Facing the No. 2 team in the country, the South Carolina women’s soccer team’s impressive postseason run came to an end with a 5-0 loss to No. 1 seed Florida State in the Elite 8 on Friday in Tallahassee.
The Seminoles controlled the flow of the game, and had many more scoring chances than the Gamecocks (14-6-5).
Florida State opened up the scoring in the 32nd minute with a goal by forward Berglind Thorvaldsdottir.
The goal marked the first score given up by the Gamecocks in over 342 minutes of play.
South Carolina was outshot 17-8 by Florida State while the Seminoles also took 11 corner kicks.
Florida State midfielder Jamia Fields scored her first of two goals with less than three minutes left in the first half to put the Seminoles up by two goals.
Things only got worse for South Carolina head coach Shelley Smith’s team with Florida State scoring three goals within the first 16 minutes of the second half as Fields struck again while Florida State forward Cheyna Williams scored a pair of goals.
The Gamecocks were once again without starting goalkeeper Sabrina D’Angelo who suffered an arm injury in practice over a week ago.
Freshman goalkeeper Abbey Crider made her third straight start in goal for South Carolina, giving up five scores after shutting out Seattle and second seed North Carolina last weekend.
D’Angelo made one last appearance as a Gamecock, entering the game as a field player with six minutes remaining.
The Gamecocks’ appearance in the Elite 8 marks the furthest the program has ever gone in the NCAA Tournament.