What is the team working on?As the team prepares for its upcoming matches this week, sophomore Kendall Irby said the players have been switching between 4-4-2 and 4-4-3 formations on the field and learning where their teammates are on the field during a game.
“Communication is different, very different just because we graduated a lot of seniors and we had about 10 or 12 of us remaining and then we brought on about 13 freshmen,” Irby said. “Knowing how each of us plays and trying to incorporate that into our plays is hard and difficult.”
Coach Laura Kerrigan has switched up her back line, giving her what she said is a “very fast” and “very strong” defense.
She said the Pack’s strengths include winning 50-50 balls and winning balls in the air, creating scoring opportunities and preventing scoring chances for the other team. Kerrigan said finishing scoring opportunities is a weakness.
Senior Jessica O’Rourke said the team is understanding the effort needed to defeat opponents.
“The girls realized that you cannot let up just a little bit,” O’Rourke said. “You have to keep the effort and intensity up.”
Who’s hot?Junior Lindsay Vera leads the team in the goals, scoring four so far in the season.
“It’s great that Lindsay stepped up and is taking control of that aspect of the game,” O’Rourke said.
Stepping out of the shadow and on to the field, goalkeeper Sydney Little is picking up from where former goalkeeper Megan Connors left off, Vera said.
“It’s real nice to know that when the ball goes to her everyone is relaxed and comfortable,” Vera said. “We know she is going to get it we know she is going to get it we know she is going to save it.”
What happened?After winning 3-0 against Campbell, the Wolfpack took on High Point last Saturday. But State was unable to overcome the Panthers, settling for a tie score of 0-0.
“We created a tremendous amount of scoring opportunities for ourselves,” Kerrigan said. “We didn’t put them away well at High Point.”
What’s next?The team plays against Old Dominion at 4:00 p.m. Thursday at Method Road Stadium.