Senior forward Rachel Hill drives past a defender during the Huskies victory over Pacific on Friday, Sept. 2. (Tyler Benton/The Daily Campus)
The offense was once again scarce as the UConn women’s soccer team was shut out by No. 1 Florida State by a score of 3-0 in Tallahassee.
The Seminoles (4-1-0) played their first home game of the season Thursday night and, after suffering a road loss to South Alabama, were playing with a vengeance.
The first half was mostly uneventful until the final minutes. Eight shots and nearly 44 minutes later, the Seminoles jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a goal from sophomore Kaycie Tillman, her first goal of the season.
UConn (5-2-0) was unable to create any chances for themselves, generating only two shots, none of them on goal. Around the 31st minute, head coach Len Tsantiris made three substitutions, but they ultimately proved to be unhelpful, as the Huskies were not able to get any shots from the subs.
The start of the second half was much more eventful. Feeding off the late goal in the first half, the Seminoles came out of the gate strong, netting their second goal of the game 20 minutes into the second half.
Just three minutes later, Venezuelan freshman sensation Deyna Castellanos scored the third goal of the game and her fourth of the season, virtually sealing the deal for Florida State.
Castellanos participated as a member of the Venezuelan U-17 national team, helping them win the 2016 South American U-17 Women’s Football Championship, earning the Golden Boot and MVP awards.
While the FSU offense stole the spotlight, the defense played a huge part by keeping the Huskies offense in check. They did not allow them to take a shot in the second half until the 71st minute.
UConn amassed only six total shots, only one of them coming on goal in the 86th minute from Rachel Hill. For a team that generally takes double-digit shots every single game, the lack of shots was truly a testament to the strength of the FSU defense.
Additionally, while no goals were scored off of them, corner kicks continue to be a prevalent issue for the Huskies. FSU launched a total of eight corner kicks, including seven in the first half. Granted, the Huskies were able to limit the damage in the second half, but the number of corners allowed is not an issue that can be ignored at this point.
The Huskies return home to play Stony Brook on Sunday. Kickoff is at 2 p.m.
Stephanie Sheehan is associate managing editor for The Daily Campus. She can be reached via email at stephanie.sheehan@uconn.edu. She tweets @steph_sheehan.