The NC State women’s soccer team won its second road match of the season against Clemson, beating the Tigers 2-1 on Thursday, Sept. 29.
A swift and dangerous counterattack was all the Wolfpack (7-3-3, 2-2 ACC) needed to down the Tigers (5-4-2, 1-3 ACC) while on the road. Despite Clemson outshooting the Pack and gaining an early 1-0 lead, NC State scored two goals via the fast break and made sure to stifle the Tigers defensively to earn its seventh win of the season.
Senior forward Jameese Joseph, like so many times this season, played an integral role in the red-and-white’s win. With the two sides deadlocked at 1-1 late in the second half, Joseph took in a pass from fellow senior forward Leyah Hall-Robinson after she received a booming through ball that was sent from the Wolfpack backfield.
From there, Joseph did her thing. After crossing up the opposing defender with her footwork, she found an open lane and ripped a shot that flew past Clemson’s keeper into the side netting of the goal. With the go-ahead goal in the 74th minute, Joseph just keeps on finding ways to add to her resume of late-game heroics.
After gaining the lead, the NC State defense was able to stave off the Tigers for the final 16 minutes of the game. Some decent chances for Clemson were repelled by junior goalkeeper Maria Echezarreta and the rest of the Pack’s back line.
Echezarreta, who made six saves and allowed just one goal, turned in another strong performance on the season. Meanwhile, graduate defender Lulu Gutttenberger and others made some crucial blocks and stops to keep the Tigers scoring its second goal of the game after they found the net in the ninth minute.
Once Clemson’s Caroline Conti curled a shot around Echezarreta early on, the Tigers kept the pressure up, tallying a total of 23 shots. But while Clemson struggled to find the back of the net after the opener, Hall-Robinson evened up the score at the end of the first half with her 38th minute goal.
Hall-Robinson’s second goal and fourth assist of the season proved crucial in the Pack’s win over Clemson, where it snapped a two-game losing streak. The bounce-back win against the Tigers also denotes a strong start to NC State’s challenging ACC schedule away from Dail Soccer Field.
Next up for the Wolfpack is a duel in South Bend, Indiana, where the red-and-white will take on No. 16 Notre Dame. Kickoff against the Fighting Irish is set for 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 6.
