NC State Welcomes Pitt to Open ACC Slate

RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State women's soccer opens ACC play on Sunday afternoon against Pitt at Dail Soccer Stadium. Sunday's ACC opener is set for 2 p.m. and will be televised on ACC Network.

LAST TIME OUT
NC State recorded a 2-2 draw against High Point to close out nonconference play at home on Senior Night. The Wolfpack dominated the opening 45 minutes, taking a 1-0 lead into the half after Annika Wohner's goal from the penalty spot in the seventh minute. NC State outshot the Panthers 10-4 in the first half with six shots on goal. HPU's Tessa Carlin then netted a brace in just under 16 minutes to open the second half to give High Point a 2-1 lead. Alexis Strickland logged her team-best third goal of the season in the 77th minute to bring the game to its final score at 2-2.

SERIES HISTORY
NC State and Pittsburgh will face off for the 10th time on Sunday afternoon. The Pack leads the series 5-4. A few notes tracking the Pack's ACC opener against the Panthers are listed below:

• NC State and Pitt will meet for the first time since Oct. 28, 2021, when the Panthers captured a 2-0 victory in Pittsburgh.
• The Wolfpack won the first two meetings in the series, recording shutout victories in both 2010 (4-0) and 2013 (1-0). The Pack's longest winning streak in the series came from 2016-18 when NC State won three straight, including a resounding 6-0 victory in Raleigh on Sept. 23, 2018.
• The last time NC State hosted Pitt was on Sept. 23, 2018, when the Pack used braces from Ricarda Walkling and Michaella van Maanen to cruise to a 6-0 win at Dail Soccer Stadium.
• NC State is 3-1 against Pitt at home in Raleigh. The Pack has outscored the Panthers 12-4 in matches played at The Dail.

SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Pitt, who was predicted seventh in the 2023 ACC Women's Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll, finished nonconference play with a 7-1 record. The Panthers outscored their nonconference opponents 26-7, averaging 3.25 goals per contest. Pitt ranks No. 15 in the TopDrawerSoccer Top 25 after splitting a pair of matches in Cincinnati this past week, dropping its first game of the year at No. 21 Xavier before earning a 2-1 win over Cincinnati on Sunday. Junior Sarah Schupansky leads Pitt with six goals and 16 points, while fifth year Landy Mertz leads the team with five assists. Fellow fifth year Amanda West, who ranks tied for second with five goals, earned a spot on the All-ACC Preseason Team.

NEW RECORD AT THE DAIL
NC State women's soccer set a new attendance record on Sept. 7, welcoming 2,506 fans to Dail Soccer Stadium. The Dail, home to NC State women's and men's soccer since 2008, was packed out for Sept. 7's match against Michigan State on "Barbie Night", where the first 200 students received Barbie-themed T-shirts. The new record shattered the previous total (2,023 against UNC on Oct. 1, 2010) by over 450 people.

STANDARD OF EXCELLENCE
NC State's sustained success has garnered national attention as the Wolfpack ranked No. 15 in SoccerWire's 2023 list of Top 50 Current NCAA Women's Soccer Programs. The rankings were based on a combination of final United Soccer Coaches Polls and Rating Percentage Index (RPI) from each season, with bonuses awarded for NCAA Tournament qualification and College Cup victories.

A TOUGH SLATE
NC State faces a challenging schedule this fall with eight of its opponents featured in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Top 25. Two other opponents, Virginia Tech and Rutgers, received votes in the poll. The combined record of NC State's eight opponents so far this season is 33-14-18 (.646).

UP NEXT
NC State travels to Wake Forest for its first of two in-state road ACC matchups of the week. The Wolfpack's match at Wake Forest is set for 8 p.m. on Thursday night. The match between the Pack and Demon Deacons will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.

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Players Mentioned

Alexis Strickland

Annika Wohner