N.C . State got its second ACC win of the season after defeating Virginia Tech 2-1 in overtime at the Dail Soccer Stadium in a hotly contested affair.

The Pack (6-6-2, 2-3 ACC) started the game aggressively when, after 45 seconds, forward Ollie Kelly unleashed his venom with a shot that the Tech (3-9-1, 1-4 ACC) goalkeeper could barely tip over the bar. The offense kept on putting pressure with defender Simon Cox coming close a couple of times but it was the Hokies from Virginia Tech who drew first blood in the 30th minute.

A quick breakthrough and poor marking by the Pack defense led to a shot by Hokie forward James Shupp which goalkeeper Fabian Otte got a hand on but the ball still rolled into the goal to give Virginia Tech the initial lead.

Despite falling behind early, the game was dominated by State from that point on as the Pack created chance after chance. Those chances provided great dividends when senior defender Zane Tharakan’s long throw with 42nd minute led to a huge scramble in the box and ultimately a goal after deflecting of Hokie defender to tie the score at 1-1 going into the halftime.

Tharakan , the team’s long throw specialist, felt the goal was crucial going into the second half as it helped tip the balance.

“It was more of a roll up your sleeves kind of a game at the beginning, and we let in an unlucky goal,” Tharakan said. “I was proud of all the guys, we fought back and got the goal back and got some momentum going into the second half.”

Coach Kelly Findley , in his first year in-charge of the team, was quick to praise Tharakan , who kept testing the Tech defense with his long throws throughout the game and for his work ethic and character.

“Anytime, we get into the final third we throw it in, no question about that, obviously Zane is a great student and a great teammate and he has just been playing really steady all year in-training,” Findley said. “We were on a run of bad form and we needed to shake some things up and he has really taken his opportunity well.”

The second half started just as the first ended with midfielder Nazmi Albadawi and forward Zabarie Kollie combining dangerously to almost give the Pack the win, but the Tech keeper was equally up to the task and made a string of fine saves to deny them both on numerous occasions.

The second half ended with the scores tied at one apiece as both teams tried their best to break the deadlock but in the end it was State who clinched the ‘W’ when in the seventh minute of overtime, Kollie laid-off the ball to Albadawi who turned around, took a touch and smashed the ball into the net to give coach Findley his first overtime victory in three attempts.

Kollie credited the numerous chances the team was creating that led to overall success and also lauded the mental strength the team had that led to the overtime victory.

“I think our team is very solid in making quality chances and I think we just have to finish them as much as possible and we did that today,” Kollie said. “We didn’t let down or anything and I think that was key to our win. Some teams last minute get weak mentally and physically and I think we did well.”

Tharakan felt it was an important game for the Pack who got their second ACC victory of the season and moved within two wins of the conference leader.

“Anytime you get points in the league, I mean this is by far the best league in the country so anytime you can get a result like this, three points, it’s massive,” Tharakan said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s the first team in the conference or the last team, it’s three points and a step towards our goal.”

Findley was happy with the team performance and seemed impressed with the discipline his players showed.

“I think it was a great team performance. I thought we played well for the entire match. I was really pleased with the discipline and our positioning,” Findley said. “In the end it was a great effort on goal, but I was pleased as well to watch us lock a ball in, defend well, move it quick and create that chance and in the end great goal by Naz [ Albadawi ].”

Findley , despite the win, was confident that the team would not rest on their laurels and that it would continue in the same breath and go back to what they had been doing in order to keep the good work rolling.

“We want to get points at home, so we are pleased with that but now we have to turn back, recover and then we play South Carolina on Tuesday,” Findley said. “Failure awaits for those who rest on success made yesterday.”

State plays South Carolina Tuesday, Oct. 18 in Columbia, S.C .