The pressure will be on the women’s soccer team (6-3-2, 1-2 ACC) as it continues conference play against No. 9 Wake Forest (11-2, 3-1 ACC) at Method Road Soccer Stadium tonight at 4 p.m.
The Wolfpack is coming off two consecutive losses to then No. 1 ranked Florida State and the unranked Duke Blue Devils.
The last time these two teams met was in 2005 as the Demon Deacons prevailed 1-0 in Winston Salem, N.C. According to coach Laura Kerrigan, this year’s team is entirely different and is better prepared.
“We have a very different team than we had last year,” Kerrigan said. “And they have a very different team than they had last year. What happened last year really doesn’t affect us.”
The Pack will face a highly ranked and offensively explosive Wake Forest squad that is ranked first in the ACC and 13th in the nation in goals scored. “Wake Forest is ranked pretty high and we’re anxious to come out and play well,” Connors said. “For me, I’m just gonna play the way I’ve been playing: play with confidence, do the best I can, make sure everyone’s organized in the back and just get my job done.”
Connors, who ranks second among ACC goalies in shutouts and third in saves, said the importance in this game lies in evening up the team’s ACC record.
“Overall we’re excited about the game,” Connors said. “We only have one ACC win so we’re looking for another.”
According to Kerrigan, the team enjoys playing ranked teams because it increases the level of play and allows the Pack an opportunity to advance in the polls themselves.
“We like playing ranked teams,” Kerrigan said. “We tied William and Mary [then No. 18] and we lost to Florida State [then No. 1]. We love playing against them because it’s always a chance for us to move up in the rakings every time we play against a team that is higher in the rankings than we are.”
The game will feature a showdown between two of the ACC’s most dynamic goal scorers in N.C. State — junior midfielder Jessica O’Rorke and Wake Forest senior forward Elizabeth Remy.
O’Rorke is tied for second in the league in goals while Remy is tied for fourth.
According to Kerrigan, both teams have plenty of offensive fire power and it would be foolish to target one player.
“They have so many weapons on their team just like we do,” Kerrigan said. “Even though Jessica has scored a lot of our goals, there are eight or ten players who are real threats when they get the ball. It’s the same for Wake Forest. Even though Remy may have most of their goals, they have a ton of people capable of putting the ball in the back of the net.”
Kerrigan said the team’s goal is to even their conference record because in a conference where there are so many talented and highly ranked teams, the top half will all be contenders for a championship.
“If you end up .500 in the ACC, you’re going to the NCAA tournament,” Kerrigan said. “If we come out 2-2, it will put us in good position for the rest of the season in the ACC.” Despite early losses to FSU and Duke, Kerrigan said the Pack is more prepared and equipped to face a strong Wake team.
“We know what we’re going to face against Wake Forest,” Kerrigan said. “It’s a very skilled team and a very technical team, but we’re also a very skilled and technical team. Anybody can beat anybody and that’s what we’re shooting for.”
