Wildcats Battle Wolfpack in NCAA Tournament First Round

Friday, November 9

Raleigh, N.C.

6 PM

Northwestern

NC State

Wildcats Battle Wolfpack in NCAA Tournament First Round

11/7/2018 1:46:00 PM | Women's Soccer

2018 NORTHWESTERN WOMEN'S SOCCER
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME (CT)	LOCATION	WATCH	LISTEN	LIVE STATS
Friday, Nov. 9	NC State	6 p.m.	Raleigh, N.C.	ESPN3	WNUR	StatBroadcast
Match Notes: NU Social: Twitter (@NUWSoccer) \| Instagram (@NUWSoccer) \| Facebook

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern travels to Raleigh, N.C. for an NCAA Tournament first round matchup against NC State on Friday night at 6 p.m.

The Wildcats are dancing for the fourth straight season after hearing the name called in the selection show on Monday. The 'Cats have advanced out of the first round each of the last three seasons, and progressed as far as the Round of 16 in 2016 and 1998.

Northwestern finished its season 10-4-4 with marquee wins over Penn State and Wake Forest along with draws over West Virginia and Wisconsin, all teams selected to the tournament.

The 'Cats had four postseason conference honors, led by seniors Marisa Viggiano and Kayla Sharples who landed on the All-Big Ten First team. Fellow senior Brenna Lovera earned a spot on the All-Big Ten Second Team while goalkeeper Mackenzie Wood finished on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

Lovera has led the Wildcat attack this season with eight goals and three assists. She leads all active players with 19 career goals and her 12 game-winning goals are a program record. Viggiano has 20 career assists, which are also tied for the second-most in program history.

Sharples and Wood have teamed up with the rest of the backline to post another stellar defensive season. Northwestern led the Big Ten this season in shutouts (8) and save percentage (.854), while finishing third in goals-against-average (.628).

Northwestern and NC State both made the NCAA Tournament without making their conference tournament, the only matchup of two such team's in this year's bracket. The last meeting between two teams not to advance to their conference tournament quarterfinals came in 2017, when Clemson (9th place, ACC) faced Alabama (7th place, lost in SEC Tournament play-in).

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

NC STATE

The Wolfpack are 10-6-3 this season while playing the fourth-toughest schedule in the country, with a 3-5-2 conference record that put them in 11th place in the ACC. They boast impressive wins over South Carolina, Princeton, with draws against Duke and Florida State, all tournament-bound teams.

Juniors Tziarra King and Ricci Walkling both earned spots on the All-ACC Second Team. King leads the offense with nine goals and six assists and Walkling has two goals and a team-high seven assists. Goalkeeper Sydney Wootten has started all 19 games and posted a goals-against-average of 1.06 with a save percentage of .794.

The Wolfpack have one opponent in common with the Wildcats, in the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. NU defeated Wake, 2-0, while the Deacs defeated NC State on the road, 2-0. NC State also faced off against Big Ten foes Nebraska, losing 2-1.

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