Coming off its first loss of the season, the NC State women’s soccer team will travel to UNC-Greensboro Wednesday for its last non-conference matchup before ACC play starts.
The Wolfpack, currently ranked No. 13 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, dropped a 2-1 match to Nebraska in Raleigh the last time out to bring State’s record to 6-1-1. Nevertheless, the Pack has still impressed in the non-conference portion of its schedule up to this point, defeating two ranked teams in South Carolina and Princeton.
In Greensboro, the Pack will be squaring off with a team that currently sits at a solid 5-1-1, good for the second best winning percentage in the Southern Conference behind Virginia Military Institute. The Spartans lone loss came in a 4-3 bout with UNC-Wilmington back in August, but the squad has put in some fine performances this season including a 2-1 win over Davidson last week and shutouts of High Point and Longwood.
Last season, Greensboro finished third in the conference, logging a record of a 11-8-3 overall and a conference record of 5-2-2.
The Spartans have returned their top two scorers from 2017 in Cienna Rideout and Emily Jensen, with Rideout leading the team in points once again this season. An All-SOCON Tournament performer last season, Rideout has connected on a team-leading four goals and one assist on nine shots in 2018.
Jensen hasn’t quite replicated her 2017 form when she recorded 12 points on five goals as she’s been held to just one goal and no assists this season in seven appearances.
Fortunately for the Wolfpack, junior midfielder Tziarra King has picked up right where she left off last season when she finished second in the ACC in goals and points with 17 and 40, respectively. She’s notched six goals and three assists on 37 shots while playing all eight games for the Pack in 2018, good for a team-leading 15 points on the year.
Before squaring off against Nebraska and surrendering two goals, the Wolfpack held opponents to just two goals combined in the previous four games and will seek to return to that form come Wednesday.
NC State owns an all-time record of 6-7-3 against the Spartans, though the last Pack win in the series came back in 1995. The last time the two schools squared off was in 2015 with UNC-Greensboro taking the 2-0 victory in Raleigh.
After its matchup with the Spartans, the Wolfpack will take on Notre Dame Sep. 16 in South Bend, Indiana when it starts its tough slate of ACC games. The Pack’s first ACC home game is scheduled for Sep. 20 against in-state foe Wake Forest.
The match against the Spartans is set to start at 1 p.m. Wednesday at UNCG Soccer Stadium in Greensboro, North Carolina.
