Last season was difficult for the N.C. State women’s soccer team. The Wolfpack won only five games throughout the year, going 0-10 in conference play. The winless conference play included a stretch where the Pack scored only one goal in seven games. At the end of the season, former head coach Steve Springthrope resigned.
The team played in the toughest women’s soccer conference in the nation, featuring last season’s national champion. Eight of the Pack’s last 11 opponents were nationally ranked, and six of those eight were ranked in the top 10.
Along with playing in the toughest conference in the nation, the team lacked upperclassmen. The roster featured zero seniors and only four juniors. The team had to rely heavily on underclassmen to provide leadership both on and off the field.
On Nov. 30th Tim Santoro was named as the new head coach. The former Wake Forest assistant is looking to bring good results to the women’s soccer program. The Wolfpack scheduled matches against six different opponents for the spring season. So far, Santoro has been impressed with his team.
“The girls are working hard, everything is just new for them,” Santoro said. “Normally spring is a time for individual development but because of where we are as a program, we are focusing more on team stuff and results. You don’t always emphasize winning in the spring but because of what I am taking over and how the fall went, we are trying to get some results.”
The Pack has one more contest left in the spring semester. They will travel to Winston-Salem to face Wake Forest University and High Point University on April 14th.
Along with results, Santoro is trying to improve his team’s skill level. Redshirt sophomore Jennie Krauser, who was recently named to the ACC All-Academic team, noticed an immediate difference.
“Before, we had never really worked on the small things like skills. We are building up from the basic skill work and technical, and going from there,” Krauser said. “I have learned a lot. It’s weird because he came in and some of the stuff we had never been told before he came in and changed immediately.”
Expect next year’s women’s soccer team to have a different style of play. They will attempt to hold more possession of the ball to break down the opposition’s defense. Krauser is expecting the team to benefit from the switch in play styles, which she hopes will translate into more wins than last year’s team.
“I think it will be a lot better because soccer wise we will be more technical, we are going to play less direct and keep the ball more and keep possession of it,” Krauser said. “A lot of times last year we’d lose the ball, so we are going to keep it more and give the ball away less.”
In the fall the team will face another brutal conference schedule. Along with going against the traditional ACC powerhouses like UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke, the ACC will become even more competitive with the addition of Notre Dame. Last season the Fighting Irish made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Florida State.
While the conference will be even more difficult this coming season, Santoro thinks the team will improve from last year.
“It is always the toughest conference in the country and with the addition of Notre Dame it obviously becomes tougher,” Santoro said. “But we will set a goal that is loftier than what they achieved in the past, but realistic.”
