NC State women’s soccer extended its unbeaten streak to five matches after a 76th-minute goal by junior forward Jade Bordeleau to hoist the Wolfpack past Boston College.
A massive result for the red-and-white, who at this point control their own path to the ACC tournament. With just the top six teams making the conference postseason, every fixture is impactful. At 11 points with three wins and two draws, the Pack sits just on the threshold at sixth place.
Before finding the late-game-winner off the foot of Bordeleau, the Wolfpack (4-6-4, 3-1-2 ACC) and the Eagles (4-5-5, 0-4-2 ACC) were deadlocked, both trying to keep the other off the board. But with just over 14 minutes left on the clock, the ball trickled into the box, passed in by senior defender Brooklyn Holt and redirected by sophomore midfielder Fien Leijdekker. Poised and ready, Bordeleau fired it into the back of the net through the legs of Eagles goalkeeper Olivia Shippee.
The goal extended Bordeleau’s streak to five games in a row, finding the back of the net and becoming the first player with that record in the 21st century. She also moved into the top 30 in the nation with nine goals on the season.
With four regular-season matches to play, and sitting at the edge of contention, the goal could not have come at a bigger time. Of its four final matches, three opponents are vying for that final 6th seed in the tournament. Louisville, No. 19 North Carolina and No. 14 Duke all sit just outside looking in, with a target on the Pack’s back.
After going 0-5-1 to start the season, nobody could have foreseen the surge that the Wolfpack has taken. The Pack followed the tough start with a solid record of 4-1-3 in the last eight games, including its first win over a ranked opponent since 2021, upsetting then-No. 12 Wake Forest 2-1.
“We were 0-5-1, and people were making fun of us,” said head coach Gary Higgins after the Pack earned a draw against then-No. 7 Florida State. “And this group kept together and kept getting at it. That’s what it’s all about.”
With the ability to control its destiny in the ACC tournament race, NC State will head up north to face Pittsburgh (5-7-2, 1-5 ACC) on Friday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m.
