North Carolina State University Athletics
Opportunity Knocked For Senior Kristina Argiroff
9/27/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 27, 2011
Senior Kristina Argiroff didn’t have her sights set on playing collegiate soccer when she began the enrollment process back at First Flight High School in the Outer Banks region of North Carolina.


But once accepted to attend NC State, she made the decision to try out for the Wolfpack, knowing full well she might possibly be taking on the task of playing in the toughest women’s soccer conference in the nation.


With no guarantee of a roster spot as a “walk on,” she showed enough determination and athletic ability to earn a spot with the Pack.


A month into her career as a college soccer player Argiroff still contemplated if this was the path she wanted to continue down, but what kept her on the team was the bond she formed with her teammates.


“I really liked the girls,” Argiroff said. “I was so happy that I made the team. It has shaped my college career and looking back I’m glad I tried out.”
Argiroff played sparingly in her freshman season back in 2008. She was a reserve that played only two games and 16 total minutes.
After that season NC State let go former coach Laura Kerrigan and hired Steve Springthorpe in January 2009.

 That decision by the administration has paid off in a big way for Argiroff.
“In front of (Laura) Kerrigan, I never really got the chance to show her how I can play,” Argiroff said. “But with Steve, he’s really open to helping you with your weakness and really playing into your strengths.”
In her sophomore season, she again played as a reserve and due to some injuries to her teammates, was given the opportunity to play in the final five matches of the season. She even scored her first collegiate goal at Miami, a game the Wolfpack tied, 1-1.


That opportunity given to her in the late stages of the 2009 season proved to herself that she could play ACC-level soccer and was ready to work harder than ever to make sure her final two seasons at State were going to be even better.


“I was here (at NC State) all summer working out with the team,” said Argiroff. “I wasn’t scared of the ball or scared of how the other girls played. I was ready to play my game.”


Determined to take that renewed confidence on the field into her junior campaign, Argiroff displayed the best soccer of her life in 2010. She played in all 19 games, including 14 starts, and tied for the team lead in points (14), goals (5), and assists (4).


Not bad for a former walk on that originally wasn’t considering college soccer.
Through 12 games this year she has continued to play at a high level. Argiroff has three goals and one assist for seven points, including a game-winning overtime goal at High Point off a header that originated from a corner kick by freshman Shelli Spamer.
The senior forward has scored nine goals so far in her NC State career with five assists and 53 shots. Most of her nine goals have been off headers.
“It’s something that’s natural,” Argiroff said. “When balls come to my head, it’s more comfortable for me.”
Stringthorpe has been impressed by Argiroff’s ability to use her head effectively.
“That’s certainly a quality that not a lot of females have across the country to be able to head the ball directionally into the back of the net,” Stringthrope said. “She’s got good timing in the air and her size and athleticism lets her get up above people. That’s a huge advantage for us.”
Off the soccer field, Argiroff has spent a few summers traveling to Honduras to work at a boy’s catholic orphanage.
“You see all these kids that all these terrible things happen to and they’re able to live every single day,” she said. “It’s really fun working with them. I really have to go back some day.”
Argiroff, a marketing major, is on track to graduate this coming May. She hopes to do more volunteer work, like the summers she spent in Honduras, and then get a job in the advertising field.
NC State, coming off a scoreless draw with No. 9 Maryland on Sunday, visits Miami for a Thursday night match at 7 p.m.
By Will Toman
