No. 13 NC State women’s soccer fell 2-1 to Nebraska on Sunday afternoon in a back-and-forth game which the Pack had numerous opportunities to tie it toward the end.
The Pack (6-1-1) found it difficult to break down the well-organized Nebraska (4-3-1) defense, despite dominating the possession. The Cornhuskers were able to find success on the counterattack.
“We still had more than enough opportunities around the box to score than we did,” head coach Tim Santoro said. “The only thing that bothered me was their second goal. We scouted that. We knew it was coming and we didn’t deal with that corner.”
The first real opportunity for either team came 17 minutes in when junior midfielder Paige Griffiths passed forward to junior midfielder Tziarra King, who made a move on a defender to set up a contested shot. King’s shot went just just left of the goal, spoiling the Pack’s best first-half opportunity.
The first goal came in the final five minutes of the first half. Nebraska’s Natalie Cooke held off a defender to keep the ball and lay it off to Kenzie Coons who’s curled shot found its way into the back of the net.
Besides the goal, the first half was relatively uneventful with limited opportunities from both sides.
One of the positives the Wolfpack was able to take from the first half was its energetic and efficient press. While it was unable to capitalize on the errors, it forced Nebraska’s defense into committing a lot of early turnovers.
“[The press] wasn’t consistent enough,” Santoro said. “When we did do it, we were pretty good at winning the ball in that position. We just weren’t coordinated enough. A couple we let them out of some situations that we shouldn’t have.”
The second half started off very quickly, with both sides seeing opportunities, but it was Nebraska that struck first. The Cornhuskers headed one in off a corner kick just two minutes into the half to put the Pack down 2-0.
With 26 minutes left in the game, King was able to get one back on an unassisted goal, where she put two defenders on the ground before kicking the ball around the goalie to bring the Pack within one.
“I couldn’t do it without my teammates,” King said. “I mean at the end of the day they are the ones that are behind me and infront of me, they make it happen for me. So I just play for them and to the best that I can to help this team be successful.”
After the goal, the momentum swayed in the favor of the Wolfpack. NC State saw a number of opportunities in the coming minutes, but junior forward Kia Rankin and senior forward Maxine Blackwood were unable to convert in the box.
“They definitely played a very defensive game,” King said. “So it was really hard to find those seams and get through that low line that they were playing. But you know we just have to find a way to get through there next time, and we can just move forward and learn from our mistakes.
NC State will be back in action on the road on Wednesday at 7 p.m. against UNC-Greensboro before jumping into ACC play.
Junior midfielder Tziarra King shoots and scores against Nebraska on September 9, 2018 at Dail Soccer Stadium. King scored the only goal for the Wolfpack as they lost to Nebraska 2-1.
