North Carolina State University Athletics
Women's Soccer Opens Season at High Point
8/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 24, 2005
RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State women's soccer kicks off its regular season slate this Friday, Aug. 26, at High Point with a 7 p.m. start. The Wolfpack and Panthers are meeting for the sixth time and NC State leads the series, 5-0. The two squads met last season and the Wolfpack came away with a 1-0 victory. NC State opens its home slate on Sunday, Aug. 28, against College of Charleston at 1 p.m. All of the women's soccer home games will be played at SAS Soccer Stadium in Cary, N.C.
High Point is coming off of a successful 2004 campaign in the Big South and posted an 11-8-1 overall record. The Panthers also return their leading scorer, senior forward Jen Evans. She posted a team-best 10 goals and seven assists a year ago. First year head coach Michelle Rayner directs the squad. In the team's first action, an exhibition match versus Gardner-Webb, the Panthers fell 2-0 on Saturday, Aug. 20.
Eight-year Wolfpack head coach Laura Kerrigan welcomes back a roster full of experience and versatile players. NC State brought in 11 freshmen two years ago and today those freshmen are making their mark as juniors. Seven of them have become full-time starters or have been in the mix for numerous games. This season, Carol Tognetti, Megan Buescher, Christina Mann, Mandela Schumacher-Hodge, Nicole Mayo and Megan Connors will return with the most field experience, having started in over 50 percent of their career games with the Wolfpack. The defensive starters returning from last season include Michelle Crocker, Mayo, Buescher, Connors (GK) and Mann. Returning starters from the midfield include Schumacher-Hodge and Tognetti with some help from sophomore Jessica O'Rourke, who at times stepped in at back and made eight starts in 16 appearances. The offense will need a jump start with the departure of Erin Griswold and Anna Helenius, who combined for 14 of the 29 goals. Senior Lydia McBath, who started 10 of her 16 appearances, along with several of the incoming freshmen will need to handle the scoring pressure.
"I am excited to have the bulk of our starting defense back," said Kerrigan. "There is a lot of experience in our back line, in goal and midfield. Our young players coming in up front will need to generate goals for us and that will be a key to our success. We spent a good part of our spring training concentrating on our attack because we did not score enough last season. We need to be more consistent and more potent when getting in the front third and must utilize our midfield to better our attack. The leadership of our junior co-captains, Mandela and Michelle, along with a strong junior class will really provide us with a lot of guidance, both on and off the field. We have several new faces coming in and I am excited to see what the starting lineup will look like heading into our season opener on Aug. 26 against High Point."
Junior Megan Connors returns as the most experienced netkeeper for the Wolfpack. She, along with seniors Kim Selz and Lauren Georges will handle the net minding duties. Connors has inked 114 career saves, while allowing just 43 goals in 2,434 minutes of action in the posts. The New Jersey native ranked in three ACC categories, including saves per game (4th, 4.35), goals against average (7th, 1.33) and shutouts per game (7th, 0.24). As a freshman she made 39 saves in 11 appearances and ranked second in the ACC. She has six shutouts for her career.
The Wolfpack welcomes five freshmen to the mix when it opens the 2005 season on Friday. Forwards Ashleah Dingle and Lindsay Vera, along with midfielders Tami Krzeszewski, Mallory Schmidt and Kasie Shover will look to add to the Wolfpack's attacking game. Vera has already made an impact after she recorded a goal and an assist the exhibition victory at William & Mary Saturday, Aug. 20. Mayo and Tognetti also recorded goals in the 3-1 victory. Connors recorded two saves in the win.
NC State is one of 11 Atlantic Coast Conference schools, which is the nation's strongest soccer conference. On schedule this season for the Wolfpack are nine schools that advanced to the NCAA College Cup Tournament, including four that advanced to the third round, just one game shy of the quarterfinals.
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