Sunday, August 17
Greenville, NC
7 PM
NC State
at
East Carolina
NC State Heads to ECU for First Road Match of 2025
8/16/2025 12:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer
GREENVILLE, N.C. – NC State women's soccer hits the road for the first time in 2025 to face first-year head coach Gary Higgins' former team, East Carolina, on Sunday, Aug. 14 at 7 p.m. at Johnson Stadium. The match will stream live on ESPN+.
Before arriving in Raleigh, Higgins spent three seasons leading the Pirates, capping his tenure with a historic 2024 campaign in which ECU captured its first American Athletic Conference (AAC) championship and earned the program's inaugural NCAA Tournament berth.
Last Time Out
NC State dropped its season opener to James Madison on Thursday, Aug. 14 at Dail Soccer Stadium. 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.
A Win Would …
"(I'm) really excited," said Higgins after the loss to James Madison. "One loss isn't going to stop that. We're building something here, and it'll take some time, but you don't want to lose any soccer game that you play in. We'll take some time, we'll look at the film, and we'll learn from it."
Series History
Sunday's match up marks the 11th all-time meeting between NC State and East Carolina in a series that began in 1997.
The head-to-head record is even through 10 games, with each team earning four wins and two matches ending in draws.
In last season's meeting, the Pirates claimed a 1-0 victory at Dail Soccer Stadium. Abby Sowa netted the game's lone goal in the 38th minute, slotting home a short-range strike off a rebounded save by Olivia Pratapas. Prior to that, the teams had not met since the 2019 season, when NC State downed ECU on the road, 5-2.
Scouting the Pirates
East Carolina opened its 2025 campaign with a 3-1 loss to Liberty under first-year head coach Emily Buccilla. The Flames struck just 40 seconds into the match and doubled their lead with 15 minutes remaining in the first half. Liberty added a third goal in the 72nd minute before Isabella Gutiérrez converted a late penalty kick to record ECU's first goal of the season.
Buccilla, named the sixth head coach in program history on Dec. 17, 2024, spent seven seasons as an assistant coach in Greenville, including three alongside Higgins. Together, they helped guide ECU to a historic 2024 season that featured an AAC championship and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Pirates were picked to finish fourth in the AAC preseason poll, with Caitlen-Star Dolan Boodram, Isabella Gutiérrez, and Juliana Viera earning spots on the American Soccer Watch List.
Welcome Home, Coach Higgins
NC State McMurray Family Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan named Higgins the sixth head coach in program history in December 2024. Higgins arrived in Raleigh after three seasons at East Carolina, where he guided the Pirates to a historic 2024 campaign that included a 10-4-7 record, an American Athletic Conference title, and the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.
Prior to his time at ECU, Higgins coached at his alma mater, Lenoir Rhyne, leading the Bears to multiple NCAA Tournament appearances. The former standout player brings more than a decade of coaching experience and a proven track record of building winning programs.
Higgins' first year with the Wolfpack features an entirely new coaching staff. Associate head coach Joanna Fennema, a former North Carolina standout, led Lenoir Rhyne to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Assistants David Rodriguez (NC Courage Academy) and Juan Basabe (Lenoir Rhyne) also join the staff, each bringing valuable collegiate and club-level experience.
Breaking Down the Roster
NC State opens 2025 with a 25-player roster featuring 14 returners and 11 newcomers, including five transfers, four freshmen and two sophomores. By class, the Pack have five seniors (one redshirt), nine juniors (one redshirt), seven sophomores and four freshmen.
The team returns its 2024 leaders in goals and points, Bordeleau, and assists leader, Nakata. Five starters from last season are back: Mana Nakata (18 starts), Pratapas (17), Yuna Aoki (14), Alex Mohr (12) and Jade Bordeleau (11).
Three transfers arrive from programs led by current staff including Mackenzie Smith and Erica Roberts from ECU and Lilly Soltz from Lenoir Rhyne.
Up Next
The Pack will travel to East Lansing, Mich. for a Thursday night (Aug. 21) contest at Michigan State. The game will kick off at 8 p.m. on Big Ten Plus.
For more on NC State women's soccer, follow @packwsoccer on social media.
Before arriving in Raleigh, Higgins spent three seasons leading the Pirates, capping his tenure with a historic 2024 campaign in which ECU captured its first American Athletic Conference (AAC) championship and earned the program's inaugural NCAA Tournament berth.
Last Time Out
NC State dropped its season opener to James Madison on Thursday, Aug. 14 at Dail Soccer Stadium. 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.
A Win Would …
- Mark the first victory for the Wolfpack under first-year head coach Gary Higgins.
- Be the 403rd win in program history.
- Be Higgins' 111th win in his coaching career.
- Mark the fifth win all-time over ECU.
- Be the first victory of the 2025 campaign for NC State.
"(I'm) really excited," said Higgins after the loss to James Madison. "One loss isn't going to stop that. We're building something here, and it'll take some time, but you don't want to lose any soccer game that you play in. We'll take some time, we'll look at the film, and we'll learn from it."
Series History
Sunday's match up marks the 11th all-time meeting between NC State and East Carolina in a series that began in 1997.
The head-to-head record is even through 10 games, with each team earning four wins and two matches ending in draws.
In last season's meeting, the Pirates claimed a 1-0 victory at Dail Soccer Stadium. Abby Sowa netted the game's lone goal in the 38th minute, slotting home a short-range strike off a rebounded save by Olivia Pratapas. Prior to that, the teams had not met since the 2019 season, when NC State downed ECU on the road, 5-2.
Scouting the Pirates
East Carolina opened its 2025 campaign with a 3-1 loss to Liberty under first-year head coach Emily Buccilla. The Flames struck just 40 seconds into the match and doubled their lead with 15 minutes remaining in the first half. Liberty added a third goal in the 72nd minute before Isabella Gutiérrez converted a late penalty kick to record ECU's first goal of the season.
Buccilla, named the sixth head coach in program history on Dec. 17, 2024, spent seven seasons as an assistant coach in Greenville, including three alongside Higgins. Together, they helped guide ECU to a historic 2024 season that featured an AAC championship and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance.
The Pirates were picked to finish fourth in the AAC preseason poll, with Caitlen-Star Dolan Boodram, Isabella Gutiérrez, and Juliana Viera earning spots on the American Soccer Watch List.
Welcome Home, Coach Higgins
NC State McMurray Family Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan named Higgins the sixth head coach in program history in December 2024. Higgins arrived in Raleigh after three seasons at East Carolina, where he guided the Pirates to a historic 2024 campaign that included a 10-4-7 record, an American Athletic Conference title, and the program's first-ever NCAA Tournament berth.
Prior to his time at ECU, Higgins coached at his alma mater, Lenoir Rhyne, leading the Bears to multiple NCAA Tournament appearances. The former standout player brings more than a decade of coaching experience and a proven track record of building winning programs.
Higgins' first year with the Wolfpack features an entirely new coaching staff. Associate head coach Joanna Fennema, a former North Carolina standout, led Lenoir Rhyne to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Assistants David Rodriguez (NC Courage Academy) and Juan Basabe (Lenoir Rhyne) also join the staff, each bringing valuable collegiate and club-level experience.
Breaking Down the Roster
NC State opens 2025 with a 25-player roster featuring 14 returners and 11 newcomers, including five transfers, four freshmen and two sophomores. By class, the Pack have five seniors (one redshirt), nine juniors (one redshirt), seven sophomores and four freshmen.
The team returns its 2024 leaders in goals and points, Bordeleau, and assists leader, Nakata. Five starters from last season are back: Mana Nakata (18 starts), Pratapas (17), Yuna Aoki (14), Alex Mohr (12) and Jade Bordeleau (11).
Three transfers arrive from programs led by current staff including Mackenzie Smith and Erica Roberts from ECU and Lilly Soltz from Lenoir Rhyne.
Up Next
The Pack will travel to East Lansing, Mich. for a Thursday night (Aug. 21) contest at Michigan State. The game will kick off at 8 p.m. on Big Ten Plus.
For more on NC State women's soccer, follow @packwsoccer on social media.
Players Mentioned
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