The NC State women’s soccer team won 1-0 against the Elon Phoenix at home on Sunday, Sept. 5. After no scoring in the first half, the Pack finally capitalized on one of its many corner kicks, heading in the first and only goal of the game.
The Wolfpack (3-1-2) ended with 22 shots, while the Phoenix (2-3) only had five shots. Despite having so many shots, the Wolfpack only had one goal. The lone goal finally came during the second half of the game in the 59th minute.
“Some of the shot selection wasn’t great, some of it the technique wasn’t good,” said head coach Tim Santoro. “We just tried to settle them down, and I thought in the second half they showed a lot more composure. Just to stay at it and finally break through.”
The first half was filled with offensive chances for the Pack, but it could not capitalize on any. The Pack ended with 12 total shots in the half, led by sophomore forward Jameese Joseph and freshman midfielder Annika Wohner, who each had four shots. Joseph’s first shot hit the crossbar but refused to go in, and many of the shots taken by the Pack missed wide of the net.
“We have been doing pretty well passing and we need to get in on the end of it,” said junior defender Jenna Butler.
Elon had its fair share of chances, with the first shot of the game and the last of the first half hitting the posts. Elon played very defensive throughout the game, putting multiple bodies in front of the goal at all times. Despite so many shots, the Pack could not break through.
“It’s hard to break down,” Santoro said. “You got to have patience, you got to move the ball quicker, which we didn’t do in the first half.”
The second half was much better for the Wolfpack, taking more quality shots and using that patience Santoro was asking for. Four shots were on goal in this half, as opposed to one in the first. One opportunity was another crossbar hit by junior midfielder Toni Starova.
The goal was scored off of a Wolfpack corner kick. Taken by freshman midfielder Emika Kawagishi, who put the ball up perfectly for the header. Butler targeted the ball and nailed it in just before the start of the 60th minute.
“Set pieces, we’ve been pretty dangerous and we’ve been scoring some goals off of them,” Santoro said.
This was Butler’s third goal off a header this season, which was actively targeted in corner kicks.
The Wolfpack continued to pour on the offense, but could not get past the Elon goal, who had five total saves for the day. Freshman goalkeeper Maria Echezarreta was awarded the shutout, stopping two shots from going in the net.
“I’m looking forward to some new competition,” Butler said. “ Everyone’s excited to get on the road again and it would be a pretty great weekend to get two wins on the road so I know we’re all just excited to keep moving on in the season to some new competition and keep improving.”
The Pack will travel to Charlottesville, Virginia to take on two nonconference teams before ACC play. The Pack will play against the Oklahoma Sooners on Sept. 9 and the Penn State Nittany Lions on Sept. 12.
