No. 12 NC State men’s soccer concluded its regular season Friday night with a 1-0 loss to Wake Forest at Spry Stadium. It marked NC State’s third loss of the season — all three of which have come against Tobacco Road teams — and broke the Wolfpack’s six-game unbeaten streak.
The Wolfpack (8-3-5, 3-3-2 ACC) was looking for its first win over the Demon Deacons (8-4-5, 4-2-2 ACC) since 2005 and was in control most of the match but a defensive lapse late in the second half cost the Pack a chance to at least secure a point on the road.
In the 75th minute, the Deacons got deep in the Wolfpack’s box, and Wake Forest forward Julian Kennedy shot toward the net but it was deflected by redshirt sophomore center back Issac Heffess. The deflection didn’t make its way out of the box, allowing Deacon midfielder Basit Umar to blast a shot by junior goalkeeper Logan Erb for a 1-0 lead.
After Wake Forest took the lead, the Wolfpack had its chances to tie the game. Under three minutes after the opening goal, junior midfielder Taig Healy nearly scored off a free kick that Wake Forest goalie Trace Alphin had to leap to keep out of the net.
And with less than 10 minutes to go in the game, senior midfielder Henrique Santos put a shot on net that went through the arms of Alphin and just trickled to the left of the post and out of bounds.
That was the only blunder Alphin made all game as he was a brick wall in front of the net for the Demon Deacons. He made seven saves and had to make many diving and leaping stops to keep the Wolfpack scoreless.
Alphin couldn’t have recorded the clean sheet without a little bit of luck on his side though. In the first half, both graduate defender Liam Bennett and sophomore forward Donavan Phillip had shots clatter off the woodwork.
The one positive NC State can take away from this game is the level of defense it played for most of the match. For the sixth time in the last seven games, the Wolfpack held its opponent to one goal or less. It also held Wake Forest to just 12 shots – seven shots under its average — and six shots on goal.
NC State’s improved defense has been the biggest development under first-year head coach Marc Hubbard. After allowing the second most goals per game in the ACC last season, the Wolfpack entered the matchup against the Deacons tied for the least amount of goals allowed in ACC play.
It’s something that Hubbard’s teams were known for. At his previous job at the University of New Hampshire, his teams ranked in the top 10 in the country for goals against average six times and finished in first place twice. And this NC State squad has fully bought into Hubbard’s playstyle.
Next, the Wolfpack will play in the ACC Tournament with its seed yet to be determined. There is a chance that NC State will host a first-round game if it finishes in the top eight of the conference. Whether it’s at home or on the road, the Pack’s next game will be played on Wednesday.
