Florida State Reaches Women's College Cup Final
CARY, N.C. (AP) — Jamia Fields led Florida State to the NCAA Women's College Cup final, scoring twice in the second half in the Seminoles' 3-2 victory over Virginia Tech on Friday night.
Florida State (23-1-3) will face the winner of the second semifinal between UCLA and Virginia.
Fields gave Florida State a 2-1 lead in the 57th minute and snapped a 2-2 tie in the 83rd minute to help the Seminoles (23-1-3) reach the championship game for the second time in program history.
"It was one heck of a battle, and sometimes in this game you have to have a little bit of luck,"Florida State coach Mark Krikorian said. "One of the words that defines our season is 'perseverance,' and I think we showed that again today and were able to find a way to win the game."
Kristin Grubka also scored for Florida State.
Ashley Manning and Ashley Meier scored for the Hokies (19-5-3), who lost for the third time this season to the Seminoles.
Fields scored the winning goal on a lofted shot from the right flank from outside the box. Virginia Tech goalkeeper Dayle Colpitts tracked the ball as it approached the net, leaping to try to save it. The ball hit off the left post, deflected off Colpitts and trickled across the goal line.
"I didn't want it to go off post and hit her, but I'm always going for the goal," Fields said. "I knew we had to get a goal to win, so that's what I did."
Colpitts said she thought the ball was a cross, not a shot, when it left Fields' foot.
"It was obviously a tricky ball," Colpitts said. "It went off my hand, off the post, off me, back in, off everything and back in. It's unfortunate, and I'm disappointed with it."
Two shots by Jazmine Reeves bounced off the goal frame in the second half for Virginia Tech.
Reeves hit the left post midway through the second half and fired a shot off the crossbar with just more than a minute to play.
"You can't get much closer than that, I guess," Reeves said. "I had a couple of chances, and I tried to put them away. Unfortunately, I didn't. It didn't fall for us today, but that's all right. That's how the game goes sometimes."
Fields gave Florida State a 2-1 lead with her first goal.
Megan Campbell launched a long throw down the left sideline and over the heads of Virginia Tech defenders. Dagny Brynjarsdottir ran down the ball for Florida State and sent a cross through the box from left to right. The pass arrived on time for Fields as she streaked toward the goal, and she one-timed the ball into the net.
The Hokies tied it on Meier's goal in the 79th minute. She took a pass from Manning down the left flank and beat goalkeeper Kelsey Wys with a left-footed shot.
Virginia Tech opened the scoring on Manning's goal in the 32nd minute. Florida State countered just before halftime on Grubka's diving header off Marta Bakowska-Mathews' free kick.
"Getting to the final four wasn't our goal," Fields said. "We want to win the next game, and I'm glad we won today."
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