The NC State men’s soccer team (0-1-1) started its season sluggishly, drawing 0-0 with Valparaiso (0-0-2) on Friday before falling to Cal Poly (1-1) on Sunday with a score of 3-1.

State struggled to generate clear chances in its 4-4-2 formation and failed to consistently penetrate the opposing defense in both matches.

On Friday, Valparaiso came out to win and put the Pack under immediate pressure from the opening whistle, and State was sluggish to retaliate over the first 25 minutes.

“The negatives are we started slow,” said NC State Head Coach Kelly Findley. “I thought we lacked energy at home, which is not OK.”

Midfielders Holden Fender and Michael Bajza kept possession well, but were forced to primarily pass backward or sideways.

Up front, the new pairing of Nick Surkamp and Lawrence Taiwo, two similarly large and athletic strikers, seemed out of sync and stayed too high, failing to combine with the midfielders. This disconnect meant that a team that played fast combinations in transition during the spring preseason ended up relying on long balls and physicality — an unreliable strategy.

Wolfpack substitutions, specifically sophomore midfielder Roland Minogue, freshman forward Ryan Peterson and freshman defender Caleb Duvernay, helped State gain the upper hand and indicated that Findley has tremendous depth at his disposal.

Peterson dropped away from his defenders to give the team a link between midfield and attack and should’ve scored on a cutback pass from Duvernay, who played in a left-sided midfield role and added directness and width to the team. Minogue gave the midfield added swiftness and agility to break past the pressure.

State dominated the second half but couldn’t find the net, and although Surkamp scored in the second overtime period, he was deemed offside by the referee.

Despite Valpo’s strong play, State expected to win the game, and probably should have won the game, according to Findley.

“We got better as the game went on,” Findley said. “I thought we deserved to win in the end, but soccer’s a hard game. We learned some good lessons tonight. We have to start strong and realize no one’s just going to let us win a game without a fight.”

In contrast to the offense’s troubles, the Pack defense produced a shutout and junior goalkeeper Alex McCauley performed well between the posts, including a spectacular save on a free kick.

“I knew as soon as he kicked it that it was headed top corner,” McCauley said. “I have a great goalkeeping coach who trains me how to handle those situations and I’ve faced shots like that all the time in practice so I just tipped it over the bar.”

On Sunday, State’s normally strong defense looked porous against an excellent Cal Poly side and wasn’t helped when senior center back Clement Simonin departed due to injuries and was replaced by freshman Matias Fracchia, who has been with the team for less than two weeks. The Mustangs, coming into the game after losing to Davidson 4-3, moved the ball with tremendous confidence and precision and scored all three goals using a similar pattern.

When in possession, Cal Poly would exploit its main advantage in the center of midfield. Bajza and Fender couldn’t win the ball quickly, so State’s midfield line of four would come narrow and compact to compensate. The Mustangs would then play the ball wide, and as State reshaped its defensive lines to pressure, Cal Poly would exploit the gaps that appeared.

Cal Poly junior Chase Minter ran riot. The winger recorded two goals and an assist in the contest, scoring a header in the 16th minute, playing provider on the goal less than a minute later and finishing first time in the 44th.

After the halftime break, Findley completely restructured his side and switched to a 4-3-3 formation. The change altered the course of the game, and the Pack outshot the Mustangs 11-2 in the second half and dominated play.

State cut into the Cal Poly lead in the 64th minute, as sophomore midfielder Michael Bajza drew a foul in the penalty box and deposited the resulting kick into the bottom corner.

A frenetic final 25 minutes saw State come close to scoring another, but once again, finishing from open play just eluded the Wolfpack. When the final whistle blew, Findley and his team headed straight for the locker room to understand just what went wrong.

With so much depth and talent, finding the right balance and employing the best tactics is the challenge faced by State this fall.