North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Meets Terrapins in ACC First Round
10/29/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 29, 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. -
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NC State women's soccer enters its 17th Atlantic Coast Conference tournament Sunday, Oct. 31, with a match against the No. 19 ranked Terrapins of Maryland at 3 p.m. in College Park, Md. The ninth-seeded Wolfpack finished the regular season with a 7-8-2 overall record and went 1-8-0 in ACC play. The eighth-seeded Terps are 7-5-3 and 3-4-2 in conference action. NC State leads the all-time series with Maryland 14-5-4, but is 0-1-1 against the Terrapins in ACC Tournament play.
The match marks the sixth-straight game versus a top 25 team for NC State. In the other ACC first round game, Miami will travel to Virginia Tech for a 1 p.m. start in Blacksburg, Va.
The Wolfpack is 5-14-2 in the ACC Tournament. In the 16 previous ACC Tournaments, NC State has advanced to the semifinals eight times, the finals three times and is the only other team, other than North Carolina, to win a conference title. The Pack is 2-7-1 in first round action.
NC State is 0-1-1 versus Maryland in the ACC Tournament. The last time the two teams played in the tournament was in 1997 in the first round. The Terps advanced on corner kicks, 4-3 after a 1-1 tie. A win in Sunday's first round match would give NC State its first tournament victory over Maryland.
"This game represents a new season," said NC State head coach Laura Kerrigan. "We have the opportunity to avenge an earlier loss at Maryland and advance in the tournament."
Entering Sunday's match, senior tri-captain Erin Griswold leads the team with 21 points and eight goals. She is followed by senior forward Anna Helenius who has 18 points on the year with six goals and six assists. Sophomore Carol Tognetti also has six assists to along with her five goals, which is third on the squad. Three of NC State's starting 11 have started every match heading into postseason. All three happen to be defenders and all three are sophomores. Tri-captain Michelle Crocker anchors the defense and Nicole Mayo and Megan Buescher play on either side. Including those three, and Griswold have all played in each previous ACC regular season match. Freshman Allie Wilkerson is the only player to record multiple goals in ACC play; she has two. Griswold, Helenius and Tognetti have also netted ACC goals. Sophomore Megan Connors is the probable starter in the net. She played in every minute of each conference match, made 58 saves and allowed 19 goals. Overall, Connors has 16 starts with 65 saves and 22 goals allowed. While Connors has made 58 saves in conference play, her counterparts have made just 24.
Maryland capped of the regular season with a non-conference match at No. 3 Penn State, Sunday, Oct. 27. The Terrapins were shutout 6-0. The loss ended a two-game Terps winning streak after the Maryland squad upset No. 10 Duke in overtime, 1-0 and defeated Navy 3-1. Junior midfielder Mallory Maher leads the Terrapins squad with 16 points. She has seven goals and two assists. Just thirteen players of Maryland's 15-member squad have played more than two contests, which limits the Terps to a shallow bench for substitutions. Sophomore Nikki Resnick is the Terps lone keeper to get time this season. She has made 80 saves and allowed 21 goals. She also has four shutouts to her credit.
The next round opponent and time will be announced on Monday, Nov. 1. The 17th annual ACC Tournament is to be played in Cary's SAS Soccer Park.
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