The NC State women’s soccer team is off to a solid start to the season. With two draws and a last-minute loss, the Wolfpack has started the year with some very tight games and needs to turn these close results in its favor as ACC play looms closer. From young players standing out to some big early tests, here are some takeaways from the Pack’s first four games of the season.

Big tests early

The ACC is a tough conference in any sport, but women’s soccer just might be the toughest. Four ACC teams are ranked inside the top-5 in the United Coaches Poll currently and NC State will face three of those four this season.

With that tough ACC slate coming up fast, head coach Tim Santoro planned a tough nonconference schedule and it looks like it could pay off in the long run. The Pack started the year with a 2-2 draw against then-No. 9 Georgetown, before beating Old Dominion, drawing reigning Big South Champions Campbell and losing in the last minute to No. 16 South Carolina. 

The Pack battled through injuries in those games as well with junior midfielder Toni Starova being limited, sophomore midfielder Jaiden Thomas missing two games and freshman defender Nina Zimmer missing three. If the Pack can get healthy and turn these draws and narrow losses against big teams into wins, there is no telling what could happen in conference play.

Jameese Joseph playing with confidence

With Tziarra King now in the NWSL, the Wolfpack was in need of a go-to goalscorer and it just might have found that in sophomore forward Jameese Joseph.

Joseph started all 23 games her freshman season, scoring three goals along the way, a tally she has already hit in just four games this season. While she showed a ton of talent her freshman year, Joseph has really stepped it up this season and is playing with a level of confidence that fits her talent level.

Her goal against South Carolina is an excellent example of this confidence. Joseph picked up the ball in her own half before tearing down the sideline, cutting in and placing the ball perfectly into the far post. And she did it against a ranked team. 

A confident Joseph, paired with the other attacking weapons who have shown a lot of promise to start the year, can lead the Pack far this season.

Freshmen standing out

The Wolfpack’s freshman group this season is big. With 15 of them on the roster, Santoro reloaded this season, and those freshmen are already showing just how good they are.

Three of the freshmen, goalkeeper Maria Echezarreta, forward Mia Vaughan and defender Cara Elmendorf, saw time in the Wolfpack’s spring games and three more were on the roster in the spring but could not play due to NCAA rules. 

Echezarreta has started all four games in goal and carried on her solid play from the spring season. Elmendorf has been a solid forward option off the bench, while Vaughan’s ability to play both outside back and up front has been big with the Pack’s injury issues.

Five freshmen, including Echezarreta, have started at least two games. Defender Brianna Weber has been really solid as both a full back and midfielder. Defender Fernanda Soto is constantly up and down the flank as a full back, providing a solid wide option in the Wolfpack’s attack. 

Forward Annika Wohner balled out in the preseason, scoring three of the Pack’s four goals, and has already scored one in the regular season, an excellent free kick against Campbell. 

Midfielder Emika Kawagishi has arguably been the most impressive of all the freshmen, stepping into the Ricci Walkling role flawlessly and helping the Pack’s midfield tick. Kawagishi plays with a level of maturity far beyond that expected of a freshman and will be a player to watch both this season and in the rest of her time with NC State.

Other freshmen like midfielder Michaela Virgin, Zimmer and midfielder Samantha Castro have also made appearances, proving that the Pack is not only loaded with freshmen talent, but that Santoro is willing to play those freshmen.

Center back connection as strong as ever

Coming into this season, one of the main areas where NC State did have an abundance of experience was its center back duo. Junior Jenna Butler and redshirt junior Lulu Guttenberger have been playing together for awhile and it has really showed this season.

While the duo have been really strong defensively, working well with Echezarreta to give the Wolfpack a solid base to build from, they have also been deadly at the other end of the field. In both of the Pack’s first two games, Guttenberger picked out Butler’s head on set pieces for some important goals, including the game winner against Old Dominion. 

The Wolfpack’s defense is overall incredibly young with a freshman starting in goal and freshmen getting the majority of the minutes in the full back positions, but with Butler and Guttenberger leading the way, the Pack’s defense should only get stronger as the group gains familiarity.