NC State
0-1-0, 0-0-0
James Madison
1-0-0, 0-0-0
Wolfpack Drops Season Opener to James Madison
8/14/2025 10:23:00 PM | Women's Soccer
RALEIGH, N.C. - The NC State women's soccer team dropped its season opener to James Madison, 3-0, on Thursday night at Dail Soccer Stadium in the debut of first-year head coach Gary Higgins and his staff.
The Dukes struck first in the 11th minute when Ginny Lackey sent a shot from outside the box into the back of the net. Their lead doubled in the 27th minute after an own goal by the Wolfpack.
JMU sealed the result in the 75th minute as Audrey Orrock found the net to make it 3-0, a scoreline that held for the remainder of the match.
Despite the shutout loss, NC State matched JMU's offensive pressure, holding a narrow 6-5 edge in shots on goal and trailing by just one in total shots.
Of Note:
- Three members of the Wolfpack, Emily Wong (Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada), Daisy Duda (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) and Fien Leijdekker (Oegstgeest, Netherlands), made their collegiate debuts in the season opener. Wong and Duda also earned the first starts of their careers.
- Transfers Mackenzie Smith (Leicester, England) and Tierra Garniss (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) each made their Wolfpack debuts, with Smith also earning a place in the starting 11.
- Garniss led the offensive attack off the bench with three shots (one on goal).
- Six Wolfpack players went the full 90 minutes: Olivia Pratapas (Clemmons, N.C.), Yuna Aoki (Shizuoka, Japan), Alex Mohr (Poway, Calif.), Jade Bordeleau (Terrabonne, Quebec, Canada), Brooklyn Holt (Wake Forest, N.C.), and Mary Frances Symmes (Gulfport, Miss.).
- Wolfpack Nation was ready to go for the start of the 2025-26 athletic year, as Thursday night's crowd of 1,645 marks the fourth-largest crowd at home in program history.
Up Next
The Pack head to Greenville, N.C., for a match against East Carolina on Sunday, Aug. 17 at 7 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Ginny Lackey (1)
GOAL by JMU Lackey, Ginny.
10:06
0
GOAL by JMU TEAM.
26:47
Audrey Orrock (1)
Assisted By: Selma Rajakangas , Ginny Lackey
GOAL by JMU Orrock, Audrey Assist by Rajakangas, Selma and Lackey, Ginny.
74:45
