NC State women’s soccer welcomed a record-breaking 2,506 fans to Dail Soccer Stadium amidst the team’s Barbie Night, and while most of the Wolfpack faithful that packed the stands came clad in pink, the Wolfpack’s last-second loss to Michigan State had them leaving blue.
NC State (1-3-2) and the Spartans (5-2) traded first-half goals, creating a 1-1 deadlock that both teams desperately tried to break as time trickled down in the second period. While it felt like the red-and-white had a touch of magic in the waning moments of the match, Michigan State slipped a game-winning goal past junior goalkeeper Olivia Pratapas in the 89th minute to hand the a 2-1 loss — its third-straight defeat.
After a similar last-minute loss to Colorado and a 2-4 setback against Denver in its recent road trip, NC State finds itself in an early-season rut, struggling to put together complete 90-minute efforts.
“We’re just finding different ways each game to shoot ourselves in the foot,” said head coach Tim Santoro. “When you’re playing the schedule that we’re playing, you have to put together 90-minute games, and we’re just not doing that right now.”
NC State showed up for the first 88 minutes, but Michigan State struck at the last moment after earning a one-on-one with Pratapas. While it looked as though the junior saved the initial shot, the hard-hit ball slipped past her reach and bounded across the goal line for the score.
The game started out similarly for Michigan State — the Spartans were able to break the ice early on with a 12th-minute score. Even though NC State responded soon after, it continued a trend of the Pack getting off to slow starts in its matches this season. Santoro and company have tried multiple remedies but still seem to be working out a way to come out of kickoff with a ruthless mindset.
“We’ve tried different things — different combinations of players and warm ups,” Santoro said. “And the mindset — some of these kids are young and they have to learn that there’s no forgiveness against these teams that we’re playing, and we really don’t have a break in the schedule. So we’ve got to grind through this. Find a way to manage those moments.”
Star senior forward Jameese Joseph scored her second of the season to tie the match with a highlight-reel play in the attacking third. After receiving a deep pass from junior defender Brianna Weber, Joseph used her silky-smooth footwork to nutmeg the Spartans’ final defender.
The Red Terrors at Dail had seen it all before and will see it again — they started celebrating as soon as Joseph had a one-on-one with the keeper. The senior coolly slotted it home, eagerly welcoming screams from fans and hugs from her teammates as the scoreboard read 1-1 in the 24th minute.
NC State continued its offensive pressure for the remainder of the first half and carried that momentum into the second. A bevy of shots engineered by multiple Wolfpack attackers gave the audience hope for a go-ahead goal in the final 45 minutes. However, the red-and-white was unable to convert any more chances for the rest of the match.
“When you talk about managing moments, it’s not just the goals,” Santoro said. “It’s: Can you put one away and play from ahead? And we’re just not doing that. It’s the same thing we ran into last week because there’s some good moments. It’s just that we’re not managing all of them, and good teams make you pay.”
Sure enough, Michigan State made the Pack pay. The Spartans turned up the heat in the final 15 minutes, eventually striking gold in the 89th minute.
Looking ahead, NC State has a match in Cambridge, Massachusetts against Harvard before its senior day celebration against High Point on Thursday, Sept. 14. Getting playmakers such as junior midfielder Emika Kawagishi into the lineup full-time will help NC State get back into a groove. However, after sustaining a lower-body injury against Colorado, senior goalkeeper Maria Echezarreta has been ruled out for the rest of the 2023 season — a major blow for the Wolfpack.
Kickoff for NC State against Harvard is set for Sunday, Sept. 10 at 1 p.m.
