Friends, fans and family filled the stands of Dail soccer stadium Thursday night for the Wolfpack women’s soccer team’s senior night against the Duke Blue Devils.
Before the game, the team’s six seniors were honored in a short ceremony on the field. In addition to senior night, this game also marked their last regular season game.
The teams traded possession of the ball for the majority of the first half, with neither team acquiring many shots. Pack fans groaned in frustration as the team had a couple close shot opportunities as they charged towards the goal, all of which proved to be futile.
The first goal of the game came in the 64th minute for the opposing team. Midfielder Kaitlyn Kerr scored with a header over senior goalkeeper Kim Kern’s head. Kern had six total saves throughout the game, allowing Duke only one point.
“I’m proud of the team,” Kern said. “You don’t want a loss, but Duke’s a good team and I don’t think we’ve put together two halves like that since we started the acc . We’ve had spots here and there. Clemson we had a good half and a not so good half. I think this is the first game where we played hard start to finish. I wouldn’t want to go out on anything else.”
Kern finished the game with six saves, but the onslaught of shots on goal from Duke was not matched by State, as the Blue Devils finished with seven shots on goal compared to State’s two. Though Kern gave up the game-winning goal, she finished with an ACC-leading 104th save, which also puts her at eighth in State history.
The last minute of the game had fans on the edge of their seats. With State in possession of the ball and right at the goal, the Pack had a good opportunity to score. However, time was not on their side. After the team missed a shot, the clock ran out, leaving Duke victorious.
Senior forward Tanya Cain said that there wasn’t anything about the season that she would change.
“I know that we went out every game and we gave our all and that’s all we can ask for,” Cain said. “I’m pretty sure this is the best we’ve ever finished. It’s the best we’ve done in a really long time, and it’s just good to go out on that note.”
Coach Steve Springthorpe was proud of how the season turned out. The team ended the regular season with the best win total that they’ve had since 2002.
“I think in the end you always want more,” Springthorpe said. “[We had] 10 wins and a great record, one of the best records we’ve had in many years here. We certainly wish more would have happened for us.”
As for the seniors on the squad, Springthorpe got a little more emotional when he spoke about what the girls have done for the team.
“I’m proud of what they did for our team this year, and the leadership that they had, those six seniors,” Springthorpe said. “They put a lot of effort into helping build our program over the last couple years, so I’m extremely happy for them. I’m sad that it could be over, but I’m happy for all they’ve accomplished here this year.”
The loss to Duke brought the Pack’s record to 1-7-2 in the ACC. The team will find out within the next two weeks whether or not they will be invited to attend the NCAA tournament. They currently have an RPI of 37. The outcomes of the remaining games this week will determine whether or not they will get to go on to the tournament.
