For the third straight game, the men’s soccer team scored early and had a lead in the first half. But for the second straight game, N.C. State failed to put the ball in the net in the second half and saw its lead evaporate as the other team continued to create scoring opportunities.
This time the benefactor of the Wolfpack’s disappearing offense was No. 4-ranked Duke. Duke (10-2-1, 4-1-1 ACC) answered State’s goal with four of its own and took the 4-1 victory Sunday at Method Road Soccer Stadium.
“We tried to put pressure on them in the beginning and we did for 20 to 25 minutes. But after that we just broke away and then their second goal took a lot of stuff away for us,” coach George Tarantini said.
“It’s funny to tell you but I thought we played one of best 20 to 25 minutes [like we did] against Carolina. We had the momentum, we scored and we went forward but you don’t play for 25 minutes — you play for 90 minutes.”
Tarantini added the Blue Devils’ depth was tough for the Pack to match up against and the team wore down as the game went along.
“Duke brought too many people to the set today. They had too many people to try to defend. Eventually we got tired and broke down,” he said.
“This is a very good team and we had no answer for them today.”
State (4-8-1, 1-5-1 ACC) got on the scoreboard only eight minutes into the game when junior forward El Hadj Cisse fired a shot from just outside the goalkeeper box, which deflected off a Duke defender and into the bottom-right corner of the net.
“I just took a shot at it,” Cisse said. “I saw the goalkeeper moving [to the left] so I just took a shot and luckily it got deflected to where I wanted it to go.”
But after the early goal the Pack’s offense went quiet and only managed one more shot on goal for the rest of the game. Cisse said the team lost its passion after the early goal.
“We just came out flat after we scored,” Cisse said. “We didn’t want to move and we didn’t want to defend. It gets frustrating.”
But as for the Blue Devils’ depth wearing down the team as Tarantini said, Cisse said State’s roster is comparable with Duke’s and mistakes were the difference in the game.
“They have the same kind of players we have,” Cisse said. “They play the same way we play. But they don’t make mistakes and we always make mistakes. We keep making the same mistakes and we don’t want to switch. So now we have to keep working and get ready for our next game.”
That next game is Wednesday at home against Florida Atlantic. But even though the Pack has two more home games left on the schedule, the team honored its five seniors before Sunday’s game.
Tarantini talked about the seniors — and not just about their contributions on the soccer field.
“They’re wonderful people,” the coach said. “Three of them are going to be doctors. Think about that. Soccer is just a part of it.”