Coming off a 1-0 loss to UNLV, it was important for the Wolfpack to respond. And it didn’t take long, as just 6:19 into the game, sophomore forward Paige Dugal scored on a cross from junior forward Kara Baldy. Freshman forward Kara Blosser said it was important to put the loss behind them.
“Coach [Springthorpe] didn’t want us to dwell on last week’s loss,” Blosser said. “We came out here and we were fired up. We just knew we had to get work done today. We’re looking for the future and we’re looking to rebuild from that loss.”
Coach Steve Springthorpe reiterated Blosser’s statement, adding his thoughts on the importance of getting a win at home.
“Coming off a loss, I tried to tell the girls before the game, ‘the loss is what it was, what we nee to do is rebound,”” Springthorpe said. “So I challenged them a little bit. You always want to come back with a win, especially at home.”
State responded to Springthorpe’s challenge, notching 4 goals and out-shooting Stony Brook 20-3, which Dugal said increased the team’s confidence.
“A win like this boosts your confidence,” Dugal said. “We know what we need to work on, so we try to work on it. It’s just nice to see a result.”
Blosser recorded her first career multi-goal game as a member of the Wolfpack, and said she was happy to do so, but wished she could have added another.
“It feels pretty good,” Blosser said. “I wish I could have gotten a third though.”
Blosser said the coaching staff and players alike understand the importance of the non-conference schedule to help prepare the team for play in the ACC, arguably the best conference in women’s soccer from top to bottom.
“These are good challenges for us, because they are making us come together as a team,” Blosser said. “We need to start gelling together for the entire game. We will have spurts where we go on ten-minute runs where we pass really well and then from my standpoint we fall apart. We need to work on staying sharp for 90 minutes and just keeping it up that way. When we get to ACC play it is going to be 90 minutes or nothing. One minute can make the difference.”
The 4-0 win is the largest margin of victory of the season, not including a 7-0 rout over VMI in an exhibition match, and the Pack has already outscored opponents 13-2 in just five games. Dugal said the team is pleased with their offensive output so far, but is focused on continuing to do so in ACC play.
“It’s nice to see we can score goals and we had four good goals,” Dugal said. “In the past we’ve had trouble scoring in the ACC, but we can do it. It’s nice to see it in these games and hopefully in the ACC we can score some goals.”
N.C. State continues its non-conference schedule this Friday against East Carolina at 7 p.m. at Dail Soccer Stadium. Springthorpe said the ECU game will challenge his team and help prepare for the start of conference play.
“We’ve got a couple of pretty tough games coming up. ECU is a good quality team,” Springthorpe said. “That will be a big challenge for us on Friday night. The conference is brutal. We need to prepare ourselves now. It’s building towards the future.”
