The Wolfpack struggled during its non-conference slate under new head coach Gary Higgins. Without a win until its most recent matchup against Campbell, the upcoming ACC slate loomed large. Seven ACC teams sit in the top 25, five of which are on the Wolfpack’s schedule.
On the other side: No. 6 Notre Dame. Starting out the season undefeated with one draw against No. 9 Arkansas, the Fighting Irish have been red hot — continuing to climb the top 10 nationally. A landslide Notre Dame victory against the Wolfpack seemed like the only possible outcome.
For a while, the Pack looked like it might shock the world, keeping it close until the final whistle.
But only able to hold the Fighting Irish back for so long, NC State let up a late 85th minute goal to fall 2-1 in a grueling loss.
“We obviously had to dig deep defensively, which you have to do against the best teams in the country,” said NC State head coach Gary Higgins. “I was proud of the fight. You have to claw with your fingernails in the ACC to get results. And unfortunately, we were four minutes away from getting a positive result tonight.”
The Wolfpack (1-6-2) faced relentless pressure, outshot 25-9 by the Fighting Irish (6-0-1). Despite the lopsided stat line, NC State stayed within striking distance until the closing minutes.
Freshman midfielder Emily Wong opened the scoring in the eighth minute, putting the Pack ahead early. Off of a corner kick from the right side, the ball deflected to the right edge of the six-yard box and Wong fired it across into the bottom left corner for her first goal of her young collegiate career.
“Emily has been arguably our most consistent player this season, so to have that as a freshman, that’s really exciting for the future,” Higgins said. “And then, I was glad to see her get on the score sheet and get her first collegiate goal.”
Even while NC State led, it felt at times like the pitch was tilted toward the Wolfpack side, with the ball staying in their defensive end for long stretches. Chance after chance and cross after cross, Notre Dame was throwing everything at NC State. Eventually, the Fighting Irish broke through near the end of the half in the 38th minute with a cross and volley shot into the top right corner past NC State senior goalkeeper Olivia Pratapas.
For the next 47 minutes, the barrage continued. Notre Dame kept producing chances in NC State territory, but with shot-blocking and grit, the Pack kept it even. It even produced a few chances in the offensive end; most notably a deep shot from outside the box from junior forward Jade Bordeleau curled into the top-right corner, barely deflected away by the Notre Dame goalkeeper.
But NC State’s hopes were dashed as Notre Dame’s Annabelle Chukwu took a deep cross on the volley and directed it past Pratapas with just four minutes remaining, effectively securing the win.
The Pack fought tooth and nail, but could only keep the Fighting Irish at bay for so long.
Next up, NC State will head to Dallas, Texas to face SMU on Thursday, Sept. 18, at 7 p.m.
