Coming off an impressive three-game stretch in which it defeated No. 20 Princeton, No. 10 South Carolina and Penn, the No. 13 NC State women’s soccer team will return home to take on George Washington this Thursday.
The Wolfpack has opened up the 2018 season undefeated and sits at 5-0-1, with its lone draw coming in a contest in which the Pack outplayed ECU but failed to find a decisive goal.
Nevertheless, NC State has gotten off to as good of a start as it could have hoped for while facing a relatively tough slate of opponents. This trend will continue against the Colonials, who have garnered a winning record every season since 2013 and own a mark of 4-1-0 this year, with their only loss being to a Georgetown team that qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Colonials success can be credited, in part, to midfielder Sofia Pavon. A first team All-Atlantic 10 selection last season, Pavon led George Washington to a 10-5-4 record in 2017 and a fifth-place conference finish, notching eight goals and two assists. Pavon has logged five points this season, good for second-best on the squad.
George Washington’s goalkeeper Anna Tapen has been solid thus far as well. She’s allowed only three goals while playing every minute of the team’s five matches up until this point.
For the Wolfpack, junior midfielder Tziarra King will lead the way. An All-ACC first team selection last season, she’s continued her stellar play into 2018, connecting on a team-high five goals to go along with two assists on 30 shots. Last season, King finished the year with an astounding 40 points and 17 goals while garnering a bevy of awards and recognitions.
Wolfpack head coach Tim Santoro will also benefit from the return of sophomore defender Lulu Guttenberger. The Germany native had been out of the lineup until this past weekend when she played nearly the entire match against Penn and 31 minutes against Princeton.
An ACC All-Freshman team selection in 2017, Guttenberger’s return is a welcome development for the Pack’s defensive line and will be a major factor in keeping Pavon in check.
The Wolfpack is undefeated against the Colonials all-time and owns a record of 5-0-1 against the D.C.-area school, although the last meeting between the two teams came back in 1993 when NC State earned a 1-0 victory.
After George Washington, the Wolfpack will have two more matches before a tough slate of conference games start. The team will take on Nebraska at home and then travel to UNC-Greensboro before heading to South Bend, Indiana to match up with Notre Dame in the Pack’s ACC opener.
Building off the success of the past two seasons, in which it qualified for the NCAA Tournament twice, including a trip to the Sweet Sixteen in 2016, NC State has more than taken care of business to start the year, an encouraging sign to the Wolfpack faithful.
The match is set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Dail Soccer Stadium.
