Playing in its first home ACC Tournament game ever, the NC State men’s soccer team lost 1-0 in overtime to Virginia Tech, conceding a goal less than 90 seconds into the extra period.
The Wolfpack (8-5-4, 3-4-2 ACC) played to a scoreless draw during regulation with the Hokies (9-8, 4-5 ACC). The two teams were evenly matched during that time, with State holding a slight 8-7 edge in shots. In NCAA soccer, the first goal scored wins in overtime matches, and Virginia Tech’s opening tally sealed the victory.
“I thought we had enough to get a little bit more so it’s a little frustrating,” head coach George Kiefer said. “Are you getting into good spaces, are you creating good chances? When you create enough that’s what I look at. I thought we had enough to get one tonight, but we didn’t.”
Led by Kiefer in his first year, NC State was awarded a home game for the first round of the ACC Tournament after locking up the eight seed in the conference during the regular season. Virginia Tech entered with the nine seed after winning the same amount of games as State but losing twice as many.
Sloppy play plagued both teams during the first half, with numerous errant passes sailing out of bounds, wide or being easily given to the opposing side. This made it especially difficult for the Pack to build any momentum through possession.
“Work rate, and everything we said before the game was good,” junior defender Simon Blotko said. “Soccer is a game of mistakes, and the team that makes more mistakes or the final mistakes loses. We did some and therefore we lose the game.”
NC State recorded two back-to-back shots six minutes into the game, but could only get off one more before the halftime whistle. The Hokies on the other hand managed to compile five shots, forcing Krapf to make two saves.
Pack senior Julius Duchscherer made a short appearance for the Wolfpack in the first half, coming on in the 28th minute and playing through the half. Duchscherer played in 10 games during the regular season after battling injuries.
The second half dragged along much like the first, with both teams vying for control. NC State held the slight upper hand in the second frame, squeezing off three shots while not allowing Virginia Tech to get any clean looks on goal.
“Defending is good,” Kiefer said. “It’s can we get a little cleaner in transition, can we get our spacing better, can we attack a little quicker?”
NC State got a chance to seal the game in regulation after freshman Manny Perez was fouled at the edge of the box with less than a minute to play. After some trickery with the ball, however, senior Ade Taiwo’s low strike missed wide left and things went to an extra period.
Mere seconds into the first 10-minute overtime period, the Hokies quickly worked their way down the field and in the second minute, Hokies striker Gaetan Roux slid a well-placed ball past Krapf and ended the game.
Virginia Tech will travel to Wake Forest to face the regular season conference champions Demon Deacons in the second round of the ACC Tournament on Sunday.
NC State has two top-five wins this season, one against No. 3 Clemson and one at No. 5 Louisville, but with the loss, NC State’s NCAA Tournament hopes take a major blow.
The Wolfpack is forced to sit out and watch the remainder of the ACC Tournament rather than play on and possibly boost its tourney bid. Kiefer, however, remains optimistic about his team’s chances of playing in its first NCAA Tournament since 2009.
“When you look at any team from 22-40, they have zero wins against the top-10 and some of them haven’t even played games against the top-50,” Kiefer said. “I do feel good about it.”
