Penn State To Play For National Title.
Florida State (20-4-0) saw its season come to a close in San Diego as the Seminoles fell to Penn State (21-3-2) 2-1 in overtime in the first semifinal of the 2012 College Cup inside Torero Stadium on the campus of the University of San Diego.
Trailing by a goal until the final minute of regulation, Florida State found the equalizer with 41 seconds left to play in the game when Tiffany McCarty headed in a cross from Kristin Grubka that trickled inside of the left netting to even the score at 1-1 and force overtime.
The goal was the second latest game-tying goal in school history coming just five seconds shy of the record set by Tori Huster when she forced overtime at Virginia in 2011.
After battling for possession of the ball with two Nittany Lion players along the right sideline, Grubka gained control and dribbled toward the goal before lofting a cross into the middle of the box. McCarty was on the receiving end of the cross flicking a header inside the left post for the score. The goal was McCarty’s team leading 17th of the season and 10th in the last seven games.
Penn State answered right back with the game-winner just a minute and 12 seconds into the first overtime when Christine Nairn found the back of the net for the golden goal sending the Nittany Lions into Sunday’s championship game.
The loss was the first for the Seminoles in eight overtime appearances in the NCAA Tournament as FSU fell to 5-1-2 all-time.
The loss put a close to an outstanding season for the Seminoles, who finished the year tying a school record with 20 wins. It also brought to a close the career of seven outstanding seniors which included McCarty, Jessica Price, Casey Short, Tiana Brockway, Ines Jaurena, Taylor Vancil and Dria Hampton.
Jaurena and Short paced a defense that ranked nationally in shutout percentage and goals against average all season long. McCarty will leave as the school record holder in 12 offensive categories including points (150) and goals scored (63).
Price will leave as the all-time assist leader in FSU history with 35, while Brockway ranks in the top 10 in game appearances and starts with 95 and 94, respectively. As a whole, this year’s senior class posted a career record of 90-25-6 and will leave Florida State with two ACC regular season titles, an ACC Tournament championship and two College Cup appearances.