Tognetti Nets Game Winning Goal Over Liberty

Sept. 2, 2005

CARY, N.C. - For the second-straight match, NC State took its match into overtime and for the second-straight match, NC State prevailed with a golden goal and junior Carol Tognetti and freshman Lindsay Vera were involved. The Wolfpack picked up its third consecutive victory with a 1-0 win over Liberty on Friday, Sept. 2. With the win, NC State improved to 3-0 on the year, while the Flames fell to 1-1-1. This time around, Tognetti was on the receiving end of a play and put home the winning goal. Vera had taken a shot from the outer 18 box, which rebounded off the hands of Liberty's keeper, Sonia Rodriguez in the 95th minute. Senior NC State goalkeeper Kim Selz earned her second-straight shutout with two saves in the match.

Junior Mandela Schumacher-Hodge started the offensive attack with an early shot, but the Wolfpack strike was held at bay for nearly 20 minutes. Schumacher-Hodge reignited the Wolfpack with a second shot but it went wide. With just over eight minutes remaining in the period, NC State took advantage of a foul near the left side of the half circle. Freshman Mallory Schmidt worked her way near the box, but was shoved down to the ground by a Liberty player. NC State's junior Jessica O'Rourke took the awarded kick but it landed on the Liberty wall. Junior Nicole Mayo calmly collected the rebound on the right side and struck a hard ball that went wide to the right. The Wolfpack had another solid opportunity when freshman Lindsay Vera took a 20 yard shot from the right side, but it inched over the crossbar. NC State's defense held the Liberty Flames to just one shot in the half, one taken early in the third minute by Amy Oberlin, the team's leading scorer.

"It was a really disappointing first half for us offensively," said NC State head coach Laura Kerrigan. "We regrouped at half time and I felt we came out firing. The team created its scoring opportunities, but still struggled to finish. It takes a special team to remain collected and focused in overtime to come away with the win and I am proud that our team did that tonight."

NC State took its lack of offensive presence to heart and returned from the break with a vengence to get the attack going. The Wolfpack had already more than doubled its shot tally just over midway through the half. Early on it was Vera and junior Carol Tognetti, who quickly recorded two back to back shots. Liberty took its lone shot early before taking a 33 minute hiatus before its second of the half, in the first three minutes by Oberlin, but it was scooped up by NC State's senior keeper Kim Selz. The Wolfpack continued to maintain its strong and persistant attack, posting four-straight shots within a three minute span. In that time, senior forward Lydia McBath, who after entering at the start of the second half had three strong shots, including one that smashed the crossbar after a quick turnaround strike with just over 20 minutes remaining. The Pack did put a ball in the net with just over 15 minutes to go after a restart following an injury timeout. The goal by McBath, which was setup by junior Megan Sadler, was called back after an offside call on the Wolfpack. The Liberty squad did not relent however and posted two shots within a two-minute frame late in the match with seven minutes remaining. A shot by the Flames' Mandee Judd made it into the hands of Selz, who was awaiting the lofty attempt. As NC State entered the two minute mark, the Wolfpack recorded two worthy shot attempts. Vera posted a shot from the left side and junior defender Michelle Massey shot from right center just out of the box. But Vera, despite some tough misses, pressed on and eventually led her team to the golden goal victory. The freshman out of Houston, Texas took a shot from near the right corner, it did hit Rodriguez on the right side, but Vera's teammate, Tognetti, was there to cleanup the rebound and put home her second goal of the season. Liberty's netminder, Rodriguez, finished with eight saves, including seven in the second period.

NC State outshot Liberty 22-4 and recorded its third shutout of the season.

The Wolfpack will host Delaware at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 4, in the final of four games of the Summitt Hospitality Invite, at the SAS Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. Liberty takes on Elon at noon.

In the first game of the evening, Elon scored first in the 26th minute, but Delaware rallied back to tie in the 58th minute. The game ended in a 1-1 tie after two overtime periods. The goalkeepers combined for 13 saves, including eight from Elon's Lizz Johnson. Kelly Constantino scored for Elon at 25:15, while Shelby Lawrence netted the tying goal at 57:33.

Next Event

Team Stats

Carol Tognetti

Lindsay Vera

Lydia McBath

M. Schumacher-Hodge