The NC State women’s soccer team shocked the Minnesota Gophers in the first round of the NCAA women’s soccer championship in St. Paul, Minnesota Saturday night. In a blisteringly cold match, the Wolfpack defeated the Gophers in penalty kicks, 4-2.
NC State (10-8-1) played the underdog role against Minnesota, (16-3-3) which had been granted a No. 4 seed in the tournament. The Pack held its own against the Gophers for an extra 30 minutes after regular time ended in a scoreless draw, taking the game all the way to penalty kicks.
Overtime held numerous chances for both teams to break the stalemate, but neither could put a goal away. Freshman Ricarda Walkling had a shot saved in the first half of overtime, and Minnesota countered with a shot of it’s own, which sophomore goalkeeper Sydney Wootten saved.
After 120 minutes had commenced with no score, the game went to penalties. Under the frigid lights of Elizabeth Lyle Robbie Stadium, five Wolfpack players were picked by head coach Tim Santoro to decide the team’s fate.
After Minnesota converted its first attempt, sophomore Taylor Porter evened the score at 1-1.
In the second set, Wootten came up big for the Pack, saving the Gopher’s strike. Freshman Tziarra King converted her attempt and put the Pack ahead, 2-1.
The third set saw both sides convert once again, this time for NC State it was sophomore Hannah Keogh who took the kick.
After Minnesota’s fourth attempt was once again saved by Wootten, the Wolfpack converted to finish a perfect four for four and seal a spot in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Wootten’s multiple saves during the game, coupled with her two huge stops during the penalty kicks, was a major factor in NC State’s win. The goalkeeper’s play saved her team multiple times, and was ultimately the catalyst that pushed NC State into the next round.
Minnesota was coming off of it’s first Big Ten championship since 2008. The Gophers had only lost three times all season coming into Saturday’s contest. NC State, which was playing in its first NCAA tournament game since 1996, came in with confidence and stunningly sent the Gophers home early.
This momentous game was NC State’s first NCAA championship win since 1995, when the team advanced to the quarterfinals.
After winning only four games last year, the NC State women’s soccer team has had a historic year, breaking team records and smashing streaks left and right.
The Wolfpack will take on Pepperdine (12-4-4) in the second round of the tournament in Palo Alto, California at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Pepperdine defeated California 3-2 in penalty kicks in the first round.