In a thrilling game that went 102 minutes, NC State men’s soccer edged William & Mary 2-1 in overtime to clinch their best start since 2012.
The Wolfpack (4-0) and Tribe (2-3) both struggled to score during regular time, with the lone goal of the first half coming six minutes in to the game.
Tribe forward Ryder Bell found himself with the ball in the left side of the box after an NC State turnover, and slid the ball past sophomore goalie Leon Krapf into the near post to put William & Mary up 1-0 on the fourth-ranked Wolfpack.
The Pack had its fair share of opportunities to respond, but just couldn’t find the back of the net. Most notably, after an errant pass by the Tribe, senior forward Cjay Sparks was one-on-one in the box with Connor Andrews, William and Mary’s goalkeeper. Andrews rushed forward to meet the senior forward, coming up with a great diving save to preserve his team’s 1-0 lead.
One of the main creators for the Pack on the night was sophomore midfielder David Loera. The midfield maestro was pulling the strings all night for his side, creating a lot of opportunities for both his teammates and himself.
“I think he is one of the better guys in the country,” head coach George Kiefer said. “He is just so good at finding guys, slipping guys, breaking pressure, but then what you also notice is his workrate defensively.”
The last opportunity for a Wolfpack equalizer came with seven minutes left in the half. On a ball from Loera, senior defender Christoph Schneuwly passed to sophomore forward Manny Perez, who battled with William and Mary midfielder Marcel Berry. Perez managed to leave Berry in the dust before crossing to junior forward Tyler Gabarra, who was fouled in the box while attempting a header.
“[Marcel Barry]’s a good player, we were talking back [and forth] on the field,” Perez said. “He’s always been a competitor and it was a very good matchup.”
Sophomore defender David Norris stepped up to the penalty kick following a foul on junior Tyler Gabarra, but it was saved by Andrews.
In the second half, it was the Wolfpack’s turn to score early. Two minutes in, junior midfielder Gabriel Machado sent a perfectly placed free kick into the box and Perez slid in to tie the game at 1-1.
“It started off with a good cross from Gabriel,” Perez said. “We’ve been working on that exact ball and I just happened to be in the right place.”
The Wolfpack and the Tribe, unable to decide a winner in the ninety minutes, took the match to overtime.
Following an uneventful first half of overtime it took only two minutes into the second to find a winner. Schneuwly found himself on the end of a deflected shot following a corner and made no mistake on the finish.
“Well it was a corner kick and it got to the second post and got hit back bounced to another guy, he shot it,” Schneuwly said. “It just landed in front of my foot and I literally just had to put it in there.”
The Wolfpack found success on the night from set pieces with both goals coming from dead ball scenarios.
“I give credit to my assistant coach Nicholls; he is very very good at analyzing that stuff; he is fully responsible for it,” Kiefer said. “He actually made a move and change who was serving the ball tonight and I thought that paid off.”
The Wolfpack will visit Wake Forest in its next game this Friday, in a matchup of two top 5 teams.
“Every game is big, we’re just taking it step by step. They’re No. 1 in the nation right now, we’re No. 4,” said Perez. “I think it’s a good matchup—a good ACC matchup—and I’m looking forward to it. It should be a good game.”
Junior defender Christoph Schneuwly looks for an open teammate at the N.C. State V. Boston College men's soccer game in Dail Soccer Stadium on Friday, Oct. 27. The two teams tied with a score of 0-0 after two ten minute over time sessions.
