Andy Musselman
On a two game road trip to Virginia last weekend, the women’s soccer team (7-2) picked up its first two losses of the season. The Wolfpack dropped a heartbreaker in overtime against William and Mary Friday, and struggled to find energy in its game against Old Dominion Sunday.
“We’re definitely looking to get a win and get back on our feet,” sophomore midfielder Jessica Herrmann said. “We had a really tough loss over the weekend against William and Mary, then we were just tired against Old Dominion.”
According to junior defender Gia Cipollini, the team is ready to move on from its first taste of defeat.
“I think we’re all just going to seriously just put that all behind us,” Cipollini said. “We are going to take each game as it comes. This weekend is behind us.”
Coming back to its home field, N.C. State will look to get a positive result against North Florida (3-4-1). The Pack is 6-0 at home this season and is looking to improve to 7-0 at N.C. State Soccer Stadium.
“It is definitely good to be back playing at home right before ACC,” Herrmann said. “A win at home is definitely going to be key because our confidence will be up for when we go on the road.”
State’s attack is led by senior Lindsay Vera and sophomore Kara Baldy, who have shown an ability to get forward and put away chances. Baldy has doubled her goal total from a year ago and Vera has already tied her season point total from last year. The Pack have outscored their opponents 19-7, posting a 2.11 goal per game average. Not only has the scoring improved, N.C. State has recorded 31 assists in 9 games, compared to last year’s 25 assists in 19 games.
“We are such a different team from last spring. We have totally changed,” Herrmann said. “The attitude, everyone wants to play and everyone wants to play for each other.”
Looking ahead toward conference play, the team is hopeful that this can be a boost into ACC competition. The Wolfpack will play four consecutive conference games, all of which are on the road.
“We know we are in probably the toughest conference,” Cipollini said. “We’re just going to play our best and hopefully capitalize on our opportunities.”
Coach Laura Kerrigan said the team must focus on North Florida before looking ahead to ACC play.
“We’ve seen some ACC teams play and we’ve got no question that we can win these games,” Kerrigan said. “So the important thing is for us to focus on North Florida. We need to take care of business and we can focus on the ACC’s over the weekend.”
The Pack will host a North Florida team that is coached by N.C. State alumni Linda Hamilton. Hamilton and Wolfpack coach Laura Kerrigan were teammates for State in the late 80’s.
“She was a very good player here, and I have a lot of respect for Linda and her knowledge of the game,” Kerrigan said. “You know I’m sure it’s going to be a good battle.”