The NC State women’s soccer team was unable to pick up points this weekend, losing to both Duke and Carolina in tough 1-0 and 2-1 losses, respectively.
Having started ACC play not a week ago, State’s schedule was an uphill battle. Duke is now 3-0-0 in conference and Carolina is now 4-0-0 in conference, so State’s close losses to both teams is something to be proud of.
The Duke match saw stellar play from sophomore keeper Karly Gustafson, who only conceded a goal. Gustafson had six saves and saw 24 shots through the entirety of the match.
Although under heavy pressure for the majority of the game, State saw a flurry of offense that almost brought them level in the dying minutes of the match. Most notably, freshman forward Kayla Saager made a shot that hit the crossbar and junior forward Caroline Gentry made a follow-up shot that was saved at the near post.
Coming into Sunday’s game, the Pack was looking to snag its first ACC points against its second Triangle rival, UNC-Chapel Hill. Sophomore goalkeeper Mackenzie Stelljes was back in the lineup after having to serve her one-game suspension against Duke, along with sophomore forward Gladys Loyas, who came off the bench Thursday night.
Just like Thursday’s game, State sat in and was put under a lot of pressure, most often having just one or two players out of defense at a time. UNC-CH was able to put a lot of shots up quickly, while Stelljes only had to make four saves in the first half. However, she was called on multiple times to come off her line or collect balls.
Apart from the goal, the NC State back line was handling Carolina’s pressure superbly. Sophomore Alyson Brown made many good stops, and led from the center back position. This was especially important when freshman defender Cailyn Boch went down with a leg injury. She was able to hobble off on her own, but did not come back into the match.
Brown’s play, along with efforts of Loyas and junior Dayna Tomayko, were able to help freshman midfielder Franziska Jaser fill the center back role.
“I wasn’t used to playing with her in the back, but it was an easy transition,” Brown said.
As Carolina’s Paige Nielsen scored the second Tar Heel goal in the 78th, the Pack’s future seemed bleak. However, the Pack would not be denied. Led by junior Brittany Stanko, the Wolfpack offense drove up the field late, and Stanko was able to score a one-on-one goal after a great pass from Loyas. Unable to convert a second goal with only two minutes remaining, the Pack failed to grab points.
Throughout the match, a few players found themselves in unfamiliar positions. Jaser playing at center back, freshman Mackenzie Graybill playing up top late and Gentry at attacking mid were among the team’s unorthodox positional shifts.
Head Coach Tim Santoro blames these changes on injuries.
“We were very shorthanded today,” Santoro said. “That is not good when playing a very regular Carolina side. They play 20 players, keep fresh bodies in the game, but the girls played to the best of their abilities today.”
Despite the loss, Santoro feels fine about the rest of the season.
“We are going to be competitive in games,” Santoro said. “We’ve shown that. But being competitive and winning matches are two very different things.”
The Pack will stay home one last game to play Pittsburgh on Oct. 4 before traveling to Louisville five days later.
