It's football season, and also football season, and at least one football team on campus is on a path of exceeding expectations. That'd be the women's soccer team, which is 7-0 after a 2-0 victory at Western Carolina on Thursday. Already that's two more wins than this team had all of last season.
The Wolfpack has scored at least two goals in every game it has played, and three or more goals on five occasions. Sceptic that I am, I wondered to what extent this might be a function of the schedule, but even considering what has been a soft assortment of opponents, the improvement is clear. NC State already has beaten three teams to which it lost last season—it lost to those three opponents by a combined score of 7-2, and beat them this season by a combined score of 11-2.
If you go looking for power ratings for women's college soccer, there isn't much to find, but we do have the Massey Ratings , which put NC State's overall improvement from 2025 to 2026 at nearly 60 spots. By that metric, NC State is a top-20 team this year.
Raw statistics also tell a story: in 18 games last season, NC State attempted 215 shots (91 on goal) and scored 19 times. In seven games this season, it has attempted 166 shots (71 on goal) and scored 24 times. Fourth-year forward Jade Bordeleau has nine goals this season, including a hat trick against Davidson.
So we have some substantial overall improvement with a little star power on top. This is a team worth keeping an eye on.
