Continuing its spring schedule in preparation for the fall, the NC State women’s soccer team will face Richmond at Dail Stadium Saturday.
Heading into the team’s third game of six of the brief spring slate, the Wolfpack is 1-0-1 thus far, tying conference rival Wake Forest and besting VCU in Richmond by a score of 1-0.
After a trip to the Sweet Sixteen and the first tournament appearance in over 10 years, expectations are high for head coach Tim Santoro’s upcoming fifth season in Raleigh. The Wolfpack completely turned around the program’s fortunes in 2016, posting a 11-9-2 record overall while going 4-5-1 in conference play after winning just two ACC matches the previous three seasons combined.
The Pack lost just two seniors in Rachel Cox and Gladys Loyas and utilized a majority of freshmen and sophomores throughout the 2016 campaign. The Pack was forced to employ a slightly different look, as major contributors Jackie Stengel, Tziarra King and Kia Rankin were out for the contest against VCU.
Stengel will be heading into her redshirt senior year after her 2016 campaign was cut short by an injury. King scored eight goals and logged one assist on her way to being the team’s leader in points as well as earning a spot on the ACC All-Freshman team and All-ACC third team. Rankin, another rising sophomore, also earned a spot on the All-Freshman team.
The spring schedule is a good opportunity to gauge the team for the upcoming season. Santoro will likely shuffle the rotation around to get a look at more players, as the team will attempt to fill the shoes of the seniors while also repeating the success of the previous campaign.
Although Cox and Loyas did play major roles, the NC State squad is still young and the lineup will consist of a combination of mostly underclassmen next year.
Rising junior Sydney Wootten spent a majority of the time in goal during the 2016 season, posting an excellent .758 save percentage and tallying 75 saves on the season. Due to her impressive performance and collection of clutch saves, she will most likely be the Pack’s starting goalkeeper in 2017. The spring slate has allowed Santoro to get a look at his backup goalies, freshman Grayson Cameron and junior Harley James. Cameron saw action in just two matches last year, but saw the bulk of playing time against Wake Forest and did not surrender a goal.
The Wolfpack’s opponent, Richmond, tallied a 9-9-1 record overall and a 4-6 mark in conference play. The Spiders finished ninth in the Atlantic 10 and failed to qualify for the conference tournament by one spot.
The Wolfpack squared off against Richmond last season in an exhibition match as the two teams tied 1-1.
State will finish out its spring schedule with an away doubleheader against Clemson and South Carolina April 8, followed by a home match against Liberty April 22.
The upcoming match will take place at Dail Stadium Saturday at 2 p.m. as the Pack takes on Richmond.
