With a single blast from Wake Forest senior forward Elizabeth Remy, the Demon Deacons took a 1-0 lead halfway through the second half — the goal would be all the visiting team needed as it went on to win the game Thursday afternoon at the Method Road Soccer Stadium.
The goal came on a counterattack after Jessica O’Rourke, a junior midfielder, created contact with a Wake Forest defender and fell inside the box. The no-call-left assistant coach Ben Pinkerton shouting toward the referee and coach Laura Kerrigan disappointed in the no call.
“It’s very disheartening,” Kerrigan said. “I can’t really comment on the referring calls because I’m not allowed to. But it’s a big switch in momentum — we go down and have a chance to score. Our player goes down in the box. That’s the only way I can put it.”
The loss moved N.C. State to 6-4-2 overall and 1-3 in the ACC. No. 9 Wake Forest won its fourth straight ACC match and moved to 12-2 overall and 4-1 in the ACC.
The Wolfpack have not defeated the Demon Deacons since 1997, when they won 1-0 at home. Its last tie against Wake Forest was in 2002 with a 1-1 score.
“We didn’t really talk [about how good] they have been,” O’Rourke said. “They’re a good team, but we just need to start to execute better if we want to beat the No. 9 ranked team in the country.”
In the first half, State was able to hold Wake Forest scoreless.
Throughout the half, Wake Forest had possession of the ball, controlling the field and limiting State’s shots on goal. The Demon Deacons took nine shots on goal while only having to make one save. They had three corner kicks, of which none they were able to take advantage.
Even though the Pack didn’t have many shots on goal, Kerrigan said her team had quality shots — ones they were unable to capitalize on.
“We had some opportunities that we squandered away,” Kerrigan said. “We had to score when we had those chances. We have to put away those opportunities.”
To start the second half, Wake Forest had an early chance to take the lead, but just failed to convert.
At the 5-minute mark in the second half, the Demon Deacons sent a pass in front of the net, where freshman defender Jill Hutchinson attempted to put the ball in the net. The ball went just wide and hit off the post, keeping the score at 0-0.
But nearly 15 minutes later, at the halfway mark in the half, Wake Forest was able to put the game away with the strike from Remy.
Connors, who made nine saves on the game, said the team wasn’t ready when the Demon Deacons had the counterattack.
“They had a quick counterattack,” Connors said. “We were a little disorganized and she got the shot off and put it in the back of the net.”
Next up for the Pack is Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., on Sunday at 1 p.m.
