It seemed as though Dail Soccer Stadium drew a singular, silent breath as freshman defender Mackenzie Smith lined up for her last-minute corner kick in Raleigh.
After the longest five seconds of the evening, Smith sailed the ball through the air, connecting with junior midfielder Annika Wohner to break the silence and score the game-tying goal in NC State women’s soccer’s match against Rutgers.
NC State’s 1-1 draw took a full 90 minutes of effort from the Wolfpack (1-0-2). Even though the red-and-white arguably played a better game than the visiting Scarlet Knights (1-1-1), it took 88 minutes for NC State to find an answer to Rutgers’ fifth-minute goal.
While Wohner’s first-class header sent a rambunctious, near-capacity Dail Soccer Stadium into a frenzy in those waning moments, the Wolfpack’s game-long efforts were in jeopardy of being left unresolved.
“With the flow of the game I felt like we deserved a goal,” said head coach Tim Santoro. “I’m glad we scored because I think it would’ve been a little unjust if that game would’ve finished 1-0.”
That 1-0 deficit was a result of the Scarlet Knights’ aggressive start. The over-1,400 person crowd at Dail hadn’t even fully settled into their seats before Rutgers bagged the opener off of a pinpoint cross and point-blank, near post shot over senior goalkeeper Maria Echezarreta.
From there, though, the Wolfpack settled in, and the Knights sat back. Rutgers was content with playing for the 1-0 win, staying back and continually thwarting the Pack’s advances by throwing as many defenders at NC State as possible.
The Knight’s conservative strategy worked for most of the match as four Wolfpack players were assessed yellow cards. There were multiple occasions where players thought they were fouled, but nothing was called.
However, by the end of the second half, the Pack’s frustrations turned fruitful; the red-and-white had multiple scoring opportunities, and started to build confidence in the final 30 yards as the contest crossed over into the second half.
“I think overall we found our momentum as a team,” Wohner said. “We just need to be a little more effective in the last third and score those goals.”
Despite not creating many scoring chances, there are signs that the Wolfpack offense is finding a rhythm with most of its opportunities coming from corner kicks.
“I thought our set pieces were good tonight on both sides of the ball,” Santoro said. “We just have to be better in the final 30 yards.”
Throughout the second half, Rutgers remained committed to holding NC State back with a concerted effort on defense and a lacking effort on offense — a strategy that worked for the 83 minutes between the match’s two goals, and not a second more.
By the end of the match, the Red Terrors — NC State soccer’s raucous student section — could sense a Wolfpack score. And they promptly responded to Wohner’s equalizer with a frenzied celebration at either end of the pitch, making for an electric atmosphere at Dail.
“It was amazing,” Wohner said. “[Because] of all the fans we have, we have a great atmosphere at home. I love that., I love when all the fans are here. And the Red Terrors, big shout out to them, it’s amazing.”
Additionally, Echezarreta gave the Red Terrors another reason to cheer, as she recorded her 200th save in the red-and-white.
NC State will have a full week off before it travels west to take on Colorado. The Pack will then head a little south for a match against Denver a few days later.
“Colorado will be a tough one, and [we’re] traveling,” Santoro said. “In the attacking third, we just have to be better at finding ways to break down a team and put the ball in the goal.”
NC State’s still searching for ways to score, and the job won’t get any easier against the Buffaloes. The Wolfpack’s trip out west starts with its clash against Colorado in Boulder on Thursday, Aug. 31 at 9 p.m. EST.
