After the men’s soccer team (3-2-3) tied Longwood in a 1-1 double overtime battle at Method Road Soccer Stadium Wednesday, senior midfielder El Hadj Cisse had one word to describe the game that was anything but a victory for the Wolfpack.
“Miserable,” Cisse said. “Because we had a chance to win, and we didn’t take advantage of it. I feel like I failed.”
The first half proved mostly defensive, with no goals and six shots between the teams. Longwood (2-3-2) then jumped ahead 1-0 on a penalty kick from senior midfielder Sean Harney due to a handball violation by N.C. State.
The rest of the second half proved exciting, according to coach George Tarantini, as the Pack tallied 11 shots in attempting the comeback victory. The Pack tied the score at the 81:45 mark on an unassisted free kick from sophomore defender Orry Powers, who said it felt good to score, as he felt responsible for the penalty kick that resulted in Longwood’s only goal.
“It was nice to get,” Powers said. “It was my fault. I gave away the goal, so I felt like I needed to give my team back everything I had. And it’s a shame we couldn’t put in another one.”
According to Tarantini, the problem with the team rested in the fact that the team was fatigued, having played its second consecutive double overtime game. State tied No. 3 Virginia on Saturday in Raleigh and again went scoreless in two overtimes Wednesday.
“I think today we ran out of gas,” Tarantini said. “It’s as simple as that, you know. I don’t make excuses. But if you look at the calendar in the ACC you usually play at 7:00 at night. We play at 2 or 3 in the afternoon, in 90-degree weather every single game — it’s tough. It’s a fact. If you look at Duke or Carolina, they’re playing at 7 at night, [and] we’re playing at 2 or 4 every single game.”
Despite the fatigue, Tarantini said he was proud of his team’s effort, even with some defensive lapses.
“We were losing 1-0 to a team that’s not very well ranked, but we fought to the end,” Tarantini said. “And we tied the game, and in the end, I felt we had a couple of chances to win the game.”
Powers said he considered the game more of a loss than a tie, as the team needed a momentum-building win before traveling to No. 21 Boston College this Sunday.
“It feels like a loss almost,” Powers said. “You want to play well going into Boston this weekend, [but] we need confidence. We’ve been trying to change our system around, trying to put more up to get more opportunities. It’s rough, [and] it hurts.”
The tough part, according to Powers, is the team knows its potential and expects to beat a team like Longwood. The Pack has tied all its ranked opponents this season, including No. 1 UCLA (exhibition), No. 12 St. Louis, and No. 3 Virginia.
“You always play and up and down to your competition,” Powers said. “You get up for a big game like Virginia, and then you seem to play down to a team that might be lesser skilled. But you know, every game is one or two goals difference. Every missed kick can be the game.”
From here, the Pack will look to regroup and play up to its competition against Boston College Sunday at 1 p.m. in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
“We just need to get up and get together tomorrow and talk about things,” Powers said. “We need to become a team. We need to go in there knowing that we can win, and we need to get a win. It feels good when you accomplish it.”
