Fresh off a valuable, if disappointing, two-game trip to San Diego for the Torero Classic, the NC State women’s soccer team faces Elon in the home opener tonight.
The Wolfpack (0-2-0) narrowly dropped both its West Coast contests, 2-1 and 1-0 in overtime, to San Diego (1-1-0) and No. 10 Pepperdine (2-0-0), respectively, last weekend.
Tonight’s 7 p.m. clash is the 13th between the two non-conference foes. So far, NC State has maintained an undefeated 12-0-0 record against the Phoenix (1-0-0), with the teams’ last meeting back in 2012. The Pack won that match handily, 3-0, but tonight’s match will be the first under head coach Tim Santoro.
While in San Diego, Santoro got a good look at a team seeking to escape from the bottom of the ACC ladder. Climbing those rungs will take time, especially as the Pack is a startlingly young squad this season.
Three of the Wolfpack’s top five minutes leaders so far are freshmen, and freshman goalkeeper Sydney Wootten put on one of the best performances of any Pack player, making seven saves across 80 scoreless minutes Sunday against Pepperdine.
Will Santoro continue his faith in his young shot-stopper? If not, he could opt for the greater experience offered by redshirt junior Mackenzie Stelljes.
Notably, all of the Wolfpack’s six new freshmen debuted during the weekend, with many of them, like center back Ella Bonner, midfielder Taylor Porter and forward Maxine Blackwood, starting from the opening whistle.
Another positive for the Pack is the return of redshirt sophomore midfielder Jackie Stengel, who missed last season due to an ACL injury.
Stengel scored just minutes after coming onto the field last Friday against San Diego, and her pedigree, skill and tenacity as an attacking midfielder should boost State’s chances of getting out of the depths of the ACC and into conference relevancy.
But before ACC play can even be considered, State has to take care of business against non-conference foes and get its first win on the board. To do that, the team has to demonstrate that it has learned the principles Santoro and the coaching staff have drilled relentlessly over the offseason: sharp ball movement, crisp and coordinated attacking patterns and organized, disciplined defending when the opponent has the ball.
The Pack’s opponents, the Phoenix, should test the team’s progress but should not pose a huge threat. Elon returns seven starters from last season’s group that went 5-12, and the team was picked to finish eighth out of the 10 teams that make up the Colonial Athletic Association.
However, that hardly means the Pack should come in with its guard down, as Elon is fresh off an overtime victory against Davidson. It isn’t a stretch to say the Phoenix will come in confident and looking to get a first victory against NC State.
To limit Elon, NC State must keep a close eye on sophomore forward Grace Bennett. Bennett was an All-ACC Freshmen Team member last season and led the Phoenix in goals.
The Wolfpack is after its 322nd victory in program history and its first win this season.
