Coming off a 4-1 victory over Arkansas in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, the NC State women’s soccer team takes a short trip to Cary, North Carolina, for a second-round matchup with the Princeton Tigers on Friday.
Princeton is the number-four overall seed in this specific region of the bracket and defeated Monmouth 4-0 in the first round. The Tigers went 15-2 overall this year and 6-1 in the Ivy League.
Forward Abby Givens, forward Mimi Asom and forward/midfielder Courtney O’Brien are the main goal scorers. Givens and Asom have 10 goals each, while O’Brien has nine. Nobody else on the team has more than three goals on the season. Goalkeeper Natalie Grossi has played all but one game this year and allows an average of 0.38 goals per game. She has 11 shutouts and an .882 save percentage. The Tigers have given up six goals all year.
The Tigers outscore their opponents by an average of two goals per game and have won all but two games this year by more than one goal. Their losses came against No. 6 West Virginia, 1-0, and against Colombia, 2-0.
The Pack comes in at 15-5-1 and is led by sophomore midfielder Tziarra King. King leads the team with 16 goals, six assists and 38 points. She led the Pack over the Razorbacks with two goals. Junior goalkeeper Sydney Wootten has been a star in net for State this year. She allows 0.90 goals per game and has eight shutouts to her name in 18 games this season.
Since the game is in Cary, the Pack could have a home field advantage, and it will need it. Princeton’s defense is incredible, but King might be the best player they’ve seen all year. She will get her opportunities, and she will need to take advantage of them. The Tigers have only given up one goal in the second half so far this season, so NC State needs to make sure it plays from ahead.
The two teams played on Sept. 2 in Raleigh; Princeton won 2-0. Asom scored the first goal for the Tigers and defender Mikaela Symanovich scored her only goal of the season.
The game will start at 2:30 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary and will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra. The winner will face either Colorado or UNC-CH in the third round.
Sophomore midfielder Paige Griffiths gets the ball around the Louisville defense. Griffiths had one shot in the 2-1 win over Louisville to clinch the third seed in the ACC on Thursday, Oct. 26 in Dail Soccer Stadium.
