NC State men’s soccer beat the William and Mary Tribe 2-1 on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at Dail Soccer Field in its last nonconference game of the regular season.

Coming off a 2-2 draw against rival UNC, the Wolfpack (5-5-3), maintained possession of the ball throughout the majority of the first half against the Tribe (4-4-6). Graduate midfielder Conor Kelly wasted little time in getting NC State onto the scoreboard, netting the first goal of the match in the 12th minute of play. Kelly now has seven goals in the 2022 season, half of the Pack’s total of 14.

Although the red-and-white dictated gameplay for most of the first 45 minutes of the match, William and Mary operated quickly and effectively when an offensive opportunity did present itself. The Tribe capitalized on one such opportunity in the 17th minute, responding to Kelly’s goal with a goal of its own.

The remainder of the half saw limited offensive action for William and Mary. Meanwhile, offensive production for the Pack centered around opportunities created by Kelly and freshman midfielder Calem Tommy, who have both proven themselves to be offensive weapons all season long. Over the course of the game, NC State managed to outshoot the Tribe 12-6, proving its superior offensive prowess.

“William and Mary’s really good in transition”, said head coach George Kiefer. “I thought we kept the ball well and kept our shape well where we didn’t turn it over in bad spots.”

The second half of the match got off to a relatively quiet start as possessions seemed to be shared more equally between the two sides. Each team attacked quickly but was met with deflections from defenders and key saves by the goalkeepers that prevented either team from gaining the upper hand. In the final thirty minutes of play, NC State began to attack with more patience, taking the time to find the perfect opening, to what seemed like no avail.

It wasn’t until the last four minutes of play that the match intensified; just when everyone thought that NC State was about to finish the match with a third consecutive draw, sophomore forward Luke Hille scored off of a header on an assist from Tommy in the 87th minute of play.

“It was an amazing feeling,” Hille said. “Tommy put the ball right on my head and I was able to put it in the goal”.

Hille’s goal put the red-and-white up 2-1 with little time left to play, but the Tribe wasn’t done fighting. William and Mary continued to play physically throughout the final minutes of the match. The Tribe was fouled in the last few seconds of the game, resulting in a free kick very close to the goal with just two seconds left on the clock. However, the Pack’s defense held strong as it kept William and Mary out of the goal and secured its fifth win of the season in the process.

The Wolfpack will return to Dail Soccer Field on Saturday, Oct. 22 to battle the No. 4 Syracuse Orange in its last home game of the 2022 season.