North Carolina State University Athletics

Wolfpack Concludes Road Trip at Denver
9/2/2023 8:45:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sunday's Match is Set for 2 p.m. ET
DENVER – NC State women's soccer completes its road swing in Colorado with a match at Denver, the reigning Summit League champions. Sunday's match at the University of Denver Soccer Stadium is set for 2 p.m. ET.
Sunday's match will stream live on Midco Sports+. This is a subscription-based service. Fans will also be able to follow the game via live stats.
LAST TIME OUT
NC State dropped its first match of the season in heartbreaking fashion on Thursday night when Colorado's Shyra James scored the game-winner with less than a minute remaining. Taylor Chism tied the score at 1-1 in the 87th minute, making it back-to-back games NC State scored a late equalizer off a corner-kick delivery from freshman Mackenzie Smith. All three goals in Thursday's 2-1 defeat came off corner kicks.
SERIES HISTORY
NC State and Denver will square off for the first time on Sunday afternoon. A few notes tracking the Pack's road matchup at Denver are listed below:
• NC State holds a 2-2-1 record against Colorado College, a 2-0-0 record against Northern Colorado and an 0-1-0 record against Colorado for a 4-3-1 overall record against teams from the Centennial State.
• Not only will this be the first meeting against Denver, it will also mark NC State's first meeting against a team currently in the Summit League.
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.
WELCOME BACK, EMIKA
Emika Kawagishi, a 2021 ACC All-Freshman Team honoree, made her first appearance in over a year in Thursday night's matchup at Colorado. Kawagishi, who suffered a season-ending injury during the 2022 preseason, played 34 minutes off the bench on Thursday night for her first action since the Pack's home exhibition against Ohio State this past season. She registered two shots (one on target) in her return to the Pack's lineup.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Denver (1-0-4) remains unbeaten through its first five games of the season after notching its first victory of the year at home against Northern Colorado on Thursday night. The Pioneers opened the year with four straight ties before building an early 2-0 lead on Thursday, using its early two-goal advantage to cruise to a 3-1 victory. For the seventh straight season, the Pioneers were predicted as the preseason favorite to win the Summit League title. Denver has won five consecutive league titles, and 2023 Summit League Players to Watch Hannah Gallegos and Kaitlyn Glover look to help lead the Pioneers to a sixth straight title. The Pioneers have netted nine goals through five matches this season, but they've also allowed seven goals on just 56 shots from opposing teams. Freshman Liv Moritz paces DU with six points on the season.
SETTING THE TABLE
Since taking over the program after the 2012 season, head coach Tim Santoro has logged five or more regular season nonconference wins six times in nine fall seasons. The 2022 team joined squads from 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 to accomplish the feat. The Wolfpack opened this past season with a 5-1-3 in nonconference action, earning a pair of draws against top-15 opponents (2-2 against No. 11 Georgetown and 0-0 against No. 4 South Carolina).
UP NEXT
NC State returns to Raleigh for a matchup against Michigan State. The Pack's second match against a Big 10 opponent this season is set for Thursday night at 7 p.m.
Sunday's match will stream live on Midco Sports+. This is a subscription-based service. Fans will also be able to follow the game via live stats.
LAST TIME OUT
NC State dropped its first match of the season in heartbreaking fashion on Thursday night when Colorado's Shyra James scored the game-winner with less than a minute remaining. Taylor Chism tied the score at 1-1 in the 87th minute, making it back-to-back games NC State scored a late equalizer off a corner-kick delivery from freshman Mackenzie Smith. All three goals in Thursday's 2-1 defeat came off corner kicks.
SERIES HISTORY
NC State and Denver will square off for the first time on Sunday afternoon. A few notes tracking the Pack's road matchup at Denver are listed below:
• NC State holds a 2-2-1 record against Colorado College, a 2-0-0 record against Northern Colorado and an 0-1-0 record against Colorado for a 4-3-1 overall record against teams from the Centennial State.
• Not only will this be the first meeting against Denver, it will also mark NC State's first meeting against a team currently in the Summit League.
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.
WELCOME BACK, EMIKA
Emika Kawagishi, a 2021 ACC All-Freshman Team honoree, made her first appearance in over a year in Thursday night's matchup at Colorado. Kawagishi, who suffered a season-ending injury during the 2022 preseason, played 34 minutes off the bench on Thursday night for her first action since the Pack's home exhibition against Ohio State this past season. She registered two shots (one on target) in her return to the Pack's lineup.
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Denver (1-0-4) remains unbeaten through its first five games of the season after notching its first victory of the year at home against Northern Colorado on Thursday night. The Pioneers opened the year with four straight ties before building an early 2-0 lead on Thursday, using its early two-goal advantage to cruise to a 3-1 victory. For the seventh straight season, the Pioneers were predicted as the preseason favorite to win the Summit League title. Denver has won five consecutive league titles, and 2023 Summit League Players to Watch Hannah Gallegos and Kaitlyn Glover look to help lead the Pioneers to a sixth straight title. The Pioneers have netted nine goals through five matches this season, but they've also allowed seven goals on just 56 shots from opposing teams. Freshman Liv Moritz paces DU with six points on the season.
SETTING THE TABLE
Since taking over the program after the 2012 season, head coach Tim Santoro has logged five or more regular season nonconference wins six times in nine fall seasons. The 2022 team joined squads from 2013, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 to accomplish the feat. The Wolfpack opened this past season with a 5-1-3 in nonconference action, earning a pair of draws against top-15 opponents (2-2 against No. 11 Georgetown and 0-0 against No. 4 South Carolina).
UP NEXT
NC State returns to Raleigh for a matchup against Michigan State. The Pack's second match against a Big 10 opponent this season is set for Thursday night at 7 p.m.
Players Mentioned
Meet Head Women's Soccer Coach Gary Higgins
Friday, December 20
EmpowHER - NC State Women's Soccer's Book Club
Wednesday, February 07
EmpowHER: Women's Soccer
Tuesday, February 06
2023 NC State Women's Soccer Season Recap
Monday, December 11









