Women's Soccer Defeats Georgia State, 3-1

Friday, September 8

Raleigh, N.C.

4:30 PM

NC State

4-0-1

Georgia State (Summitt Hosp. Invite)

2-2-1

Georgia State

NC State

9/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Raleigh, N.C. – The NC State women’s soccer team (4-0-1) secured its fifth straight win this season with a 3-1 win over Georgia State (2-2-1) on Friday, September 8, at Method Road Soccer Stadium. The game is the first for the Wolfpack in the Summit Hospitality Invitational. Junior Jessica O'Rourke posted her first hat trick of the season for the Pack, and senior goalkeeper Megan Connors netted 5 saves en route to the victory. With the win, NC State improves to 4-0-1, and Georgia State falls to 2-2-1.

“We played solid against a really physical team,” said NC State head coach Laura Kerrigan. “It was definitely a team win; we used a lot of players and kept fresh legs out there. The team really responded well the whole time. O’Rourke was unbelievable when she stole the ball and attacked the net, she did a really good job.”

The red and white kept control of the ball in the first half, outshooting the Panthers 13-5. Georgia State had its first scoring opportunity only six minutes into the game, when Lauren Chavez received a cross from Kyri-Ann Harbrueger. The shot went a foot too high, keeping the score 0-0. NC State’s freshman forward Briana Cunningham attempted to score only five minutes later, but goalkeeper Charlotte Vargo was there for the save. The Pack’s first goal of the game was posted at 14:55. Freshman Katie Ruiz crossed the ball to O’Rourke, who headed it in to the bottom right, making the score 1-0. In the seventh minute, NC State’s senior Nicole Mayo and Cunningham took shots one after the other, but both hit the posts, leaving the score 1-0 at the half.

Georgia State entered the second half ready to even the score. In the 75th minute the team’s chance came with two shots from the Panthers. Connors saved the first shot, but the second went over the crossbar. O’Rourke’s second goal of the match came two minutes later at 77:50 when she stole the ball from a Panther defender and knocked it in from ten yards out. With less than a minute to play in the game, Georgia State’s Nathalie Carter scored the team’s first goal of the game when the ball was knocked loose near the box. The goal is the first one scored this season against Connors and the Pack. With only seven seconds remaining, O’Rourke finished the game with an insurance goal off of a loose ball among the Panthers’ defenders.

Earlier in the afternoon, American University (4-0-0) defeated East Carolina University (3-2-0) in the first game of the Summit Hospitality Invitational, 1-0. The last two games of the invitational are Sunday, September 10, when Georgia State takes on ECU at 12 p.m. and NC State plays American afterwards at 2:30 p.m.