N.C. State fell to ACC opponent Virginia on Thursday night at the Dail Soccer Field in Raleigh. This marks the eighth straight loss to for the Wolfpack, while the No. 1 Cavaliers remain undefeated on the season.
The final score was 5-0, in favor of Virginia. The Cavaliers wasted no time, scoring their first goal less than four minutes into the game. State would allow three more goals in the first half, including two from Virginia’s sophomore forward Brittany Ratcliffe.
Ratcliffe’s goals were scored only 83 seconds apart. The Cavs’ final goal would come with less than three minutes remaining in the match.
State (6-10-0, 1-9-0 ACC) has struggled this year against ranked opponents, with a record of 0-6 and a combined goal differential of -16. Virginia (15-0-0, 9-0-0), on the other hand, continues its run as the only undefeated team left in Division I, including a 2-0 record against ranked teams.
Both teams’ rankings in the ACC remain the same after Thursday’s contest. The Pack stay at 13th in the conference standings, above the only ACC team that it has beaten: Pittsburgh. Despite having an undefeated record, Virginia still sits at second behind Florida State, as the Seminoles have more points than the Cavs.
An explanation for the five goals allowed by State could be the formation that head coach Tim Santoro implemented for match. Santoro urged his players not to be scared when taking on the best team in the nation, and instead tried to go on the offensive.
“[For this game], we changed to a 3-4-3 set, which is a very attacking-minded formation,” Santoro said. “We tried to catch them off-guard and try something different, where most teams just sit back.”
Despite its aggressive mindset, State couldn’t seem to find a rhythm in the game, as Virginia maintained possession for most of the contest. After losing possession shortly after the opening kickoff, the Pack did not get the ball again until the Cavs netted their first goal at the four-minute mark.
The Cavs’ goal came off a chip by senior forward Gloria Douglas, with an assist by junior midfielder Morgan Brian. Brian recorded three assists in the game.
State’s defense was resilient against a dominant Virginia attack. The Pack held the Cavs to only seven shots on goal, but the quality of Virginia’s players proved to be too much for State to handle.
“We managed throughout the game to hold their shot total down,” Santoro said. “They are just so efficient in front of the goal, and that’s why they’re the number one team in the country.”
State was able to record seven shots, including four on goal. Throughout the match, the Pack had opportunities to score on counter-attacks, but failed to capitalize. Freshman forward Jackie Stengel received two excellent passes downfield in the second half, but was stopped by an excellent Cavalier defense.
“We wanted to come out and play hard soccer against them,” Stengel said. “We created a lot of chances, but now we need to work on maximizing those chances.”
State’s next match will be on Sunday at noon against ACC newcomer Syracuse. The Orange are 2-7-1 in ACC play this season, and State will have a good chance to improve in the conference rankings with a win.
Swanson said he doesn’t want to change a thing going into Sunday’s contest.
“We need to be consistent.” Santoro said. “If we put any performance similar to [our play Thursday night] in, then we can be competitive and give ourselves a chance to win.”
