Iowa State Topped by North Carolina State, 2-0

CARY, N.C. - The Iowa State soccer team fell, 2-0, to North Carolina State on Friday night at NC State's SAS Soccer Stadium. Junior Amy Flores led the way for ISU with two shots on goal and freshman goaltender Jo Haig had nine saves, eight in the first half. With the loss, the Cyclones fall to 1-2 on the young season, while North Carolina State improves to 2-0-1.

The Wolfpack started fast early as they managed three corner kicks within the first 10 minutes. They totalled 11 shots in the first half, while their defense held the Cyclones without a first-half shot. NC State's Anna Helenius fired two shots on goal, but Haig nabbed both of them, including a diving save. North Carolina State scored their first goal at the 20:45 minute mark when Carol Tognetti hit the ball in the box. The Cyclones tried to answer back and had a good opportunity on a cross from the far side, but it was intercepted by NC State goaltender, Megan Connors.

In the second half, Iowa State stepped up its play and continued to pressure the NC State defense and found some time near and inside the box. ISU tallied five shots in the second half, including two straight on which forced the Wolfpack to kick it out. Sophomore Jess Villhauer, junior Deb Benakis and freshman Beth Passman each tallied shots. The Wolfpack scored their second goal at the 47:53 mark to insure the 2-0 win. Iowa State had four corner kicks and nine saves, while NC State had 20 fouls.

"We went down early in the first half with a loose ball in the box and we did a poor job of cleaning the ball out," head coach Rebecca Hornbacher said. "We had two defensive breakdowns and played in spurts tonight. Our intensity picked up in the second half but we need to have that throughout the game. North Carolina State is a great team and overall, I was pleased with the effort. We had some good chances tonight. We just need to get stronger and sharpen things up defensively."

The Cyclones will travel to Columbia, S.C., on Sunday to take on South Carolina, starting at 11:30 CST. The Gamecocks are coming off a 4-1 over Houston on Friday night.

"South Carolina is a good, strong team," Hornbacher said. "We have to prepare to be stronger as a team and play our top game and come out ready to play."

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Players Mentioned

Deb Benakis

Deb Benakis

Amy Flores

Amy Flores

Beth Passman

Jess Villhauer

Jess Villhauer

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Iowa State University Athletics