NC State men’s soccer returned home to Dail Soccer Field on Tuesday to face Quinnipiac. The Wolfpack got back on track after losing at Wake Forest, besting the Bobcats by a score of 1-0.
The Pack (5-1) and Bobcats (0-4-1) played in near 90-degree heat after the game was moved from 7 p.m. to 12:30 p.m. due to the threat of rain, and it showed. Four Quinnipiac players went down during the game, and during breaks the athletes could be seen stretching to avoid cramps.
“We went into the game saying, ‘We definitely have to trust our bench,’ and I’m glad we did,” head coach George Kiefer said. “They came on and added good minutes… In this humidity—I’m used to it from Tampa [coaching at USF for 14 years]—you have to be on the ball… you want to spend the least amount of time defending possible and I thought they did a good job of that.”
Junior midfielder Gabriel Machado was aggressive, leading the Wolfpack with eight shots, a figure that eclipsed Quinnipiac’s entire team (six). The Wolfpack dominated in terms of pressuring the goal. That wasn’t on accident.
“Coach told us that we have to come out and prove a point today because our performance [against Wake Forest] wasn’t good,” said sophomore midfielder Jose Morales Jr., who played 45 minutes after subbing in for fellow midfielder Brad Sweeney. “I felt like we made a positive statement and took a step forward towards what we’re trying to achieve.”
The first half had no shortage of excitement but was decidedly lacking on the scoreboard. Through 45 minutes, the Wolfpack and the Bobcats played each other to a draw. The 0-0 halftime score was not for lack of trying; he two teams combined for 13 shots (eight from NC State and five from Quinnipiac). Six of those shots were on goal with five from the Wolfpack.
In the second half, the Wolfpack finally found the back of the net. In the 55th minute of the game, freshman forward Caleb Martinez sent a cross into the box to forward Ivy Brisma, whose shot was deflected by a Quinnipiac defender. The ball careened back towards the top of the box, right to Machado, who shot immediately. Quinnipiac goalie Jared Mazzola was caught out of position, and the ball found its home in the bottom right corner of the net.
“I knew I had to go in the box because eventually I would have a chance to score,” Machado said. “I had the chance, I hit the ball and it scored.”
Despite Quinnipiac putting on the pressure, they never got a solid look at the goal and remained winless on the season. Being from Connecticut, the Bobcats seemed to suffer the most from the heat despite the water break in each half.
“It’s mental,” Morales said. “Whenever the game’s heavy, legs are heavy. You just have to push through and grind it out. I felt like all the guys did that, and that’s what got us the win.”
NC State was scheduled to travel to Pittsburgh on Friday, but the game has since been postponed due to increasing likelihood of complications caused by Hurricane Florence.
