N.C. State allowed two goals in the second half to Boston College as the Wolfpack lost to the Eagles 2-1 in Raleigh on Friday night.
The Eagles (4-2-2, 2-1-1 ACC) scored three minutes after halftime, but the Wolfpack (4-2-1, 1-2-1 ACC) leveled the match in the 65th minute through junior defender Clement Simonin’s third goal of the season.
However, a 30-yard rocket from sophomore midfielder Atobra Ampadu gave BC a lead they would not surrender a second time.
“We didn’t defend well on the restart after the half, and we didn’t defend well close to our own goal,” head coach Kelly Findley said. “To be fair, the player [Ampadu] struck it really well, but we gave away a few discipline pieces beforehand. Then we were chasing the game and didn’t get a result.”
State fell to seventh in the ACC standings after the loss, and the Eagles jumped to the fifth spot. The Pack was tied with the Eagles in Atlantic Coast Conference standings before kick-off.
Coming off an impressive 2-1 win over Davidson on Tuesday night in Raleigh, the Pack was trying to put together back-to-back wins for the first time since the beginning of the season. Boston College was also coming off a good win, a 3-0 shutout of Rhode Island.
The first half was uneventful as neither team generated much offensive momentum. State’s best chance of the half came as freshman midfielder Travis Wannemuehler tracked down a long ball on the right flank behind the Eagles’ defense.
Boston College’s goalkeeper, junior Keady Segel, came out to claim the ball but Wannemuehler got there first and took a touch around Segel. Wannemuehler tried to pass the ball into the Eagles’ net, but a retreating Boston College defender cleared the shot to safety to preserve the deadlock at 0-0.
Boston College took a 1-0 lead through a header from junior defender Matt Wendelken. After a foul by the Wolfpack around midfield, freshman midfielder Zeiko Lewis hit his free kick from the right touchline to the back post.
Wendelken out-jumped State’s defenders and headed the ball past senior goalkeeper Fabian Otte and into the right side netting.
“You can’t give up a goal to start the second half,” Findley said. “No matter how much better you might be than another team, which I thought we were tonight, you still can’t give away goals… We just need to be a little more mature in those key moments.”
After the goal, State started to attack. The Wolfpack finally broke through the Eagles’ defense in the 65th minute. Sophomore midfielder Holden Fender whipped in a corner kick to the back post, where it deflected off an Eagles’ defender right to the feet of Simonin.
The Frenchman wasted no time in dispatching the ball through a crowd of bodies, past Segel and into the net for the tying goal.
“I think Simonin has been really coming into form,” Findley said. “He’s scoring goals so everyone is talking about him, but what he was doing before his goal was great for us as well, in terms of applying defensive pressure and tracking balls down. He’s been playing well all year for us.”
State kept attacking in hopes of grabbing a game-winner. But in the 80th minute, an Eagles’ counterattack yielded a goal against the run of play. Junior midfielder Giuliano Frano passed to Ampadu, whose powerful shot left Otte with no chance to make a save.
State frantically tried to level the score in the last few minutes, but the Eagles’ defense held strong and preserved the one-goal victory.
State will play Gardner-Webb (4-4) on Tuesday night in Boiling Springs.
