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MCLA: FSU Grabs SELC Southeast Title with Weekend Sweep of USF & UF

  via FLN Special Correspondent Anthony Cicio   Tallahassee, FL — Florida State locked up the #1 seed in the SELC Southeast Division this past weekend with back-to-back wins over South Florida and Florida. FSU defeated USF and UF by scores of 23-2 and 14-10, respectively. They improved their record to 10-3 on the season and finished 5-0 in divisional play. On Friday night, Florida State jumped out to a 10-0 lead after the first quarter, paced by four goals from Davis Goodman. Senior Dawson Allen added two as well. The Seminole offense poured on 10 more in the second quarter, extending their lead to 20-0 at the halftime break. USF got on the board in the 3rd quarter with a goal by Chandler Bernard. Stavros Neocleouos added two for the Noles, making the score 22-1 headed into the final frame. FSU and USF added a goal a piece in the fourth quarter, making the score 23-2 as time expired. Tanner Krul and Max Adam combined to go 17 for 24 at the X, giving the Seminoles a 70% success rate on face offs. Defensively, goalies Steven Grove and Kenny Russell added four and two saves, respectively. The USF Bulls finished their season with a record of 3-7.     On Saturday evening, the Florida Gators came to Tallahassee with the SELC Southeast title on the line. Both teams boasted 4-0 records within the division, meaning the winner would come out with the #1 seed headed into the SELC Conference tournament. Florida State’s offense came out firing on all cylinders, scoring the first three scores of the game before UF burned a timeout to regroup. The goals were scored by Davis Crayner, Reid Smith, and Sean Monahan. Both teams traded goals back and forth in the final six minutes of the quarter. The scoreboard read 5-3 in favor of the Seminoles after the first frame. Defensive midfielder Noah Dearman opened the second quarter scoring after a ground ball off the face off. The sophomore scooped the ball and ran the length of the field before sticking a shot top shelf from eight yards out. Moments later, during a settled possesion, senior Dawson Allen found fellow attackman Davis Goodman with a behind the back pass. Goodman found twine from ten yards to extend the Seminoles lead. UF answered with two goals of their own, making the score 7-5 with six minutes remaining in the quarter. Sophomore Kyle Wooten scored back to back left handed rips before Gator midfielder Max Gravenstine went low to high with six seconds left in the half. It was one of his four goals on the evening. The Seminoles remained ahead 9-6 at the half. Max Adams surged at the face off X in the second half for Florida State. The freshman face off specialist won 17 of his 26 draws, giving him a 65.6% success rate on the night. Dearman continued his dominant play in between the lines, adding five second half ground balls. Goals by Wooten, Smith and Josh Marmetshcke gave the Seminoles a comfortable 12-8 lead headed into the final quarter of play. Senior goalkeeper Anthony Cicio added 14 saves to the Noles defensive effort. His Gator counterpart, Paul Cundiff, registered seven stops on the evening. Both teams scored two goals in an uneventful final period of play. The scoreboard read 14-10 as time expired, giving the Seminoles their sixth win over the Gators in as many years. The victory gave FSU (10-3) the #1 seed headed into the SELC tournament. They will face the Clemson Tigers (13-2) Friday evening in Atlanta at 8:00pm at Alpharetta High School. The Gators (11-4) drew the #2 seed and will play the University of South Carolina (14-0) who just finished their undefeated regular season.     Individual Statistics:   FSU– Goodman (2g, 3a) Allen (0g, 5a) Wooten (4g, 0a) Smith (3g, 1a) Marmetschke (1g, 0a) Dearman (1g, 0a) Crayner (1g, 0a) Monahan (1g, 0a) Lowdermilk (1g, 0a) Cicio (14 S, 10 GA)   UF– Gravenstine (4g, 2a) Khalil (3g, 2a) Clark (2g, 0a) Salazar (1g, 1a) Cundiff (7 S, 14 GA)    

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