Despite the wet weather, the Pack pulled out a win over the Wildcats of Davidson College in a 4-1 drubbing. Forward Tanya Cain chipped in three goals, freshman midfielder Kara Blosser contributed her second of the season and forward Paige Dugal also chipped in with one assist.
The Pack came out on the attack early offensively with the first goal coming during the 13th minute from Cain, the first tally of her eventual hat trick. The goal was also assisted by Dugal. The ball was a shot from yards away and deflected off of the Davidson goalie and a goalpost.
Cain’s second goal came at the 29:26 minute mark of the first half. She built the momentum of her shot through some fancy footwork to get an open look. The shot traveled past the goalkeeper’s legs to give N.C. State a 2-0 advantage.
Blosser then joined in on the offensive front by scoring a goal at the 4:42 mark of the first half, giving the Pack a 3-0 advantage over the Wildcats going into halftime.
Coach Steve Springthorpe described Cain’s hat trick as being “a great accomplishment to her and certainly the team” and said he was “so happy for her.”
Goalkeeper Kim Kern allowed her first goal in three games in the second half. The Wildcats drew first blood at the 62nd minute mark with a goal from defender Amanda Flink, but the Pack stoppered any hope of a comeback at the 26:29 minute mark of the second half with another goal from Cain, completing her hat trick and sealing the victory for the Wolfpack.
Cain described the offensive “rain” over the ‘Cats as being a product of the team “working hard in practice, just shooting.” She also said that she heard “everyone around me telling me to shoot” during the course of the game.
Despite the decisive win, both Springthorpe and Cain both felt that there are still major improvements to be made before conference play begins.
“I’m not happy about [the way] we started the first fifteen minutes. We could’ve been down a goal or two … I don’t know if we came out with a lack of energy or a little disorganized, but we weathered that storm,” Springthorpe said.
Cain said the team still has work to do defensively.
“We let up a goal, which is something we didn’t want to do, but, [we] just [have to] work on defense as a whole,” Cain said.
Coach and player both said they will not be settled on this win.
“We just [have to] look forward to it like we haven’t done anything, we’re basically at the bottom of the ACC still. We have a point to prove. We’re working hard and we’re making improvements, but we still have a long way to go,” Cain said.
The team is still undefeated at 3-0 and their next test will come from UNLV on Sept. 3 at Dail Soccer Stadium.
