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SOC: Dawgs visit No. 1 FSU
Date: Thursday, August 29
Time: 7pm EDT
Location: Florida, United States.
Website: Seminole Soccer Complex (2,000)
Electricity: ACC Network Extra (Ariya Massoudi, PxP / Trevor DeGroot, Analyst)
Live statistics: StatBroadcast
IN THE SERIES
In total: Florida State leads 3-2-0
In Athens: Georgia leads 2-1-0
In Tallahassee: Florida State leads 2-0-0
Last meeting: Florida State – W, 3-1 (August 21, 2022 – Athens, Georgia)
Current series: L3
EC / GA: 8 / 10
Tallahassee Test
No. 24 Georgia, ranked No. 8 in the Top Drawer Soccer rankings, begins a Sunshine State road trip against top-ranked and defending NCAA champion Florida State on Thursday in Tallahassee. The Seminoles are the third top-10 ACC opponent this season for the Bulldogs, following previous games against No. 7 Pitt and No. 5 North Carolina. FSU enters the game riding a 25-game winning streak (24 wins, one tie), with its most recent loss coming in the 2022 College Cup semifinals against North Carolina. In three games, Florida State has outscored opponents 18-0 and allowed just 12 shots, four of which were on goal.
Thursday’s game will be the sixth meeting between Georgia and Florida State. The Bulldogs prevailed in the first two meetings in Athens (1995, 1998), followed by consecutive wins by the Seminoles in Tallahassee (1999, 2004) and a 3-1 victory in Athens in 2022. Georgia is seeking its first victory over a ranked team after falling short in its first four attempts. This is also the third straight season the Bulldogs have challenged both the No. 1 seed and the defending national champion team (2022 – FSU, 2023 – UCLA).
Shutout on Seniors Day
Georgia earned its first win of the season last Sunday with a dominant 6-0 victory over Kennesaw State. Redshirt sophomore midfielder Summer Denigan scored three goals for the Bulldogs’ first hat trick since 2018 (16th in program history), while forward Margie Detrizio scored her fifth career brace. Both goals were assisted by midfielder Nicole Vernis. In addition, freshman Sophia Brelage scored her first career goal and led the team with seven shots, while the Bulldogs’ defense limited KSU to just three shots and a corner kick, the second consecutive opponent to get just a single corner kick.
Dawg Bites
- Denigan and Detrizio’s performances marked the first game against Georgia with two multi-goal appearances since Abby Boyan and Mollie Belisle each scored a brace against Wofford on Sept. 5, 2021. Combined with Hannah White’s two goals at North Carolina, the Bulldogs scored back-to-back double-headers for the first time since games against Wofford and Presbyterian during the 2021 season.
- Detrizio’s goals came just 56 seconds apart, which is the second-fastest consecutive goals by a single player in program history. Ali Williams surpassed that feat with two goals 36 seconds apart against Georgia Southern on August 26, 2005.
- Fresh off her first career hat trick, Denigan returns to Florida State, where she began her 2022 career with three appearances, including 43 minutes against Georgia. Veteran defender Alyssa Stadeker also started as a Seminole, appearing in five games during FSU’s 2021 national championship season.
- With coach McAlpine fielding a team with many older players on Sunday, sophomore Kiera Staude came off the bench for the first time in her Georgia career, ending a 25-game starting streak. Fellow defenseman Cate Hardin now holds the longest consecutive starting streak herself with 25 games, followed by goalie Jordan Brown with 18. In addition, veteran defenseman Jessie Dunn is approaching a milestone: She is just two minutes away from breaking the 5,000-minute mark.
- Assistant coach Rade Tanaskovic will be away for the next three weeks as he coaches the United States at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia. Tanaskovic will be assisted by four Florida State players. In his absence, Sammy Towne, director of recruiting and player development, has been promoted to assistant coach.
Championship pedigree
Both Georgia head coach Keidane McAlpine and Florida State head coach Brian Pensky enter Thursday’s game with championship experience. During his tenure, McAlpine has played other title-winning coaches: the recently retired Anson Dorrance at North Carolina in 2022 and Margueritte Aozasa at UCLA in 2023. The feat was set to be repeated two weeks ago, but Pitt head coach Randy Waldrum (2004, 2010) was not coaching in Athens for personal reasons.
Strong program as always
During his first tenure in Athens, Keidane McAlpine has made it a point to challenge his team with a difficult non-conference schedule. Last season, games against UCLA, Clemson and UCF helped Georgia to a No. 7 finish in the NCAA RPI and a top-four berth in the NCAA Tournament. This year’s schedule is no different, as the team currently ranks third nationally behind opponents Florida State and North Carolina. In 2023, the Bulldogs were the only Power 5 school to play a team from each of the other four leagues. This season, they are one of five schools with that distinction, along with Texas, Iowa, Michigan and Baylor. The Bulldogs and Hawkeyes are the only two P4 institutions to play each of the other power conferences and also face one remaining Pac-12 school (Georgia-Washington State, Iowa-Oregon State).
Next
No. 24 Georgia continues its road trip with a game against UCF on Sunday, Sept. 1, at 6 p.m. in Orlando on ESPN+. Last season, the Bulldogs shocked the Knights 2-1 with two goals in the final eight minutes of play, including a 90th-minute winner by Hannah White.
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