Coming off a 6-0 trouncing of Pittsburgh to secure its first ACC win of the season, the No. 21 NC State women’s soccer team will have another conference test on its hands when it takes on No. 15 Duke Thursday in Raleigh.
The Wolfpack (8-2-1, 1-1-0) and the Blue Devils (8-2-1, 2-0-1) sport identical overall records and are both ranked in the polls, making this a critical midseason test for both squads.
After a 2-0 setback to open conference play against Wake Forest, the Wolfpack responded nicely in its win against Pittsburgh. After sitting out all of last year with an injury, junior Michaella Van Maanen found the back of the net twice in that match for her first and second goals of the season. Fellow junior midfielder Ricci Walkling matched her teammate’s goal total, scoring twice and adding an assist.
While the victory against the Panthers was an encouraging sign for head coach Tim Santoro’s squad, the Pack will have to be prepared for a much tougher opponent when Duke comes to town.
The Blue Devils are coming off a narrow 2-1 loss to No. 6 Virginia, but have already picked up their first two conference wins in convincing fashion against Miami and Syracuse, shutting both teams out while combining for six goals across those two matches.
Forward Kayla McCoy is impressing in her last season as a Blue Devil and may present a problem for the Pack with her ability to create opportunities for her teammates and herself. She’s picked up right where she left off last season when she logged 35 points, leading the team in 2018 with 13 points on four goals and five assists in 11 games.
Opponents are scoring just 0.55 goals per game on Duke, with the loss to Virginia being the only time a team has put up more than one goal on the Blue Devils.
The Wolfpack, comparatively, has only surrendered eight goals across 11 matches thanks to the play of senior goalkeeper Sydney Wootten. While seeing every minute in goal this season, the San Diego native has accumulated a goals against average of just 0.70 while making 31 saves.
NC State also ranks fourth in the conference with 6.00 points per game, thanks to the contributions of junior midfielder Tziarra King, junior forward Kia Rankin and Walkling. King leads the team with 15 points while Rankin is second with nine points on the season.
Last season, NC State fell to the Blue Devils 2-0 away from home, and the Wolfpack will be looking for its first win against Duke since 2000 when it came away with a 3-1 victory in Durham. It’ll be a tough task, but the Wolfpack has certainly shown that it is capable of competing with the best teams in the nation, evidenced by victories over ranked squads in South Carolina and Princeton.
The match is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. at Dail Soccer Stadium.
