After going behind 2-1, the NC State men’s soccer team rallied to defeat Gardner-Webb 5-2 Tuesday night at Dail Soccer Stadium.
Goals from redshirt senior Nick Surkamp, sophomore midfielder Yanni Hachem (2), junior winger Reed Norton and sophomore midfielder Roland Minogue secured the comeback win for the Wolfpack (5-4-2, 1-2-1 ACC) against the Running Bulldogs (1-7-1).
For NC State Head Coach Kelly Findley, continuing his team’s strong play after beating No.5 Louisville on Friday was vital.
“This is a trap game,” Findley said. “Mid-week, coming off a big conference win, looking forward to the following conference games, and we knew that coming in.”
The Wolfpack started slowly, conceding in the 14th minute but jumped right back into the game when Surkamp leveled the score less than 20 seconds later.
Patiently building out of the back, State’s defenders calmly passed into the feet of midfield duo junior Holden Fender and sophomore Michael Bajza, who worked the ball wide to sophomore winger Travis Wannemuehler. The Evansville, Indiana, native took two touches down the line and curled a pinpoint low cross into the feet of the wide open Surkamp, who made no mistake from six yards.
However, State’s backline dropped its concentration again five minutes later, gifting an easy goal to the Running Bulldogs after the defense misplayed a clearance.
Findley believes the goal was due to the inexperience of his back line, with three of the four defenders being freshmen, while junior goalkeeper Alex McCauley is only in his first year starting between the sticks.
“We have a young back four and a relatively inexperienced goalkeeper who is playing well at the moment,” Findley said.
At halftime, State trailed 2-1, but had the edge in shots 10-6.
State stormed out of the gates in the second period, scoring less than four minutes into play, with Hachem notching his first goal of the season: a 25-yard strike to just inside the right post.
With the score level, the Pack piled on the pressure and earned the go-ahead goal in the 71st minute after Gardner-Webb’s keeper misplayed a looping header from Hachem, which found its way inside the left post.
“Coming off a big win against Louisville, it’s easy to take the next opponent easy,” Hachem said. “It felt great to get two goals and an assist for sure, but more importantly we got the result.”
But the Pack was not satisfied with just 3-2, and Reed Norton and Roland Minogue both got in on the action.
After a good spell of possession in the middle third of the field, Hachem received the ball in space, turned, and slipped Norton in behind the left flank of the Running Bulldogs defense. After an expertly weighted touch, Norton slotted the ball into the bottom left corner of the net before neither defender nor keeper could react.
Minogue would finish off a team move in the 80th minute to extend the Pack’s lead to three. Moving the ball up the left side, freshman left back Caleb Duvernay connected with redshirt junior Phillip Carmon who delivered a ball across the penalty area.
Although the cross was behind him, Minogue got a touch on the ball, turned, and hit a low rocket into the bottom right corner past the outstretched hand of Gardner-Webb’s keeper, securing the 5-2 victory.
After the game, Findley was pleased with the overall development of his team through the season.
“A lot of guys contributed and Yanni in particular was excellent,” Findley said. “Our quality keeps getting better and better.”
The Pack travels to Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, Friday to take on the Boston College Eagles (4-4-1, 1-3-0 ACC) in its fifth conference match of the season.
