The No. 21 NC State women’s soccer team will host Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday at Dail Soccer Field.
The Wolfpack (14-5-1, 6-3-1 ACC)is coming off its best season in over 20 years, while the Razorbacks (11-10-2, 4-5-1 SEC) were an at-large selection after falling just short of an SEC Tournament championship by losing to Texas A&M in the finals.
The Pack most recently lost to UNC-Chapel Hill in the semifinal of the ACC Tournament, but the season has already been one to remember for head coach Tim Santoro and his team. The Pack finished third in the ACC and advanced to its first ACC Tournament semifinals since 1995 by dispatching Notre Dame 4-1 in the quarterfinals. The team’s 14 wins overall and six conference wins are State’s best marks since 1995 when the Wolfpack came away with 19 wins overall and six conference wins.
Hosting the match at Dail against the Razorbacks is certainly an advantage for NC State. The Wolfpack has earned nine wins at home this season while dropping just one match to Princeton, a No. 3 seed in the tourney, and forcing a 0-0 draw against an excellent Virginia team, another No. 3 seed in the tourney.
While State has been excellent at home, the Razorbacks are no slouches on the road. Of their four conference wins, three came on the road. Their only road conference loss came against SEC tourney champion Texas A&M, when they lost 2-1 in College Station, Texas.
The Wolfpack will certainly hope for yet another stellar showing from sophomore Tziarra King. In the Pack’s 1-0 ACC semifinal loss to UNC-CH, the team managed just three total shots while the Tar Heels held King to zero for the match. However, King performed brilliantly in the triumph of Notre Dame in the quarterfinals. She scored three goals for her first hat trick of her college career en route to being named to the All-ACC Tournament team. Her play should be one of the Razorbacks’ main concerns, as she led the conference in total points with 34 and finished second in the ACC with 14 goals. Look for her to be more involved Saturday.
King, freshman Lulu Guttenberger and sophomore Ricci Walkling all garnered All-ACC team honors, with King being selected to the first team, Walkling the third team and Guttenberger the freshman team. Guttenberger was a critical part of the back line for the Pack all year while Walkling earned 11 points in 2017, second on the team.
The Wolfpack will have to keep Arkansas freshman Parker Goins in check, as the forward posted 25 points this season, including nine goals and seven assists. Goals may be tough to come by against the Razorbacks, as goalkeeper Jordan Harris allowed just 0.77 goals per game this season in 17 games while picking up 48 saves and eight shutouts.
The Wolfpack’s goalkeeper, junior Sydney Wooten, had a strong season of her own. Improving upon an already fine sophomore campaign, the San Diego native posted eight shutouts while allowing only 0.89 goals per game.
Last season, the Wolfpack advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAAs by beating Pepperdine and Minnesota, ultimately falling to Santa Clara in the third round. The tourney run was part of the Wolfpack’s breakout 2016 season, as the team earned a tournament bid for the first time in 20 years and won a match in the tourney for the first time since 1995.
Arkansas was bounced from the tournament in 2016 after falling to Clemson in the second round by way of penalty kicks.
The match will take place at 1 p.m. at Dail Soccer Field. The winner will face the victor of the match between No. 13 Princeton and Monmouth.
