North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
Va Commonwealth (Exh.)
Soccer Earns 2-0 Shutout over Virginia Commonwealth
8/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 21, 2004
RALEIGH, N.C. -
Box Score in PDF Format
NC State women's soccer finished its preseason with a 2-0 shutout over visiting Virginia Commonwealth on Saturday, Aug. 21. The Wolfpack went 1-0-1 in exhibition play. Junior forward Lydia McBath netted the first goal and freshman midfielder Aria Tanzi scored the insurance goal on a penalty kick.
Same story, different game for the Pack as it once again put on the jets in the second half. Virginia Commonwealth seemed to control the tempo of the second exhibition match for the Wolfpack, but NC State never relented and found its offensive weapons in the second half. The momentum turned to NC State's side after senior midfielder Katherine Warman entered the game late in the first half. She quickly tallied two shots from the near side. Up until her entry, senior forward Anna Helenius was the only Pack player to have taken a shot. NC State finished with a slight advantage, 5-4 in shots at the end of period one.
"The second half was better than the first," said NC State head coach Laura Kerrigan. "We created a lot of great finishes to regain momentum in the second half. I was especially pleased with the way Lydia (McBath) and Aria (Tanzi) played today. That was a tremendous effort on the goal from Lydia in the box and as a freshman, Aria stepped up and scored the PK for us."
With the score still at zero entering the second half, NC State continued to pressure the VCU defense. The Rams had put four and five players to pressure on the Wolfpack forwards earlier in the game, but NC State found some holes and created more chances in the second period. After nearly 20 minutes of play, McBath took a shot just outside of the keeper box and tapped it into center-net to score the first goal of the match. Freshman Alex Caram and picked up the ball at midfield and passed it through to Helenius in the box. Helenius tried to maneuver and open shot, but instead passed of to a more open McBath. Virginia Commonwealth however quickly turned the ball towards its end of the field and nearly scored the tying goal, but the ball was turned away by the far lower post. The second goal came after a VCU defender fouled senior forward Erin Griswold in the box, giving NC State a penalty kick. Tanzi stepped up and sent the ball into the near lower post with just under 14 minutes remaining.
The NC State defense held VCU to just three shots in the second half and eight for the game. The Wolfpack finished with 12, including three from McBath and two each from Griswold, Helenius and Warman. For NC State, junior Kim Selz started in goal and finished with one save. Sophomore Megan Connors played the entire second half to aid in the shutout. For VCU, three goalkeepers spilt time, Emily Niman, Lauren Hardison and Kali Van Covern. Hardison allowed both goals in 32 minutes of action. Van Covern had two assists to finish the second half.
NC State will open its regular season Friday, Aug. 27 at Campbell, 7:30 p.m. The game will be played in Buies Creek, N.C.
Scoring Summary
1. McBath (ST), 64:05
2. Tanzi (ST), 76:06
