Florida State Shuts Out Auburn 3-0
Mami Yamaguchi and Erika Sutton each register a goal and an assist in the win.

9/16/07

Tallahassee, Fla. – No. 12 Florida State (4-2-0) posted its third consecutive shutout at home with a 3-0 victory over the Auburn Tigers (2-2-1) Saturday evening in front of 1,003 fans at the Seminole Soccer Complex. With the win, the Seminoles ran their home unbeaten streak to 23 games (21-0-2) and have now outscored their opponents 21-0 through the first three games at home this year. Mami Yamaguchi and Erika Sutton each tallied a goal and an assist in the win, while Erin McNulty recorded her first collegiate shutout.

“I thought it was a very solid defending performance from start to end,” said head coach Mark Krikorian. “We limited their opportunities in our end. It was pretty good performance for a young team against a worthy opponent in Auburn.”

The Seminoles converted on a Tiger turnover deep in the zone in the ninth minute to take an early 1-0 lead. Sutton sent a cross into the box where Yamaguchi was there to place a header shot from close range into the lower left side just beating Auburn goalkeeper Allison Whitworth with a diving attempt. The goal was Yamaguchi’s team leading ninth of the season. Freshman Sanna Talonen was also credited with an assist on the play, her second of the season.

“My goal tonight was to work hard the whole time,” said Sutton. “I was trying to set people up especially our forwards to try and finish some goals. Mami made those runs tonight which made it easier to find her.”

Florida State made it 2-0 in the 40th minute as Marissa Kazbour tallied her second goal of the season. The freshman from Valrico, Fla., gathered a deflection off the Tiger defense on the left side of the box and fired a cross into the lower right side to give the Seminoles a two goal lead right before halftime.

The Garnet and Gold controlled the offensive flow of the game in the first 45 minutes taking eight shots with six going on goal. The Seminole defensive unit of Katrin Schmidt, Lauren Switzer, Libby Gianeskis and Becky Edwards frustrated the Tigers holding them without a shot in the first half. Auburn would finally tally its first shot of the game in the 54th minute when Becca Howell slipped in behind the Seminole defense and ripped a shot that went wide of the net.

“We did a really good job in moving the ball tonight,” said Gianeskis. “We were really connecting in the final third and I think that really gave us the flow to keep the ball in our possession.”

Auburn got a great scoring opportunity in the 60th minute but couldn’t convert on a loose ball inside the Florida State box. The ball seemed to carom around until the Tigers’ Kara Kasten was able to get a good look but her shot was blocked by Sarah Wagenfuhr and played out by the Seminole defense.

In the 63rd minute, Katrin Schmidt was fouled outside the box as she attempted a move down the left side of the pitch. Yamaguchi took the free kick from about eight yards out and bent a nice ball toward the far post where Sutton came charging in with a well placed header into the upper right corner for a 3-0 Florida State advantage.

“I knew Mami was going to bend a perfect ball back post, so I ran back post and it came my way,” explain Sutton. “I nudged it into the back of the net.”

Yamaguchi and Sutton lead all players with four shots a piece. The Seminoles finished the game out shooting the Tigers 17-5, while maintaining the advantage in corner kicks at 6-0.

“We know Auburn is a good team,” added Krikorian. “Our defending was good, our attack was good. We had a lot of variety in our attack and were able to create a lot of dangerous situations in that we scored three goals. But, overall I would say it was a pretty good performance.”

McNulty played all 90 minutes in posting her first shutout of the season. On the other side, Whitworth made six saves for the Tigers in the loss.

Florida State will next face North Florida at the Seminole Soccer Complex on Tuesday, September 18 at 7:00 pm. Fans can follow all the action over the Internet. Gametracker will be available for the contest along with a live broadcast of the game on ACC Select. If you missed the action from tonight’s game against Auburn, you can catch the game in its entirety On Demand at ACC Select.