TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The top-seeded Florida State soccer team (14-2-3) hosts eighth-seeded LSU (10-3-7) on Friday at 5:30 p.m. for the second round of the NCAA Soccer Tournament. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and follow fourth-seeded Pitt against fifth-seeded Georgetown.
Florida State advanced to the second round after defeating Florida Gulf Coast 3-0. The Seminoles dominated the game, outshooting FGCU 26-4 while holding on to possession of the ball 74 percent of the game. LSU advanced after defeating Lamar 3-1.
The Seminoles and the Tigers have faced off four times in soccer leading into Friday’s meeting. Florida State is 2-1-1 against LSU in the four meetings, with the last one coming in 2007. The 2007 meeting was in the second round of the NCAA Tournament as well and saw the Seminoles win 4-0.
Florida State heads into the second round of the NCAA Tournament on a five-game unbeaten streak, including a 1-0 win over No. 20 Pitt and a 2-1 win over No. 2 North Carolina in the ACC Championship game. FSU is 19-2 all-time in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
In their last 12 NCAA Tournament games, the Garnet and Gold have recorded nine shutouts and have an 11-1 record, including a win in last year’s National Title match.
For all the success that Florida State has seen in the NCAA postseason, the Seminole Soccer Complex has been a place where that success is nearly guaranteed. Overall, FSU has posted a 52-2-1 record in the NCAA Tournament at home, winning every postseason game in Tallahassee, other than a 2-0 loss to Notre Dame in the quarterfinals of the 2009 tournament, a 1-1 draw to USC in 2018 before triumphing 5-4 in penalty kicks and a 4-0 loss to UCLA in 2019.
The Noles have outscored their opponents 156-22 at home in those 55 matches, including a cumulative score of 103-12 over the last 36 games, dating back to 2010.
Florida State entered the NCAA Tournament as the overall number one seed. This is the 11th time in school history the Seminoles have been named a No. 1 seed and the fifth straight season. It is also the 18th straight season and 19th time overall that Florida State received a national seed to the NCAA Tournament.
