A fiercely contested rivalry game saw the NC State men’s soccer team slip to a 1-0 defeat against the No. 8 ranked UNC-Chapel Hill Tar Heels Friday night in Raleigh.
The Wolfpack (5-5-3, 1-3-2 ACC) had numerous chances to win the match and competed well with the highly ranked Heels (10-4, 4-2 ACC), matching Chapel Hill’s individual talent with solid tactics and bold play from key individuals, but a lack of clinical finishing and a moment of brilliance from UNC sophomore midfielder Omar Holness kept the Pack from earning a second ACC victory.
“There’s no points for second place,” Head Coach Kelly Findley said post-match. “That’s how the guys feel, and that’s how we feel as a team. It doesn’t do any good to play well and get a moral victory. Bottom line is, we didn’t get any points tonight and it’s a disappointment.”
NC State came out of the gates with tremendous intensity. Once again, senior striker Nick Surkamp was left out of the starting lineup, with sophomore midfielder Yanni Hachem moved to the center forward position, but quickly exchanged positions with junior left midfielder Reed Norton.
During the first fifteen minutes, the game was played at an enjoyable and intense pace. Both teams attacked boldly, and contrary to NC State’s 2-1 victory against Louisville a few weeks ago, the Pack did not sit back and look exclusively for the counter attack.
Instead, State actively looked to move the ball quickly and purposefully, and found early success attacking the edges of Carolina’s three-man defense, nearly opening a lead in the 22nd minute.
Reed Norton latched onto a through ball and beat UNC’s senior center back Boyd Okwuono on the end line with a clever piece of skill before cutting the ball back to an unmarked Hachem. The midfielder’s shot was scrambled off the line, however.
Carolina was heavily reliant on its individuals. Freshman forward Alan Winn repeatedly dropped off into space to receive the ball before spinning away from State junior defensive midfielder Holden Fender and attacking Pack center backs: freshman Conor Donovan and senior Moss Jackson-Atogi.
Carolina striker Andy Craven, who leads the ACC in goal scoring, tried to sprint beyond and latch onto through balls, but the Wolfpack defense was excellent at remaining compact. The unit simply dropped deeper, allowed its midfield to recover, and forced Carolina’s attackers to run out of space and try to force passes through impossibly tight gaps.
“The communication from the goalkeeper to the whole back line to the midfield was great the whole game.” NC State freshman center back Conor Donovan said. “That’s something we can pull from moving forward.”
The Wolfpack remained extremely well organized, and while the team did not find the back of the net in the first half or generate many clear-cut chances, it dominated possession.
Carolina, conversely, looked to break forward using the pace of players like Winn and senior midfielder Robbie Lovejoy.
Although State was primarily concerned with collective play, it did contain the game’s best individual player in freshman attacking midfielder Zach Knudson.
Already one of the Pack’s key attackers, Knudson flourished playing in behind the striker against Chapel Hill on both sides of the ball.
He industriously tracked UNC’s skilled forwards deep into State’s defensive end, and on numerous occasions it was a tackle from Knudson that robbed the Heels’ Alan Winn of the ball.
Knudson’s skills at evading opposing challenges fueled State going forward. The midfielder consistently beat his defender with clever touches into space before turning and racing forward.
“Zach’s showed his quality all year,” Findley said. “I think he had the opportunity to shine tonight. I’m pleased with him and I’m pleased with a lot of our freshmen. They really stepped up.”
However, despite State’s strong play both collectively and individually, the finish just wouldn’t happen, and Carolina eventually found a way through a tremendous piece of brilliance from Omar Holness.
The Jamaican international received a short pass from senior Andy Craven and drilled a shot to the far upper corner from a narrow angle on the right flank in the 76th minute.
The Pack pushed forward at the end and nearly found a way through the Carolina defense with junior midfielder Phil Carmon, but the whistle blew at the end of 90 minutes with the score favoring Chapel Hill.
A missed opportunity to down another ranked opponent, the Pack stands at 5-5-3, needing victories to push towards an NCAA tournament birth and takes on South Carolina on the road on Tuesday.
