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RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State women’s soccer team faces a quick turnaround, as it returns home to welcome No. 9 Duke to Dail Soccer Stadium for a 7 p.m. Sunday night match. The Wolfpack (9-3-1, 3-1-1 ACC) enters with a three-match unbeaten streak in ACC play. Duke (10-2-2, 4-0-1 ACC) has shutout its last four ACC opponents and enters the matchup with three consecutive wins.

A Win Would Be:

The 10th win of the year – most since 2011

The fourth ACC win of the year – most since 1995 and only the second time in program history

The first over Duke since 2000 and an end to 14 straight for the Blue Devils in the series

The third win over a team ranked in the Soccer America poll

The second win over a top-10 team this season

A four-match unbeaten streak in ACC play – a first since 1995

Scouting Duke:

Duke enters the match scoring 2.54 goals per game – good for the nation’s 10th best offense. The Blue Devils are ranked top-10 in the nation in shots, points, goals and assists. Duke is outscoring its opposition 33-10 and is led in the attack by Imani Dorsey and Ella Stephens, who have both tallied six goals this season.

The Blue Devils’ defense is holding opponents to 0.77 goals per match and just eight shots per contest. The defense hasn’t allowed a goal in four matches, a streak that has spanned 401 minutes.

Pack in the Polls:

NC State moved up in the RPI and NSCAA Poll after a road win against Boston College last weekend. The Pack is No. 21 in the RPI and is receiving 22 points in the NSCAA Poll – good for 27th in the nation. The team is ranked 21st in HeroSport’s Bennett Rank, 24th in the Soccer America Poll and 27th in Top Drawer Soccer’s Poll.

 Moving Up the Table:

NC State has moved into a tie for third place in the ACC behind Notre Dame and Duke. The Pack and FSU are tied with 3-1-1 records in the conference. Virginia, North Carolina and Clemson sit just behind the Pack with 2-1-2 records.

Road Warriors:

NC State has earned three results on the road in ACC play this season, posting two wins and a draw. NC State’s 4-1-1 away record is the best in the conference.

Youth Movement:

NC State started seven freshmen and four sophomores against Louisville, marking its first time this season without an upperclassman in the starting lineup. Freshman have accounted for the last 12 Wolfpack goals. Overall, the group has totaled 18 goals and 16 assists for 68 percent of the team’s points.

Lockdown Defense:

The Wolfpack backline and goalkeeper Sydney Wootten have been exceptional this season and earned five shutouts, including two shutouts on the road during ACC play. Wootten tallied a seven save performance, as the backline and the keeper helped hand Boston College its first home defeat of the season last week. The goalie tied her season-high with eight saves in the match against Louisville.

Wootten earned ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the performance on Oct. 4th – marking her second recognition of the season from the conference.

Tough Road Ahead:

NC State is currently in the middle of its toughest stretch of the schedule, facing nine consecutive opponents either ranked or receiving votes in the NSCAA or Soccer America Poll. The schedule gets no easier with a stretch of four straight matches against the four highest ranked teams in the conference, as it faces No. 9 Duke, No. 2 Florida State, No. 8 Virginia and No. 12 Clemson.

Last Time Out:

NC State battled to a 1-1 2OT draw at Louisville on Thursday night to extend its ACC unbeaten streak to three matches. Kristina Schuster scored NC State’s only goal of the night off a shot from the top of the box in the 50th minute. In its second straight ACC road match, the Wolfpack backline had another good performance and did well to prevent the Cardinals from producing many concrete chances in the run of play. Wootten recorded eight saves in the contest. The Pack’s attack caused issues for Louisville defenders throughout the match and placed 10 shots on goal.

Follow Along:

Fans can follow the match through a live broadcast on the ACCDNE via WATCHESPNlive statsTwitter and Instagram.

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NC State Falls Out of the Top-10 After Losses to UNC & Duke

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After losing to rivals UNC and Duke last week, the NC State Women’s Basketball team fell out of the Top-10 in the Week 17 AP Poll, landing at #12. NC State started the 2023-24 season unranked, but jumped to #14 in the first Poll after the Preseason Poll. The Wolfpack have been ranked in the Top-10 since November 20th, which equals 14 straight polls.

ACC Teams in the Top-25

5. Virginia Tech
12. NC State
17. Notre Dame
19. Syracuse
22. Louisville
27. Duke
29. UNC
30. FSU

The Wolfpack will host #19 Syracuse on Thursday night at 7pm.

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NC State’s Week 1 Depth Chart Against UCONN (with Notes)

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NC State will kick off their 2023 Football season next Thursday night against UCONN at 7:30pm. The Wolfpack released their Depth Chart for the game today.

Image

Notes

  • Redshirt Sophomore Anthony Carter Jr. is listed as the starting Left Guard. If Redshirt Sophomore Lyndon Cooper wasn’t missing the first game due to injury, I wonder if Carter would be starting. Doeren did praise Carter in his press conference today. Also, he stated that Cooper should be back for the Notre Dame game.
  • Noticeably, Graduate Transfer Offensive Lineman Dawson Jaramillo is also missing from the Depth Chart. Unfortunately, Jaramillo has suffered an injury, and will miss the entirety of the 2023 season. This is a huge blow for Jaramillo, and a huge blow for the depth of the Wolfpack Offensive Line. Jaramillo was a Swiss Army knife, having the ability to play in numerous positions.
  • Very often, Doeren has stated that the “Or” in between two names means that the coaching staff sees both players as starters. There is an “Or” in between Chris Toudle and Trent Pennix at Tight End, with the former being listed first. Maybe it doesn’t matter whose name is listed first, but I’m shocked Pennix’s name wasn’t the one at the top.
  • I’m not shocked that Julian Gray and Keyon Lesane are listed as the starters at the X and Y Wide Receiver positions. They both have had a lot of buzz surrounding them in Fall Camp, and Lesane was named a captain. Obviously, with Gray’s speed, Offensive Coordinator Robert Anae is going to want to find a way to get the ball in his hands. With that being said, and this is no disrespect to the two of them, but both of them are 5’11”, which isn’t exactly the way you would sculpt your prototypical outside receivers. I expect Terrell Timmons and Bradley Rozner to both be heavily in rotation at the X and Y, to give the outside receivers a good dose of speed as well as height.
  • True Freshman Running Back Kendrick Raphael might be buried at the bottom of the Depth Chart at his position, but I bet he sees a carry before Mimms or Jones. Doeren mentioned that we would see Raphael against UCONN, but didn’t mention Jones or Mimms. Anae likes to run 2 Running Back sets, with one of them almost functioning like a Full Back. As a result, I’m not shocked to see Jones and Mimms where they are in the Depth Chart.
  • Props to True Freshman Kevin Concepcion for earning the starting job at the Inside Wide Receiver position. Get ready to hear his name a lot this year. KC is backed up by Redshirt Sophomore Jalen Coit, who Doeren spoke highly of today.
  • Junior Porter Rooks is no longer sitting behind Thayer Thomas on the Depth Chart. Doeren said that Rooks has had a great camp. The former 4-Star prospect has an opportunity to show that those stars meant something by his name. With that being said, he will be pushed by True Freshman Javonte “Juice” Vereen, who even has national media buzzing about him heading into the season.
  • Three True Freshman are on the Offensive Depth Chart: Left Guard Kamen Smith, IWR Kevin Concepcion and FLEXY Juice Vereen.
  • True Freshman Kamal Bonner is 2nd on the Depth Chart at the Will Linebacker spot, backing up Payton Wilson. What’s noteworthy, is that he’s ahead of former 4-Star prospect Jordan Poole in the Depth Chart. Bonner must have made a heck of a first impression.
  • As expected, ODU Graduate Transfer Robert Kennedy is starting at Nickel.
  • True Freshman Brandon Cisse is backing up Aydan White at Right Corner, and Doeren said we should expect him to contribute.
  • Redshirt Sophomore Jalen Coit will be filling in the shoes of Thayer Thomas at Punt Returner.

 

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Elliot Avent is interviewed on MLB Network about rule changes and Wolfpack Alums

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Elliot Avent gave a great interview on MLB Network.

Avent talks about the rules changes in baseball and doesn’t seem too pleaseed about them, while also breaking some news that they might be naming the hitting facility after Trea Turner and the Pitching lab after Carlos Rodon.

Give it a watch.

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NC State Basketball

Mady Traore Will No Longer Enroll at NC State

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This unfortunately seemed inevitable.

According to 247Sports’ Travis Branham, 3-Star Mady Traore is no longer planning on enrolling at NC State.

Traore was a member of the Wolfpack’s 2022 recruiting class, but wasn’t able to enroll in the Fall because of Visa issues and the English Competency Test.

Back on November 29th, I posted the following article, saying that Traore was set to join the team for the 2nd semester. Traore himself told me when I posted it, that he was expecting to join the team in December.

I received the intel 2 weeks prior to posting, and prior to things beginning to brew between NC State and Isaiah Miranda. In hindsight, I wish I would have posted it when I got the intel (haha).

4-Star Mady Traore Expected to Suit up for NC State Soon

Obviously, that didn’t happen, and isn’t happening.

When I posted the article, things were in flux, because there was one scholarship available. If Miranda came, he was going to get the scholarship, and the staff was hoping Traore would be willing to wait and enroll in April. If Miranda didn’t come, then the expectation was for Traore to join the team in December, in the way that Miranda just did.

I still believe my source’s info was solid, and there are always a lot of moving pieces in play that can change scenarios quickly.

From what I hear, the staff was genuinely hopeful they could add Miranda in December, and Traore in April, but it didn’t work out that way, and that’s the way it goes sometimes.

We wish you the best Mady! You’ve got a special future in basketball.

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