On a sweltering day in South Bend, Indiana, the No. 24/23 NC State women’s soccer team was utterly dominated in a 4-0 loss to Notre Dame Sunday afternoon.
The Pack (8-2-1, 1-1-1 ACC) picked up its first ACC loss of the season in a game that saw State maintain almost no offensive pressure and get completely stifled by a strong Fighting Irish (6-3-2, 2-1-0 ACC) defense. Notre Dame was potent in attack, led by two goals apiece from Natalie Jacobs and Sandra Yu.
Notre Dame got its first good look in just the third minute, as a misplayed ball by a State defender fell to the feet of the Irish’s Ginny McGowan in the box. McGowan however, couldn’t corral the ball as Pack junior goalie Sydney Wootten came out to collect it.
The Irish had another good early attempt in the sixth minute, as Wootten was forced to make a strong save off of a shot from a Notre Dame corner kick.
The early opportunities paid off for the Fighting Irish in the 10th minute, when Jacobs found the back of the net to make it 1-0. Yu fought off Wolfpack defenders in the box before delivering a well-placed cross to Jacobs, who hit a clean volley from 6 yards out to beat Wootten and tally the first goal of the game.
Notre Dame continued its relentless attack, completely stifling NC State. The Irish doubled their lead with a 32nd minute goal from Yu, who broke away from the Pack defense and calmly fired a shot across goal that beat Wootten and found the bottom corner of the net, making it 2-0.
Notre Dame’s domination continued into halftime, which the teams entered with the Pack still down 2-0. NC State did not tally its first shot until the 38th minute of the game, when the Irish had already totaled 10 shots with five on target. The Irish carried that 10-2 advantage in shots into the half.
After a stagnant opening to the second half, Notre Dame threatened again in the 57th minute with a hard shot inside the box that Wootten made a diving stop on. However, the Irish broke through to make it 3-0 just three minutes later, as a great set-piece delivery into the box from Monica Flores found the foot of Yu who directed the ball into the net.
Notre Dame wasn’t done scoring, as Jacobs struck for her second goal of the game, extending the Irish lead to 4-0 in the 63rd minute. A deflected ball inside the box fell perfectly to Jacobs, who put it past Wootten for the score.
The Fighting Irish continued to dominate, and in the 67th minute, NC State head coach Tim Santoro made a mass substitution, removing six starters, including Wootten, from the game. Notre Dame led the Pack 15-3 in shots at this point, and 9-1 in shots on goal.
The Irish coasted the rest of the way to wrap up their dismantling of the Pack. Notre Dame finished up the game outshooting State 16-6, and completely stifled the Pack’s biggest playmakers in sophomores Tziarra King, Kia Rankin and Ricci Walkling, who totaled just one shot on goal.
The Wolfpack will return to the field Friday when it travels to take on No. 23/12 Florida State.
