Virginia Tech Women's Soccer Ties NC State in a Soggy Shootout

Ninety minutes of back-and-forth scoring from both the Virginia Tech Hokies and the NC State Wolfpack allowed the Pack to avoid the loss, 4-4.

"We scored four goals, it's a nice thing, but giving up four is a bad thing," said Tech head coach Charles "Chugger" Adair. "We were forced to play a little bit more urgency because we were giving up so many bad goals."

An original 7:00 kickoff time slowly inched back as rain and lightning both plagued the Hokies' (4-5-3, 0-3-1 ACC) campus. With the storm subsiding around nine, NC State (2-6-4, 1-1-2) finally was able to kick off on the sound of the referee's whistle.

Both squads had the challenge of navigating a waterlogged Thompson Field. Any rolling pass needed to be struck with force to fight through the soggy grass; as a result, the first 20 minutes offered a slew of aerial dishes from both the Hokies and Wolfpack.

Freshman forward Daisy Duda brought an attack down the field for NC State just past the midpoint of the first half in the 24'. On the wing, Duda collected her dribble and looked towards the arch, finding junior Jade Bordeleau; who, after one touch, fired towards the net. A shot that deflected off defender Peyton May, changing the trajectory, leaving Lauren Hargrove stranded on the other side of the net.

Another freshman with a large impact for the Hokies has been Hannah Pachan. In the first half, she was in a multitude of positions, not only making crucial slide tackles near the Hokies' own box, but also staying aggressive on offense. Within 30 seconds, Pachan had both picked up a yellow card for herself and drawn a foul inside the Wolfpack's box for a penalty.

The Hokies knew this might be one of their last great scoring opportunities in the first half, being at the 39'. Sophomore forward Taylor Lewin was taking the set piece, and after what felt like an eternity, Lewin stared down Olivia Pratapas in the net. Finally charging towards the ball, Lewin drilled an aggressive shot just beneath the left side of the crossbar, evening up the contest at a goal apiece.

At halftime, the rain had just about subsided, and the experience of 45 minutes on the wet playing surface gave both squads the chance to become more aggressive and look for more scoring opportunities in the second half.

Not long into the second half, junior Anna Weir was making a run down the left side of the pitch before a yellow-card aggressive move from NC State defender Alex Mohr gave the Hokies a free kick from 10 yards out of the box. Tech's Natalie Mitchell struck the ball deftly, hooking the free kick back towards the bottom left of the net to not only give the Hokies the lead early in the second half, but propel herself as the lead scorer on the squad with five goals on the season.

Natalie Mitchell for the lead from WAYYY downtown!!#Hokies pic.twitter.com/GmFFsfrAQt
— Virginia Tech Women's Soccer (@HokiesWSoccer) September 28, 2025

With two goals being scored from outside the box, it was clear that attacking inwards on the ground was challenging. The Wolfpack is now in the position to look for the equalizer after conceding back-to-back goals.

A lax push towards midfield at the 59' didn't raise any red flags for Tech regarding an offensive attack from NC State. A through ball from defender Yuna Aoki to Mana Nakata was pushed up from midfield; two dribbles from Nakata and from beyond the ACC logo, around 30 yards from the goal, she unleashed a missile, heat-seeking directly into the back of the net to even up the late-night Blacksburg contest, 2-2.

With the Hokies relinquishing the lead, they needed to stay aggressive to avoid falling back once more. Getting Pachan involved in the offensive attack was key, and Mitchell sensed the opportunity to do just that. Two minutes after the Nakata equalizer, Mitchell looked trapped, drawing a near triple team, before she squeezed the ball through the defense to Pachan. With a slight touch to get behind Mohr, in a one-on-one look, Pachan calmly flicked the shot past Pratapas.

Hannah Pachan squeezes through the defense to make it 5 on the year!!#Hokies pic.twitter.com/snSDjA2gVg
— Virginia Tech Women's Soccer (@HokiesWSoccer) September 28, 2025

"We moved Hannah Pachan more central so we could get more movement in the midfield," said Adair regarding the change in strategy at halftime. "If we navigate a little wider, she could use her strength to pace and try to test the back line for a deeper space."

While Tech was able to push into the box and score, the Wolfpack was the complete opposite, scoring their first two goals outside of the box, and following the theme with the third equalizer of the night. After a foul, a witty move from Nakata quickly got the ball to Fien Leijdekker, the ball wide open against a Hokies defense that was far from set. Leijdekker quickly shot from nearly the same distance as Nakata made hers from, with no arc, nailing the shot in the back of the cage.

What seemed to be the game-winning goal, Taylor Price launched a cross into the box to Weir. Weir, who jumped up to dish the pass off her shin, hit a slow dribbler past Pratapas to edge Tech ahead once more in the 86'.

The Weir tap in from the Price cross gives us the lead late!!#Hokies pic.twitter.com/Uzy3Lpv3gJ
— Virginia Tech Women's Soccer (@HokiesWSoccer) September 28, 2025

The go-ahead goal only gave NC State another chance to play spoiler. Within the 90' the Wolfpack was desperate to gain one final push up the pitch, and while the Hokies just needed to hold the ball, NC State made its move. A quick push-up from midfield by Aoki allowed Uruguay native Antonella Mazziotto to find the back of the net for the goal with a mere nine seconds left on the clock. An equalizer that summed up the entirety of the back-and-forth battle.

The Hokies now go on the road for a three-game slate over the next two weeks. With matchups against Virginia, Stanford, and Cal, Tech looks to pick up its first win in ACC play of the season. The Cavaliers are up first; Tech will travel up to Charlottesville for a match on Saturday, October 4, at 7 p.m.

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