The sound of a referee’s whistle could barely be heard over the screams of the crazed fans during Sunday’s women’s soccer game. Alex Berger, a senior defenseman, was the reason why.
Tanya Cain had the best scoring opportunity of the day when she beat the Midshipmen’s lone defender in the box and then looked to beat the goalkeeper. In a desperate attempt to preserve a tie, the Navy defenseman tackled Cain from behind, leading to a penalty kick in the 88th minute.
Lining up in the box to take the penalty kick was Berger, the captain of the team. To add more drama to the situation, Berger had yet to score a collegiate goal in her career at N.C . State. Now the only person stopping her from destiny was the Navy goalkeeper.
As the time to kick drew closer, Berger stood confident in her ability and said she wanted nothing more than to end the game in regulation – not just for the team, but for herself as well.
“I couldn’t believe we were going to get a penalty kick with two minutes left to go in the game,” Berger said. “The thing that had been going through my mind the last ten minutes was, ‘I don’t think I could play overtime.'”
As soon as the referee called for the penalty kick, Berger jumped on the opportunity to help the Pack get a win late in the game.
“I just knew I wanted it,” Berger said. “Because I had always taken penalty kicks throughout my club and high school career.”
When most people would have been nervous, Berger, a Cary native, seized the opportunity. She put the ball just past the diving Navy goalkeeper, scoring her first collegiate goal and what also proved to be the game winner.
While the fans went wild with “Wolf! Pack!” chants, no one was more excited than Berger herself. The excitement on her face was still obvious after the game during the team stretches. As excited as she was about scoring her first goal, she demonstrated great poise showing why she is one of the senior leaders on this team.
While she was clearly excited about her own individual achievement, Berger was exuberant about getting the team off to a 2-0 start on the season.
“I’m more excited that the team got the win,” Berger said.
The Pack has high expectations this year aiming to make both the ACC and NCAA tournament. If the team can continue to play solid defense as the season progresses, these goals will be well within reach.
Though the Pack won both games this past weekend, scoring posed to be a challenge. The team had several scoring opportunities in the Navy game but could not capitalize.
“We’ve done a really good job creating corner kicks and goal scoring opportunities, we just need to focus on the final bit, putting the ball in the back of the net,” Berger said.
According to Berger, one game to pay close attention to is the showdown with Miami on Sept. 29 in Coral Gables, Fla.
“That game last year left a sour note in all of our stomachs,” Berger said. “After the game, they did a little celebrating on our field. So we plan to get a little revenge this year.”
