Much to the joy of Wolfpack soccer fans, the men’s soccer team returned to action to play ACC foe Duke at the Dail Soccer Stadium Tuesday.
It was, however, far from the outcome everybody would have hoped for. The Blue Devils beat the Pack in their own backyard, 2-1.
Sophomore Monbo Bokar put in a threatening cross barely a minute into the game but the Pack failed to have a player to back it up as the ball tamely went out of bounds.
The Pack could have gone up early in the game after winning a free kick just at the edge of the Duke 20-yard box; however, redshirt sophomore Nazmi Albadawi could only hit the wall with his effort.
Despite making early inroads into the Duke half, it was the Blue Devils who drew first blood 5:25 into the first half. Junior goalkeeper Fabian Otte spilled a shot from outside the box and the attacker was in position to head the ball into the Pack netting.
With 8:12 on the clock, Bokar was again in the thick of action after his header off sophomore Jonathan Ray’s cross hit the woodwork.
The Pack looked rusty, with most players going half-heartedly for the ball, proving to be the downfall with the Duke players using their physicality to dominate the midfield area.
With 29:37 on the clock, the Pack finally leveled the game following a moment of brilliance that involved a mazy run by Albadawi who drew the keeper out only for junior forward Nader Jaibat to shoot into the empty net.
The goal only proved to be temporary relief for the Pack, however, with 33:44 on the clock, Duke scored in similar fashion as before, with Otte spilling yet another long-range shot only for the Duke attacker to head it in.
The Pack continued being wasteful in front of goal, highlighted by junior midfielder Danny DiPrima, who twice got the ball in a span of 40 seconds with just the keeper to beat, only to gently play it into the welcoming palms of the goalie.
The Pack went into the locker room down 1-2 and showed no sign of improvement with sloppy defending once again putting the Blue Devils ahead.
As the second half wore on, both teams created numerous opportunities with both failing to add to the score. However, the Pack front line looked nothing like what it looked like in the first half, with the players looking to fight for every ball and showing a lot of intent and purpose behind every move.
Despite trying their best, State failed to make it count and let their frustrations get the better of them with numerous dives around the penalty area and confrontations with the Duke players as the second half ended the same way it started.
The Pack showed a lot of promise with the likes of Bokar, Jaibat and Albadawi carrying off from where they left last season, but still have a lot of work to do if they are to be a force to reckon with in the ACC in the coming season.
N.C. State will play their next spring fixture against Appalachian State April 14 at Dail Soccer Stadium.
