NC State women’s soccer earned a 1-1 draw while on the road against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Thursday, Sept. 21.

Both sides battled back-and-forth for the majority of the match, but the Wolfpack (1-5-4, 0-1-1 ACC) broke the scoreless deadlock in the 72nd minute off a set-piece goal to earn the visitors a draw against the Demon Deacons (6-1-2, 0-1-1 ACC).

However, the Pack’s goal — headed in by freshman forward Jade Bordeleau — only started a wild series of events that resulted in a heated match in Winston Salem, North Carolina. 

Things got contentious between the two North Carolina rivals in the second half. There were a whopping 11 yellow cards assessed in the period — many of which were for unsportsmanlike conduct — on top of a red card assessed to NC State’s freshman forward Hannah Jibril in the 81st minute. 

As the Demon Deacons searched for the equalizer, the on-field emotions hit a crescendo around the 80th-minute mark. Four cards were dealt in just two minutes, all following a disallowing of Wake Forest’s equalizing goal off of a free kick due to goalkeeper interference. 

Minutes later, however, the Deacons put another in the back of the net. This time, it counted. 

In the 83rd minute, just after NC State was left with 10 players due to Jibril’s red card, Wake Forest’s Caiya Hanks brought the match to 1-1 with a well-taken strike from outside the box that ricocheted off the post and past junior goalkeeper Olivia Pratapas. 

With tensions running high, both teams searched for the go-ahead. However, all anyone found was more penalties. Three more cards were assessed by the end of the night, but NC State held onto the 1-1 draw to earn its first ACC-points of the year. 

After a sluggish first half from both sides, NC State was able to strike first. But holding onto leads has been a recent struggle for the Wolfpack, and having one less player on the field to defend didn’t help the red-and-white’s efforts to prevent a late score from the Demon Deacons. 

NC State’s ACC-schedule won’t get any easier from here. The Wolfpack’s taking on one rival after another with Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill on the docket for its next two matches. 

Next up, the Pack is set to take on the Blue Devils in Durham, North Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 24 at 6 p.m.