After coming off a five-game losing streak and seeing her team’s playoff hopes all but fade away, freshman forward Kara Baldy said she was glad to see a tally go anywhere but the loss column.

“Nothing was bad about this game,” Baldy said. “We played very well today, and I’m very proud of us.”

Baldy, playing in her second game since returning from a concussion sustained Sept. 27 at Miami, scored an unassisted goal in the second half to put the Pack up 2-1. She said the goal was especially gratifying given the circumstances.

“It was hard watching the team play three games without me, but coming back in, it was amazing to score a goal and give us a step up from our losing streak,” Baldy said.

The performance of senior midfielder Jessica O’Rourke, who was stripped of her captaincy following a one-game suspension for a “violation of team rules,” helped her team earn its first tie against an ACC opponent. She charged the goal, dodged two defenders and made a cross-corner pass to junior forward Lindsay Vera, who buried it for the first goal of the game, and her team-leading seventh of the season.

“She was tackled, she was fouled; she played through it,” coach Laura Kerrigan said. “It was great grit by Jessica and great composure by Lindsay, and it led to an important goal.”

Baldy’s tally with 10 minutes left in the second period appeared to seal the game for State, but Clemson responded three minutes later with a goal off a controversial penalty kick and sent the game into overtime. Twenty minutes and several difficult saves later — at one point, sophomore defender Katie Ruiz sacrificed her body to prevent a goal — the score remained knotted at two.

“We can compete against these teams, and we can put them away,” O’Rourke said. “It’s just a matter of believing we can do it.”

Sophomore goalkeeper Sydney Little, who started every game this season for the Pack, was passed up in favor of freshman Rachel Barnette after Little allowed four goals on seven shots in Sunday’s game against Virginia Tech. Kerrigan said Barnette played well, especially in overtime, and finished with six saves.

“I’ll tell you what, your first collegiate start is always a really tough thing,” Kerrigan said. “[Barnette] learned some things today, and she gained some more confidence, and that certainly helped us quite a bit.”

Kerrigan shrugged off any mention of appointing a new captain, insisting that O’Rourke remains the team’s leader — with or without the title of captain.

“Look at the way Jess played today. Jess is a leader on the field — I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I would follow her into battle, just as everyone on this team would,” Kerrigan said. “That incident is behind us, and we move forward starting now.”

O’Rourke sidestepped a question about being a team leader despite not being a captain anymore.