© 2010 N.C. State student media
Freshman defender Randi Soldat fights a North Carolina player for the ball during N.C. State’s match against the Tar Heels at Dail Soccer Field. Despite Soldat’s efforts, the Pack ended the game scoreless, losing 0-3.
Five days removed from a 1-0 loss to the top-ranked Boston College Eagles, N.C. State (7-5, 1-2 ACC) dropped its second straight decision with a 3-0 home loss to No. 3 North Carolina (10-1-1, 2-1) Friday night in front of a season-best crowd of 2,023 people. It was State’s first loss of the 2010 campaign in which it was defeated by more than one goal.
The scoring commenced when North Carolina’s Kealia Ohai nailed her seventh goal of the season on a shot from a tough angle at the 31:19 mark of the first half. Despite a courageous eight-save performance out of junior keeper Kim Kern, the Wolfpack could not hold off the Tar Heels’ offensive pressure as Courtney Jones and Rachel Wood each scored midway through the second half to give the Tar Heels a 3-0 cushion. For Kern, who started the season off strong with four shutouts in her first 12 games, the defeat at the hands of State’s chief rival was a difficult one to take. However, the Raleigh native said that looking back at the progression of her team after they were outshot 22-1 in a 5-0 embarrassment in Chapel Hill a season ago, offered some encouragement.
“We couldn’t put anything together last year,” Kern said. “We couldn’t even pass the ball. We didn’t play hard and there was just no intensity. This year we did [those things]. I know it’s a 3-0 loss, but we’re proud of how we played.”
Echoing the same statements from Kern, last season’s leading scorer Kara Blosser also said she acknowledges the team has come a long way after last season’s debacle. Blosser was one of the few players who gave herself a scoring opportunity, as she recorded three of the Pack’s six shots on the night.
“Last year we went there and we were so intimidated,” Blosser said. “This game, we came out strong, played our butts off and it just came out the wrong way. We need to start scoring and we need to start working on finishing.”
Although Blosser and Kern were two of the best individual performers for State in this year’s contest, both of them fully appreciate how much selfless effort the other gives for a program that has slowly started turning the corner after not recording a winning season since 2002. Blosser said the roommates know exactly how much they mean to Steve Springthope’s team.
“Ever since the ODU game, she’s came out and kept us in games,” Blosser said. “I tell her every night that she’s amazing and that I’m playing with the best keeper in the world.”
As the Wolfpack moves forward in conference play, coach Steve Springthorpe knows he will need the experience of Kern and Blosser to help a team that has played six freshman in each of the last two games versus top-five competition. Springthorpe also said that although his team came into the UNC game with virtually the same record the past two seasons, the likelihood of being able to translate solid efforts into ACC victories is much greater this time around.
“I think our team’s better,” Springthorpe said. “We defended better, and I still think we are a good attacking team. We need to get some players back a little healthier so we can get some more of those opportunities. But compared to where we were last year as opposed to this year, I think we’re way ahead.”
After falling to 1-2 in conference play, Thursday night’s game against Wake Forest could prove to be one of the most imperative matchups of the year. The start time is scheduled for 7 p.m. from Winston-Salem, N.C.