Florida State football head coach Brian Pensky talks about the 2024 season
Florida State football head coach Brian Pensky talks about the 2024 season and the U-20 World Cup
The No. 1 Florida State football team began its national championship defense with a convincing 5-0 win at South Florida on Thursday night. Taylor Huff dished out three assists, matching her career high in a game, and FSU scored in its 35th consecutive game, breaking a program record.
The game started with good chances on both sides, but Jordynn Dudley’s shot went just wide while Addie Todd was forced into her first collegiate save. The Seminoles scored their first goal of the season on an incredible cross from Mimi Van Zanten that deflected off the right post and into the net. Van Zanten scored her second career goal, her first since the last-second equalizer at North Carolina last season.
FSU doubled its lead after a USF defensive error allowed Jordynn Dudley to score the final goal in the first half, opening her 2024 goal tally. Dudley has scored in the last three games since the College Cup semifinals, scoring her 15th career goal.
More differences came in the second half as Huff provided her second assist to Giana Riley, who scored her first goal as a Seminole with a powerful shot past the goalkeeper, while Dudley made a nice cross for Marianyela Jiménez, who scored the game’s fourth goal.
Freshman Taylor Suarez scored the final goal on a high-flying cross from Ran Iwai that went past the goalkeeper at the near post to score in her first collegiate game. Florida State has won its last 16 season-opening games, outscoring its opponents 41-4.
Florida State returns to Tallahassee for its home game against North Florida on Sunday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. and can be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
