NC State Women’s soccer nearly stuns No. 7 Florida State in 1-1 draw

Holding the top team in the ACC scoreless for 89 minutes and 27 seconds, the Wolfpack couldn’t stand strong, allowing the game-tying goal with 33 seconds left from No. 7 Florida State.

NC State (2-6-3) shocked the Seminoles (7-0-2), earning a draw and handing the Noles their second tie of the season. Coming into the game, the Wolfpack was the obvious underdog, but they stood their ground and silenced the many Florida State fans that showed up to Dail Stadium.

With the fans on their feet, half the stadium was yelling to kick the ball out while the other half was screaming to shoot it. With less than a minute left, the Seminoles knew it could be their last chance to prevent walking away with their first loss. Sophomore forward Wrianna Hudson dribbled down the sideline, fired into the far corner just underneath the goalkeeper, scoring the equalizer with just seconds remaining.

The game started slowly in what looked like keep-away, not picking up until 80 minutes in when the Wolfpack was rewarded with a penalty kick. Seminoles junior midfielder Yuna McCormack brought down an NC State offensive player in the box, setting up the Wolfpack with the perfect opportunity to take the lead. Junior forward Jade Bordeleau set the ball down on the mark, took a step back and passed it directly into the bottom left corner of the net just past the goaltenders’ reach.

“Against the best teams, you have to deny them time and space, but you also have to ride some waves,” head coach Gary Higgins said. “Florida State and these top teams in the conference are going to put a lot of pressure on us at different times. Like we say, if you ride those waves, the chances, they’ll come. We deserved that penalty kick, and Jade put it away.”

Capitalizing on one of the five total shots all game, the Wolfpack became the second team this season to score a goal on the Seminoles. They also became the third team to allow just one goal, due to a strong performance from senior goalkeeper Olivia Pratapas.

Pratapas showed up ready to put her body on the line, only conceding once on Florida State’s 21 shots, despite facing the defending Golden Nole female Rookie of the year, Wrianna Hudson, who has already scored seven goals in eight games this season.

“[The team’s perseverance is] honestly one of the proudest moments of my coaching career because people were laughing at us in the month of August,” Higgins said. “We were 0-5-1, and people were making fun of us and this group kept together and kept getting at it. That’s what it’s all about in my opinion.”

While the teams were tied 0-0 at the break, the first half truly felt one-sided as Florida State kept attacking and deprived the Wolfpack from possession of the ball. Both teams had numerous chances where the ball rolled across the net, but no one was home to finish it. The game became more physical as time passed, and NC State seemed to thrive in this style of play, creating chances for itself on counter attacks and set pieces.

“That’s the foundation for the program,” Higgins said. “We talk about three things: Having a competitive and physical foundation, that’s the bare minimum. And then, can you have tactical discipline on top of that? Then you start sprinkling some quality in different categories, in different areas of the pitch. That’s when you start becoming a really good team.”

The NC State Wolfpack will travel to Blacksburg, VA to play Virginia Tech on Saturday at 7 p.m.