After a winless weekend, the women’s soccer team will host Miami in what will be the first ACC game of the year for both clubs.
Over the past weekend, the Wolfpack tied William and Mary, then ranked No. 18, but also fell to unranked Virginia Commonwealth 3-1, giving the team its first loss and setting a season high for goals allowed.
“We just didn’t keep possession of the ball, we didn’t keep it at our feet,” sophomore midfielder Tami Krzeszewski said. “And that’s our strength, playing off of each other and then getting the shot off and we didn’t connect on Sunday at all.”
Players said they came out flat and found the loss humiliating, making the trip back to Raleigh seem even longer.
“Everyone was really upset, it took awhile for the tension to ease,” Krzeszewski said.
The team has turned the attention to the home game on Thursday, as it will be the first of 11 conference games slated for the remainder of the year.
“They’re very athletic and fast, they’re a good team,” coach Laura Kerrigan said. “The midfield and frontrunners especially have good speed to play. It’ll be a battle.”
State has defeated Miami 1-0 in both the past two seasons, with last year’s coming in double overtime.
“Every time we play them it’s been a good game the last two years in a row,” senior defenseman Megan Buescher said. “So tomorrow I don’t expect anything less — it’s going to be a battle.”
It ended up being only one of two ACC wins last season for the Pack. For them to reach their goals set at the beginning of the year, Krzeszewski said they had to start the conference season with a better performance than what the team delivered this weekend.
“One of our goals is to finish in the top half of the ACC,” Krzeszewski said. “We have to win. We have to open conference with a win. This is one of our big games.”
Kerrigan described the tied game against William and Mary as being a very rough, physical game. That game may have cost the Pack, as sophomore forward Lindsey Vera is unlikely to participate in the game versus Miami due to injury.
“We had some players that were banged up pretty hard. Vera didn’t play at all, and I think that physical game on Friday stayed with us on Sunday and it can’t. Not at this level,” Kerrigan said. “We have to be able to rise to the occasion for the second game of the week.”
In 2005, Vera, who has not practiced all week, led the team in goals with five on the season.
“We’re deeper this year than we’ve ever been in the past so when somebody goes down we just need the next person to step up. And we’ve got the people to do it,” Kerrigan said. “Everyone knows the importance of this game, I don’t even have to say it.”