RALEIGH, N.C. - On Senior Night in front of a lively crowd at Dail Soccer Field, the NC State women's soccer team stunned visiting No. 23 Wake Forest, winning by a final score of 2-1 Thursday evening.

Following an early Wake Forest goal, senior Meagan Proper equalized for the Wolfpack in the 17th minute before Brittany Stanko scored the deciding tally in the 47th minute of the match.

"We've been playing the top teams tough all year and I feel like we deserved to get some results like this one before tonight," said head coach Tim Santoro. "I kept telling the team that we were going to get one. We saved it until the end, until the last game, but we've deserved this for a while and I thought we deserved it tonight.

"I'm thrilled for the seniors to say they've won their last game. Not a lot of people get to do that. I'm happy for them and I'm happy for the whole group. They worked hard all year to build towards this and they deserve it."

In defeating No. 23 Wake Forest, the Wolfpack earned its first win over a ranked foe since a 2-1 victory over No. 14 Virginia on Sept. 24, 2009.

Prior to the match, State recognized Claudel Pilon, Reilly Brown, Kaley Shlaes, Ariela Schreibeis, Randi Soldat, Karri Owens, and Meagan Proper for their years spent with the Wolfpack women's soccer program.

Wake Forest leapt out to an early lead in the match, taking a 1-0 advantage on Riley Ridgik's 10th goal of the season in the eighth minute. Teammate Ally Berry's shot seconds earlier was blocked by the State defense, but fell right to the foot of Ridgik, who was able to beat Mackenzie Stelljes from 10 yards out to make it 1-0 in favor of the visitors.

On State's first corner of the evening, Proper whipped in a vicious strike towards the target. The ball was placed perfectly, flying over goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe's head straight into the side netting to tie the match at 1-1. The goal was the first of Proper's career.

"It feels great," said Proper. "Any time you get a goal is a great time. I'm glad I could help our team get the win. This is a big win. Not just for our seniors, but also for our underclassmen as they move forward through the spring and prepare for next fall."

State got right after the Demon Deacons early in the second half, pressuring from the start. This pressure paid off in the form of the game-winning goal in the 47th minute when Stanko found herself in a one-on-one situation with the Wake Forest goalkeeper. The sophomore coolly tucked her shot inside the near post for her fifth goal of the season. The strike was assisted by teammates Jennie Krauser and Caroline Gentry.

From that point on, State was able to weather a determined Wake Forest comeback to hold on for the win.

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