NC State
No. 20 Clemson
Women's Soccer Draws 2-2 with No. 20 Clemson
10/18/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
RALEIGH, N.C. Lindsay Vera and Kara Baldy each scored for NC State in a 2-2 draw with No. 20 Clemson in Atlantic Coast Conference women's soccer on Thursday at Method Road.
Just before halftime, NC State’s Jessica O'Rourke placed a touch pass from the right flank towards the goal that deflected off a Clemson (8-2-4, 1-1-4 ACC) defender to the feet of Vera, the Pack’s leading goal scorer. The Houston native made a move to her right and buried her seventh goal of the season into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead.
In the opening minutes of the match, Kendall Irby nearly gave the home-standing Wolfpack the lead when her cross attempt from some 30 yards glanced off the far-right post.
As the second half began with NC State up 1-0, each team traded shot attempts that went high over the cross bar. In the 54th minute, Clemson struck for the equalizer as Abby Lambert sent a pass that slipped through the Wolfpack defense and found Julie Bolt one-on-one with the keeper and she converted her shot into the lower-right corner for a 1-1 tie at the 53:50 mark.
Vera almost came up with a miraculous goal in the 67th minute when she lofted a shot from well outside the box that just landed above the crossbar into the goal netting.
NC State (5-6-3, 0-5-1 ACC) coach Laura Kerrigan reinserted freshman Kara Baldy into the lineup at the 72:32 mark of the match. That move would pay off in the 81st minute when she rifled a shot into the far upper-right corner from 20 yards for her second goal of the year and a 2-1 lead.
The Pack again couldn’t maintain its lead. Only minutes after Baldy’s go-ahead goal, Clemson was awarded a free kick and the Tigers capitalized on a rare scoring chance as NC State was controlling play throughout the final third of regulation.
Elizabeth Jobe took the free kick and deposited it from 30-yards out past the outstretched arms of Pack keeper Rachel Barnette into the lower-left corner at the 83:43 mark.
Although Barnette, who was making her first collegiate start, gave up the goal that would send the match into two extra sessions, she was the main reason the match ended in a tie.
She swallowed up a pair of scoring chances before regulation, but was even better in overtime.
In the first 10-minute session, Vera had the only decent scoring chance between the two clubs, but Tiger keeper Ashley Phillips corralled the attempt.
The second overtime was when Barnette shined the brightest. A fury of shots took place in the 102nd minute by Clemson. Two shots, including one by Molly Franklin, were headed straight for the back of the net, but were blocked by the Wolfpack defense. Barnette saved the third attempt as she went parallel with the ground to haul in Nuria Zufia’s game-ending attempt.
In all, the freshman from Peachtree, Ga., had six saves in 110 minutes. Phillips came up with five saves between the pipes for Clemson.
NC State heads up to Boston College for a league tilt on Sunday at 2 pm.
