Under the bright lights of Dail Soccer Stadium, N.C . State (1-0, 0-0 ACC) took down VCU (0-1, 0-0 CAA ) by the score of 1-0 on Friday night. Senior forward Tanya Cain notched the lone goal of the match in the 27th minute after Julia Sandridge and Megan Proper were able to take advantage of an out-of-rhythm sequence.
“It was a broken play, but just like coach says, we never stop,” Cain said. “At first I think we both thought we were offside, but nothing was called. She just kept going, so we kept on playing. Julia [ Sandridge ] was able to get the ball into [Megan] Proper, and she was the one who crossed it over.”
Cain, a Pinebluff native who has seen the Wolfpack’s soccer home transform dramatically over the past three and a half years, led State with four shots on the night. Donning black uniforms for the first time in program history, the home town team put on a dynamic offensive exhibition in the first half for the weekend crowd.
“We’ve never played in a place like this,” Cain said. “Just looking at the stadium, it’s pretty amazing. Being here urges you to compete and I believe that’s what we did tonight.”
Although six seniors lead the 2011 Pack, the offensive creativity from a handful of freshmen dazzled the crowd on many occasions. One of those freshman who received preseason praise from Coach Steve Springthorpe , Raleigh native Stephanie Bronson, produced some first half scoring chances.
“You just have to make runs and be ahead of time,” Bronson said. “If you don’t stand in one spot, you’ll eventually get the ball and be able to score.
Out of the seven freshmen who received playing time on Friday night, Bronson led the way with three shots. The Leesville Road graduate said playing in her first official collegiate match alongside her fellow classmates was an absolute thrill.
“We had a lot of fans out here tonight and it was really exciting,” Bronson said. “[All the freshmen] pretty much get along. I’m actually rooming with Shelli [ Spamer ]. We’re losing a lot of people, and that will hurt us, but we are also bringing in a lot of good freshmen.”
In his third year as the Wolfpack head man, Springthorpe said he was proud of his team’s effort despite giving up four late scoring opportunities to VCU .
“It got a little hectic there at the end of the game,” Springthorpe said. “When you’re trying to keep a one goal lead, you get very defensive, the other team is pushing and it gets very direct towards the last 15 to 20 minutes. Credit VCU for changing some things around and making it very tough on us, but I’m very proud of our girls.
“The players that had to come up big, did.”
In the theme of players stepping up to fill major roles, Springthorpe said the play of his freshmen was a testament to the whole team pushing each other forward during preseason.
“They played a lot,” Springthorpe said. “They’re very talented and have worked extremely hard this preseason. The reality for us is that it is a team game. A lot of players played well for us tonight, and even the players that didn’t get a chance to get in have worked hard at practice. They’ve challenged the players who were out there today.”
With Navy arriving into Raleigh on Sunday, Springthorpe said there would be some adjustments to be made. Old Dominion and LSU will finish off the homestand before State heads off to Pennsylvania on September 2.
“In a game like this, it’s our first competitive match,” Springthorpe said. “We’re going to take a lot from it, we’re going to watch film, we’re going to see where we broke down, we’re going to see where we are at defensively and we’ll check the fitness level of our team. We’ve got three great games coming up, and maybe we just keep on rolling.
“All it takes is one goal and a shutout, and you can win.”
