Though the rain came pouring down on Dail Soccer Field on Sunday afternoon, Wolfpack spirits nevertheless remained high as the senior players were honored before their last game in front of the home fans. With kickoff approaching, the skies finally parted and that long-awaited sunlight broke through, and like the sun, the stars for the Wolfpack shined on the field.
The Wolfpack scored early in its game against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on Sunday, and the team never looked back, winning 3-0.
“Solid performance beginning to end,” said head coach Tim Santoro. “We started off strong getting those two goals early, which gave us a little cushion.”
Senior midfielder Ricci Walkling was first to put the Pack on the board in the 16th minute, with a rebounded shot off the crossbar, assisted by senior midfielder Tziarra King. Before the crowd had the chance to stop celebrating, the Wolfpack attacked the net once again with another goal finished by freshman forward Jameese Joseph, assisted by redshirt sophomore defender Lulu Guttenberger, to pull the Pack’s lead to two goals within the first 17 minutes.
The next and final goal for the Pack did not come until the 77th minute, with a ball into the back of the net by King, her 12th goal of the season. With King’s final goal, the Pack was able to sweep the Irish 3-0 by the end of 90 minutes.
When the final whistle blew, it ended the last home game of the season for all the seniors.
“When I think about the past four years and all the blood sweat and tears I put on this field, I’m just thankful I had the opportunity and thankful for all the amazing teammates that I had over the four years,” King said.
But the Pack isn’t done yet as its last ACC game is an important one with the Wolfpack traveling to Louisville on Thursday for a contest that may affect its participation in the ACC Tournament.
“We have a game Thursday that will determine some of that,” Santoro said. “We have been good most of the season, we have had some unfortunate ties that we should have won that have put us in the position where we are still battling for a position, but I’m pretty confident with this group for postseason.”
