played in an NCAA Tournament and the Seminoles handled being just one game away from the College Cup pretty well defeating the Gators in Gainesville. Three years later it is a completely different story. The Seminoles will enter Friday’s game with Clemson with seven players who have started a NCAA Tournament Quarterfinal match and two others, Kelly Rowland and India Trotter, who have started two in their careers. Eight of FSU’s 11 starters Friday will have experience starting in last year’s quarterfinal match versus North Carolina. The only players who may possibly start who did not play in last year’s NCAA Tournament game are Becky Edwards, Onnie Trusty, Kirsten van de Ven, Toby Ranck or Iraia Iturregi. Only two of those players are freshmen and Toby Ranck has played in a College Cup in 2003.
One of the biggest question marks surrounding the Seminoles entering the 2006 NCAA Tournament centered on the team’s offense. FSU scored just 28 regular season goals, the second-lowest total in the history of the program. If the 2006 NCAA Tournament is any indication, those troubles are a thing of the past. With 10 goals in the first three games, FSU has scored more goals so far than the team did in all five matches on its run to the College Cup last year. The nine goals FSU scored in two games opening weekend were more than the team had scored in the previous eight games combined coming into postseason play. It all started with a school postseason record six goals versus Jacksonville and then continued to roll with three more versus Cal, all of which were scored in the first 27 minutes of that match. The Seminoles offensive outburst is a positive sign. The last time FSU scored nine or more goals in any NCAA Tournament was in 2003 and that team ended up playing in the College Cup. Something can be said for scoring early building confidence. Versus Jacksonville FSU scored the quickest NCAA Tournament goal in school history and then followed with five more over the course of the match. Versus Cal, Florida State tallied three goals in the first 27 minutes of that match and cruised to another win. Overall, in three NCAA Tournament games the Seminoles have scored eight first half goals of which six have come before the clock reached 30:00.
When it came time to move into the NCAA Tournament the Seminoles turned to their most reliable offensive players and they delivered. Florida State’s top two scorers over the last two seasons both stepped up their games opening weekend and even more specifically versus Cal.
Since
As remarkable as those numbers are over a two-year stretch, they are even more amazing this season. Florida State is 10-0-2 this year at home and the reasons for that success are numerous. First, FSU has scored six times as many goals that their opponents at home this year. The Seminoles have outscored teams 24-4 at the Seminole Soccer Complex in 2006. FSU takes more than three shots for every one shot an opponent takes (295-88) and has three times as many corner kicks. The Seminoles’ defense is another huge reason for the success. FSU has a home GAA of just 0.34 this season and seven shutouts. Those are phenomenal numbers considering Portland, Florida, Virginia, Illinois, Cal and Clemson are among the teams that played in Tallahassee this season. In 2006, of the four goals FSU has allowed three have been unassisted as the backline is just not allowing opponents to break them down, which is just another sign of how good the defense is at home.
FSU AT HOME (05-06)
FSU OPP
Record 19-1-2 1-19-2
Goals 56 13
Shots 504 160
SOG 205 62
CK 143 44
SO 12 2
GAA 0.58 2.48
If you are a believer in signs, here is one to look for Friday. Florida State has never lost an NCAA Tournament game in which they have scored a goal. All five of FSU’s NCAA Tournament losses have been shutouts for their opponents. FSU’s five shutout losses in the NCAA Tournament have come versus Clemson (2), UConn (2) and UCLA. The Tigers blanked FSU in 2000 and 2001. The Huskies recorded clean sheets against the Seminoles in 2002 and 2003. In 2005 it was UCLA in the College Cup. In 2004 BC kept FSU off the board in a 0-0 tie in which the Eagles advanced on PK’s. While scoring seems obvious in correlation to winning, it isn’t as closely related as one may think. All-time, FSU is just 25-36-7 in games where the team has scored one goal for a .419 winning percentage so that fact FSU has never lost when scoring a goal in the NCAA Tournament is a big improvement. The stat is a little misleading though. In FSU’s 15 NCAA Tournament wins, 13 of the victories have come when FSU has scored two or more goals. The only times Florida State scored just one goal in a postseason game was in a 1-0 win over Auburn in 2001 and a 1-1 tie with North Carolina last year.
