With a 2-1 loss to Wake Forest in its first conference match, the NC State men’s soccer team has plenty of questions left to answer and plenty of positives on which to build.

Despite facing a nationally ranked opponent, going down two goals, suffering key injuries and receiving a pair of red cards, the Pack (2-2-1, 0-1-0 ACC) came within a hair’s breadth of equalizing against the No. 18 Demon Deacons (3-2-0, 1-0-0 ACC).

“Wake Forest is an excellent possession team no matter who they play,” said State head coach Kelly Findley. “That asked us questions we hadn’t been asked before since we switched systems.”

The aforementioned system switch from 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 has seen a massive improvement in the Pack’s play, even if Friday’s loss was a bump in the road.

Earlier in the season, the Technician noted the dependency on functional partnerships required for the 4-4-2 to work. But after a dull draw with Valparaiso and a lopsided loss to Cal Poly, it became obvious that some of these partnerships essentially called for square pegs in round holes — players in unsuitable roles.

“We went through the preseason and the first weekend playing one season and realized pretty quickly it just wasn’t working,” Findley said.

Since switching to 4-3-3, the Pack ran over Cleveland State 4-0, edged William & Mary 1-0 and took Wake to the brink before two red cards eliminated hope of a comeback.

State junior attacker Reed Norton received a red card for a harsh challenge in the 55th and sophomore midfielder Michael Bajza got his marching orders after a pair of yellow cards with 13 minutes left to play. Both players are suspended for tonight’s match against Charleston.

“I’ve received four yellow cards in 11 years of coaching,” Findley said. “We lost our discipline a little bit, but I’m still proud we didn’t concede after we went down to nine men.”

Before the cards, however, the match was physical and well-contested, with Wake Forest opening the scoring in the 17th minute and finding a second just after the second half kickoff.

The Pack struggled to generate chances in open play but found a lifeline in the 55th minute, when Bajza controlled a Demon Deacons’ clearance with his head and smashed a volley from 30 yards that dipped over the head of Wake Forest sophomore keeper Alec Ferrell and into the net.

Ferrell, however, made key saves late in the match to deny a State equalizer, preserve his side’s win and hand the Pack its first conference loss of the season; a loss that serves as a lesson for games to come.

Findley noted the team must improve in its new system and generate clear-cut chances in open play.

“We’ve played 4-3-3 for 10 days,” Findley said. “The guys are bought in, and we’ll continue to get better with every game we play.”

The creativity of players like freshman attacking midfielder Zach Knudson, sophomore winger Travis Wannemuehler and sophomore central midfielder Roland Minogue must come to the forefront for that to happen.

Moreover, senior striker Nick Surkamp and freshman striker Ade Taiwo must find the back of the net when given those chances. Surkamp scored twice against Cleveland State but didn’t find the goal in the other four games, while Ade Taiwo has yet to open his account for the Pack.

Defensively, State needs greater concentration and solidity, but that comes with time. Freshmen talents Conor Donovan (who returned from international duty for Friday’s match) and Caleb Duvernay have earned starting spots, but integrating alongside veterans like seniors Ryan Metts and Clement Simonin requires game experience.

Nonetheless, the Pack has a solid foundation: Players such as Simonin and junior defensive midfielder Holden Fender have hardly put a foot wrong so far and offer vital consistency and leadership, while junior keeper Alex McCauley has been in inspired form so far and made nine saves against Wake Forest. Off the bench, senior Matt Ingram and junior Phil Carmon bring versatility and energy.

With young guns such as freshmen Ryan Peterson, Duvernay and Knudson playing big minutes, the Wolfpack has a blend of talent ready to come together and push for a tournament bid.

The question is: When will it all come together?

In the spring preseason, State clicked collectively in its sixth game: a dominant 6-2 win against Duke. Tonight, the Pack takes on Charleston at home — its sixth game of the regular season.