The NC State women’s soccer team suffered a 2-1 loss on Sunday afternoon to the Louisville Cardinals at Dail Soccer Stadium in Raleigh, NC.
The Wolfpack falls to 10-5-3 (3-4-2 ACC) while Louisville improves to 12-4 (6-3 ACC).
Both teams were able to put one shot on target within the opening fifteen minutes, but neither was able to capitalize. Sydney Wootten made a nice save and was able to hit the ball off of the post to prevent an early Louisville score.
Maisie Whitsett gave the Cardinals a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute on her header shot off of the corner kick from Allison Whitfield.
NC State’s best scoring chance in the first half came in the 37th minute, but Kia Rankin’s header shot off a cross sailed wide, which led to a corner kick.
Louisville went on to double its lead with a second goal in the 50th minute by Emina Ekic, who scored on a rebound off of a blocked shot.
NC State scored their first goal of the match in the 66th minute when Courtney Walker received a pass from Tziarra King and scored while the goalkeeper was out of position.
After cutting the deficit in half, the Pack pressured more on offense to try and tie the game and force overtime. The Pack had an opportunity with two corners in the final two minutes of the game, but they were unable to come up with the much needed goal.
Even though NC State won four corners compared to Louisville’s two, they were unable to capitalize. Louisville was able to outshoot NC State 9-5, with five of those nine shots being on goal. Sydney Wootten was able to save three of the five shots on goal, while Louisville was able to save two out of NC State’s three shots on goal.
NC State will close the regular season on October 25 when it travels to No. 6 Virginia. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Klöckner Stadium and will be broadcast on Regional Sports Network (RSN).