The NC State women's soccer team (9-7-2, 3-6 ACC) got a goal midway through the first half and then outlasted a hard-charging High Point (4-13, 3-4 Big South) squad on Wednesday at Method Road Soccer Stadium.
A quartet of HPU players tallied shots on goal in the game including Traci Andersen, Beckie Lesh, Reine DeLaat and Karolina Straby. The two squads both earned three corner kicks in the game. High Point's goalkeeping tandem of Marisa Abbott (2) and Hannah Nail (4) finished with six saves for the game while Sydney Little recorded four stops.
"We played really well today and I am very proud of this group," said HPU head coach Michelle Rayner. "We defended well and did a good job of moving forward in the second half, we just missed a couple of opportunities to score a goal. This was the third ACC team we played against and it was the third time that we gave ourselves a chance to earn a win. We showed that we deserved to be on the field with high level teams and that is exciting."
State's Briana Cunningham took the first shot seven minutes into the match off of a pass from sophomore Tami Krzeszewski, but the shot went wide. Five minutes later, the Panthers netted their first shot of the game when Andersen broke away from the defenders and shot at the Pack goal, but Little was there for her first save.
Jessica O'Rourke attempted to put the Pack on the board in the 19th minute with a shot off of a pass from sophomore Mallory Schmidt, but goalie Marisa Abbott made the save. At the 33:51 mark, O'Rourke took a shot from 35 yards out that sailed to the top of the goal where Abbott bobbled it, and the ball fell into the net, giving the Pack a 1-0 lead going into the half.
Forty seconds into the second half, Meredith Parrilla took a shot from ten yards out, but Nail, who started the second period, was there for the stop. Ten minutes later, freshman Katie Ruiz took a corner kick, and O'Rourke attempted to head in the ball, but it went high over the crossbar.
Half way through the second half, Andersen dribbled down the field, broke away from the Pack defenders, but senior Megan Buescher was able to kick the ball away as she was about to take a shot. With seven minutes left to play, Straby placed a shot to the top of the net, but Little made the save. With 48 seconds left in regulation, O'Rourke tried for another goal with a shot from 15 yards out, but Nail was again in position to prevent the ball from going in.
High Point closes out the regular season on Saturday at home against Coastal Carolina at 6 p.m. The game marks the final home appearance for Panther seniors Andersen, DeLaat, Jinene Enders and Gaby McLaughlin, who will be honored in a pre-game presentation.
