Sophomore forward Jade Bordeleau brought the boom in NC State women’s soccer’s explosive 4-0 win over George Washington on Sunday at Dail Soccer Stadium.
Before the Pack’s match against the Revolutionaries, Bordeleau hadn’t registered a goal in 2024. Suddenly, the French native earned herself a hat trick in a matter of minutes as she led her team to a dominant victory over George Washington (2-4-2) that snapped a two-game, scoreless losing streak for the Wolfpack (3-4-1).
Before the Pack’s win over the Revolutionaries, NC State suffered back-to-back scoreless losses against Rutgers and William & Mary, respectively. Struggling with inconsistency and a lack of offensive playmaking, Bordeleau played hero for the Pack in the Sunday afternoon showdown.
“It feels good,” Bordeleau said. “I don’t know what unlocked in me, but I think it was a team effort today. We felt good before the game, and I just think that everybody contributed to those goals.”
The Wolfpack overcame its slow start to the bout when Bordeleau broke the ice in the 40th minute with her first of three scores. After a shot saved by George Washington keeper Ainsley Lumpe deflected into the box, Bordeleau found the rebound and smashed in her first goal of the season.
NC State entered the halftime break with a boost of momentum, and both Bordeleau and NC State weren’t satisfied with just the one score.
“It felt like a little boost of energy,” Bordeleau said. “… It was kind of a team effort, I just finished it, I was there. I think it just gave us a little boost to be like, ‘Okay, we’re in this game. We can get more.’”
Just six minutes into the second half, Bordeleau struck again. Assisted on a booming, cross-field pass from junior goalkeeper Olivia Pratapas, Bordeleau outran and boxed out the opposing defenders to earn a breakaway chance. The sophomore showed no hesitation, slotting away her second goal of the day.
Fans celebrating Bordeleau’s second score didn’t even have time to sit down before her next one. Less than one minute later, NC State forced a turnover deep in opposing territory. Bordeleau capitalized and finished off her hat trick.
Up 3-0, NC State tacked on one more goal for good measure by way of sophomore defender Yuna Aoki. If George Washington stood no chance of a comeback before, the Revolutionaries definitely didn’t after the Pack’s fourth and final goal.
NC State rode its lead all the way until the end of the game as Pratapas and the Pack finished off their shutout defensively.
The red-and-white is set to begin its always-challenging slate of ACC games against California on Thursday. For head coach Tim Santoro, beating George Washington 4-0 is one thing, but after the previous two games without goals, finding a consistently dangerous attack is another.
“We’ve had opportunities to do that in other games,” Santoro said. “It’s just the inconsistency of our attack. We have games with three, four and five [goals] and then we have games with zero. And so we just got to find consistency when we attack and pass the ball and when we do it, we’re not a bad team, but that’s what we have to find in the next three days.”
Bordeleau also emphasized consistency as NC State’s point of emphasis in preparing for a daunting list of conference opponents.
“Consistency — I think that’s our main point to focus on,” Bordeleau said. “And I think we’re able to take any team that’s coming our way. We just got to give everything we have, execute our actions and perform the best we can, because we are a good team, and we can show them.”
The Wolfpack will look to find that consistency against the Golden Bears on Thursday at 7 p.m. in the third tilt of a four-game home stretch at Dail Soccer Stadium in Raleigh.
