After opting out of playing in the 2020 fall season, the NC State women’s soccer team is set to begin play again with four games in February to start off the 2021 season.
NC State finished the 2019 season fifth in the ACC (12-7-4, 4-2-4 ACC) and made it to the third round of the NCAA championship.
Vs. Old Dominion, Feb. 7
The Pack has not played Old Dominion since 2012 when Old Dominion won 2-0. The Lady Monarchs went 10-4-4 in the 2019 season but did not compete at all in 2020.
Returning for the Lady Monarchs is senior forward Amanda Nhek, who led the team in scoring with 22 points in 18 games throughout the 2019 season. The team lost its next three top scorers, with midfield/forward Kyra Ricks and defense/midfielder Talia Tapper graduating, and freshman Megan Watts transferring. With 10 underclassmen playing for Old Dominion, this season will hold a lot of trial and error as it irons out its roster.
For the goalkeeping unit, Old Dominion retained both junior Jasmine Crawley and senior Kasey Perry, who had a combined 52 saves in the 2019 season.
Vs. UNCW, Feb. 13
UNCW went 10-6-1 in the 2019 season and did not play in the spring or fall of 2020. In that season, UNCW went to the quarterfinal round of the Colonial Athletic Association championship where it fell to James Madison. The Pack has not competed against the Seahawks since 2016 when it beat UNCW 2-0.
The Seahawks retained two out of their five top scorers of the 2019 season in senior midfielder Audrey Harding and redshirt junior forward Morgan Nanni. UNCW’s roster this season has 13 underclassmen, including its two goalkeepers. Most notably, goalkeeper Sydney Schneider won’t be returning to the team after being drafted into the NWSL.
Vs. Campbell, Feb. 16
The Pack hasn’t hosted Campbell since the 2009 season where it bested Campbell 2-0. The Camels went 13-4-2 in the 2019 season and fell to Radford in the semifinals of the Big South Conference championship.
Three out of the five top scorers from the 2019 season are not returning for the Camels this year. Most notably, top scorer Alexa Genas is not returning. However, they will still have junior forward Jessica Donald and sophomore midfielder Elyssa Nowowieski, as well as their primary goalkeeper: junior Reaghan Duval.
Campbell has been voted third in the Big South Conference preseason poll.
At VCU, Feb. 28
VCU went 9-6-3 in the 2019 season. VCU and NC State have not met since 2011 when the Pack won 1-0.
Out of the top scorers from VCU, only two remain: redshirt junior midfielder Emma Kershner and redshirt junior midfielder Samantha Jerabek. However, the team is evenly split between underclassmen and upperclassmen, so its performance this season should be fairly predictable and in favor of the Pack.
All in all, even with the Pack coming off such a long break, the matchups in February shouldn’t prove to be too much of a struggle for the Pack women.
The first game of the season will be in Raleigh at Dail Soccer Field Sunday, Feb. 7 at 3 p.m. against Old Dominion.
