Jade Bordeleau tore through SMU like a one‑woman storm, and NC State rode the wave.
The Wolfpack forward struck a hat-trick and led an NCS onslaught that proved too much for SMU to handle, even on a day when the Mustangs found goals of their own from the spot and open play.
Bordeleau takes control
From the opening exchanges, NCS set the tone. Jade Bordeleau was central to everything. Her movement dragged defenders around, her finishing did the rest.
Her first breakthrough came with help. Daisy Duda and Madison Casteen combined to carve open the SMU back line, and Bordeleau applied the finish. It was crisp, clinical, and it wouldn’t be the last time her name hit the scoresheet.
NCS kept coming. Shots from Emily Wong and Bordeleau flew just off target, while Mana Nakata twice threatened from distance, one effort sailing over the bar and another forcing Aubrey Brown into action with a sharp save to the top right.
The pressure finally told again through the Wolfpack collective. An NCS team goal pushed the advantage further, then another NCS strike from the group piled on the damage as SMU struggled to stem the tide.
SMU fight back from the spot
SMU needed a lifeline and found it from 12 yards. Brooke Bunton stepped up to the penalty spot and buried her kick, then did it again with a second penalty, showing steel in a high-pressure moment and keeping the Mustangs within reach.
Those goals didn’t change the flow of play, though. NCS still dictated tempo, still carved out chances, and still found Bordeleau in dangerous pockets.
Nakata kept firing, sending another shot over the top, while NCS rotated through their attacking options. Carly Montgomery tried her luck, just missing high, and Duda drove another effort over the bar as the Wolfpack refused to sit back.
Hat-trick hero and supporting cast
Bordeleau’s response to the SMU penalties was emphatic. Twice more she linked up with Yuna Aoki, and twice more she finished. The first of those additional goals underlined the understanding between the pair, Aoki threading the pass and Bordeleau doing what she had done all afternoon: punish.
The combination struck again, Bordeleau completing her hat-trick with another Aoki assist. Three goals, each one a reminder that SMU never really got to grips with her movement or her timing.
Erica Roberts then joined the party. She found the net for NCS to extend the margin, and later forced Brown into a low save to the bottom left. Katie Richter followed with another shot toward the same corner, again denied by Brown, who battled to keep the scoreline respectable.
On the other end, SMU tried to answer. Kaia Samuelsen Elverum sent an effort over the top, while Bunton pushed a shot high as she searched for a third personal contribution to the scoresheet.
Noble strikes, Pickels responds
SMU finally broke through from open play when Kaylee Noble found the net, adding to their tally after earlier being denied by NCS goalkeeper Riley Pickels on a low strike to the bottom center. Noble’s goal gave SMU a late spark, but by then the damage from NCS’s relentless attack was already done.
Antonella Mazziotto had one more look for NCS, driving a shot over the bar, and Nakata continued to press with another effort off target. The final whistle eventually drew a line under a match that never really slowed.
Statement win, clear warning
From the starting lineups — with Pickels, Aoki, Nakata, Roberts, Bordeleau, Duda and company for NCS, and Brown, Bunton, Noble, Elverum and their SMU teammates — this always looked like it could open up.
It did. And in the chaos, Jade Bordeleau stood tallest.
If this is the standard NCS can sustain, with Bordeleau ruthless in front of goal and Aoki pulling strings behind her, how many more back lines are about to be ripped apart the same way?
