#24 NC State & #21 Louisville Battle To A Draw

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The NC State women’s soccer team 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. Louisville responded with a goal off a corner kick 30 seconds later to even the match.

NC State moves to 9-3-1(3-1-1 ACC) with its first draw since the 2014 season and its first three match unbeaten run in ACC play since 2002. Louisville moves to 7-3-3 (2-1-2) with the result.

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. Sydney 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.

Santoro’s Take:
“We’re pleased with the result. After back-to-back road trips where we had to fly, to get a point tonight is a great result. We would’ve loved to have the win tonight and not given up a goal so quick after we scored ours, but I think a draw is a fair result today.”

Match Recap:
NC State produced the first chance of the match with two quick shots about a minute into the contest after Louisville failed to clear a corner kick.

The Pack and Cardinals would go on to trade possession and attacks, creating an even first half. NC State produced its best chances as the half winded down. Kia Rankin fired a shot over goal which glanced off the crossbar with about 10 minutes left in the half. With about two minutes left in the half, Gladys Loyas flicked on a cross to Ricarda Walkling who smashed her shot off the crossbar and back into play. NC State entered halftime with a 6-5 advantage in shots.

Both teams had offensive outburst at the start of the second half, as each scored within six minutes of the restart. NC State struck first, as Schuster scored the first goal of her career after blasting a rebound into the back of the net from the top of the box.

The goal marked the 12th straight Wolfpack goal scored by a freshman and the team’s 10th time scoring a goal within the first 15’ of the start of the first or second half.

Louisville immediately answered on its next attack. The Cardinals earned a corner kick and Inger Katrine Bjerke converted the goal from the set piece in the 51st minute.

The Pack and Cardinals continued to trade shots and possession, but neither was able to convert and ended regulation tied at 1-1. Louisville concluded the 90 minutes with a 16-14 shot advantage.

In the first overtime period, NC State threatened the Louisville goal multiple times. Walkling hit the crossbar in the 97th minute, Paige Griffiths forced a save in the 99th minute and Loyas also forced the Louisville keeper to produce a save in the 100th minute.

The Cardinals sent a few shots wide of the target and earned two corner kicks in the second overtime period, but neither team was able to break the tie as time expired.

Up Next:
After two matches on the road, NC State returns home for a pair of matches, as it begins the toughest portion for the schedule. It hosts No. 9 Duke Sunday at 7 p.m. before welcoming No. 2 Florida State to Dail Soccer Stadium next Saturday.