In its first win of the Gary Higgins era, NC State women’s soccer defeated Campbell 4-0.
The Wolfpack (1-5-2) came into the game looking for its first win of the season after a rough start, and looked to build on a 0-0 road draw against Elon. No better way to do that than on alumni night at home against the Camels (2-3-2).
NC State started with immediate pride and passion, taking five shots in the first 10 minutes of the game. One of these shots found the back of the net, off the head of junior midfielder Mary Frances Symmes to give her team a 1-0 lead. The Pack didn’t score for the rest of the first half, but it continued to dominate on all sides of the field, taking 14 shots on goal compared to Campbell’s three.
“We worked on it in training the last couple of days,” said Higgins. “It’s important to try and stay sharp in those moments, but also the mentality piece.”
At the start of the second half, the red-and-white had the exact same approach and with a goal from junior forward Jade Bordeleau, it now had a 2-0 lead. This was quickly followed by two more goals to give the Pack a 4-0 lead with 30 minutes left in the game. One from sophomore midfielder Fien Leijdekker, and the other being Symmes’ second of the night. NC State held on to win 4-0.
“It feels really good,” said Higgins. “More importantly, for the girls and the team, just because they’ve been working hard. Some of our performances have been good, and we just didn’t get the ball to bounce our way at times, and in those situations, if you keep on working hard, doing the right things, eventually it’ll start falling our way.”
This game not only marked the first win for the red-and-white, but also its last game before the full slate of ACC play begins. The ACC is often regarded as the best conference in men’s and women’s soccer, so a 4-0 win in dominant fashion can go a long way in building the team’s confidence.
“Obviously it took us a little bit longer than we expected to get our first one together,” said Higgins. “But sometimes that happens, and I was proud of them for keeping it going, keeping it focussed on the controllables, having a good attitude and showing up every day, and eventually it’ll start to balance out a little bit. We just got the rewards tonight.”
Despite the team’s early season struggles, the players have still come out together and have played with energy throughout the season, and this game was no exception. The Pack outshot the Camels 30-6. The same case can be said about other games as well, but this was the one where the Wolfpack were finally able to see the players able to fully connect on some shots.
“We’re just a really close team in general, so that’s really helped us,” said Symmes. “So we’ve all relied on each other, and we’ve all met together and we all want the same thing. So I think that’s really important.”
The Wolfpack’s next game will be its ACC opener against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at home on Sept. 11, at 7 p.m.
