After dropping a rescheduled midweek ACC game against Pittsburgh to Tuesday, the No. 12 NC State men’s soccer team will jump back into action Friday as it hosts No. 6 Louisville at Dail Soccer Stadium.
It will be the third ACC match in seven days for the Wolfpack (6-2, 1-2 ACC), an unusual occasion after the Pittsburgh game was rescheduled to Tuesday after being originally postponed due to Hurricane Florence. NC State dropped the match to the Panthers 3-1, while the Cardinals (6-1-1, 3-0 ACC) are on a five-game undefeated streak and have yet to drop a game in conference play.
Last season, the Wolfpack picked up a huge win on the road at then-No. 5 Louisville, one of two top-five wins the Pack had last season. NC State won 3-2, with two goals from sophomore Manny Perez and one from senior Cjay Sparks, both who are still with the Wolfpack. Louisville’s two goals came from Mohamed Thiaw, who has graduated.
This season, Louisville is playing good soccer, with ACC wins over Duke, Boston College and Pittsburgh. In those three conference matches the Cardinals have yet to concede a goal, outscoring ACC opponents 5-0.
Adam Wilson and Geoffrey Dee are leading the charge for Louisville. Wilson leads the Cards with three goals, and has also dished out two assists. Dee has two of each. Forward Tate Schmitt has been Louisville’s best distributer of the ball, with four assists.
In net, Jake Gelnovatch has been incredible for Louisville. Gelnovatch has allowed only four goals in 560 minutes of play time. His goals against average is a miniscule 0.64 and he has a save percentage of .789.
For NC State, junior transfer Gabriel Machado has been the most potent goal scorer, with three goals and two assists in seven games. Perez is also putting together another phenomenal season, as he leads the team with four assists to go along with one goal.
The Wolfpack also has a very reliable goalkeeper in sophomore Leon Krapf, who has played every minute of the season for NC State and has a goals against average of 0.98.
Louisville is one of the premiere teams in the ACC, and this game is an opportunity for the Wolfpack to get back on track and pick up a signature conference win. Under second-year coach George Kiefer, the Wolfpack has shown that it can compete with anybody, and this is an opportunity to make a statement in front of the home crowd.
