By Mike Gilpatrick–
The no. 21 Louisville women’s soccer team played to a 1-1 draw against the No. 24 NC State Wolfpack Thursday night. The Cards move to 7-3-3 (2-1-2 ACC) while the Wolfpack get their first draw, bringing their record to 9-3-1 (3-1-1 ACC).
An uneventful first half, neither team found the back of the net. The best scoring opportunity of the half came during the 43rd minute, as NC State’s Ricarda Walking had a great shot, but squandered it as the ball hit the crossbar.
NC State got on the board first as Kristina Schuster scored in the 50th minute.
NC State’s lead did not last long. Louisville tied the game on a header to the left post by Inger Katrine Bjerke from Brooklynn River’s cross. It was Bjerke’s second goal of the season.
Louisville came close to taking the lead in the 82nd minute as Rivers’ cross found Niamh Nelson. Nelson’s shot hit the crossbar and the game remained tied.
There were plenty of shots, with Louisville having a 21-17 advantage. Three players finished with a game-high four shots. Rivers and Kaela Dickerman led the way for the Cards with four. Allison Price and Nelson followed with three.
Taylor Bucklin was big for the Cards for the second straight game, as she tied her season-high with nine saves.
Louisville head coach Karen Ferguson-Dayes see room for improvement.
“It’s almost like individual efforts mesn more than we are in unison with each other. So we have to work on that a little bit,” Ferguson-Dayes said.
This is the fourth overtime game in a row for the Cards. Ferguson-Dayes says her team is used to it by now.
“We’re fit enough to handle it,” Ferguson-Dayes said. “It’s a factor, but it’s not a factor I’m going to let us use as an excuse for sure.”
The Cards will take on No. 15 Clemson Tigers on Sunday, Oct. 9th, at 1pm at Lynn Stadium.
