In the first ever meeting between the two schools, N.C. State sent Coastal Carolina home with its second shutout loss on the young season with a 7-0 victory Monday night at Dail Soccer Stadium. Not only did the Wolfpack win, it found a way to get scoring chances from every part of the field.
NC State won behind an offense led by sophomore forward Kara Blosser and junior midfielder Kristina Argiroff. The Pack also had standout performances from the defense of freshmen defenders Claudel Pilon and Randi Soldat.
“Kara [Blosser] is unfortunately battling through some preseason injuries,” Coach Steve Springthorpe said. “But she always goes out on the field playing like she is 100 percent and does everything it takes to win.”
Blosser got the Pack off to a good start with two shots on goal in the first half. One of those shots found the back of the net for a goal. Her other shot on goal forced the Chanticleers goalie to make a diving save. Blosser said she was thrilled to help produce the first victory of Debbie Yow’s tenure as athletic director
“It feels great to come out here and get the first win for our new athletic director Debbie Yow,” Blosser said. “Coach Springthorpe kept mentioning that we needed to get that first win for her and I think everyone came out here and contributed on a great win.”
Kristina Argiroff put on a career best performance in front of her family that traveled from Kill Devil Hills to see her play last night. Her mom and dad watched as she scored two goals on two shots to lead the Pack in scoring for the game. She scored on a loose ball pick-up that she drove into the net and also netted a header on a cross from freshman forward Jennie Krauser.
“My family is said to have a curse on me when they come to watch me play,” Argiroff said. “It felt great to break that curse and get a few goals and a win for them.”
Krauser scored her second goal in as many games to open her first season with the Pack on a tear. She found the back of the net Monday night to follow up her first career goal, which she scored Friday night against Texas.
Two other freshmen also had their first goals of the season. Forward Karri Owens and midfielder Kaley Shlaes scored on long lofting goals from longer than 25 feet away in the 37th and 78th minute, respectively.
“We had a bunch of young players out on the field that got a chance to play,” Springthorpe said. “We saw a lot of good things for the future of the program.”
Junior defender Jordan Edwards scored the final goal of the night on a blast from 30 yards out that brought the game to a final score of 7-0.
The Pack’s next game is Friday night, when it will look for yet another high-scoring performance against the High Point Panthers.
“This game definitely gives us confidence going into a game against a High Point team that we know will be ready for us,” Springthorpe said. “Now what we have to do is play back-to-back games where we get results.”
