Junior Sabrino Toole makes a play during UConn’s 1-0 win over Pacific at Morronne Stadium. (Tyler Benton/The Daily Campus)
This week UConn will travel down south to take on the No. 1 team in the country, Florida State.
The Huskies (5-1) are ranked No. 17 in the country after back-to-back wins at home this weekend.
“This weekend will be interesting, we like to face good teams,” said head coach Len Tsantiris.
The Seminoles (3-1) lead the all time series 3-2-0 and won the last time the two teams met in 2014. FSU won 3-2 that day, getting the win at Morrone Stadium. UConn also lost to the Noles back in the 2007 NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
UConn is playing FSU at just the right time, as they are coming off their first loss of the year to South Alabama.
FSU will have lots of support this weekend as it is the team’s home opener at the Seminole Soccer Complex. The match against the Huskies kicks off a six game homestand for the Noles.
Deyna Castellanos, is a player UConn will need to be wary of. The freshman leads her team in points with six which includes three goals and three assists in just four games.
The Seminoles also have one of the best defenses around. They started the year with three shutouts and have only let in one goal overall.
Senior Rachel Hill and redshirt senior Stephanie Ribeiro will need to link up as they have all season. Between the two, the duo has seven goals and four assists so far this season, which means they have scored 87 percent of the team’s goals.
Despite playing one of the best teams in the country, the season is still very young and Tsantiris is still figuring out the team’s best lineup.
“We still don’t know the wide players. Tanya has been playing well, but we need to figure out the other side,” Tsantiris said.
So far this season Tsantiris has tried a wide variety of players in that position, including Danielle Gottwik and Shay Nakahira.
In addition to possibly beating the No. 1 team in the country, if the Huskies win it will be Tsantiris’ 550th career win. Tsantiris has been at the helm of the women’s soccer team for 36 years and boasts an all-time record of 549-190-55.
Antonio Salazar is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. He can be reached via email at antonio.salazr@uconn.edu.