The NC State men’s soccer team tied No. 10 Virginia 0-0 Friday night at Dail Soccer Stadium in an ACC matchup.
The Wolfpack (6-4-3, 2-3-1 ACC) hosted a competitive and physical match against the Cavaliers (9-1-3, 2-1-3 ACC). In the double overtime match, Virginia outshot NC State 10-9. Pack freshman goalkeeper Leon Krapf highlighted the Wolfpack defense with four saves, while the offensive attack saw two shots a piece from junior forward Tanner Roberts and senior forward Ade Taiwo.
“[We have] been very good defensively,” head coach George Kiefer said. “The team has six shutouts now… It’s starting to come together.”
Before the game, senior midfielder Julius Duchscherer was scratched from the lineup as senior forward Clayton Sparks started in his place. Duchscherer did not see any action in this game.
“It was a game-time decision and it’s a captain, an all ACC player,” Kiefer said. “I just move on with who is up next… I focus on those that are in, and I thought the guys that were in really worked hard.”
The first period was defined by stout defense and physical play in the middle of the field. Virginia recorded the first shot of the game which was saved by Krapf in the 18th minute.
The Pack answered with consistent offensive pressure that started with a corner kick in the 24th minute that was cleared by Virginia. Two minutes later, senior defender Caleb Duvernay’ shot from the right corner was blocked but set up another corner. A header shot off the corner by Roberts was just wide. In the 43rd minute, the Cavaliers had their first corner kick that set up Krapf’s second save as the game remained scoreless going into halftime.
“We prepared very well for this game,” Krapf said. “We knew what to expect. The key for tonight was to stay patient, and I think we did a good job with that.”
The Wolfpack started back up the offensive pressure in the second period with a header shot off a free kick by freshman defender David Norris that hit off the side of net. The second half continued to be physical but controlled mostly by the NC State offense.
The heavy offensive assault on the Cavalier defense was started with a header shot by Roberts that was wide. In the same possession in the 63rd minute, a free kick rebounded tofreshman midfielder Brad Sweeney who shot the ball a yard left of a goal. A three-way collision on the play with two State players and Virginia’s goalkeeper caused Roberts to leave the game with an injury that he did not return from.
The Pack, who finished regulation with eight shots to Virginia’s six, saw pressure from Virginia with two shots in the first 10-minute overtime period. The first shot was saved for the fourth time by Krapf with an acrobatic grab as he was switching directions. The second was barely high as it landed on top of the goal. NC State’s lone opportunity on offense was a corner kick that was negated because of an offsides penalty.
The second overtime period saw similar action to that of the second half with a Virginia shot blocked by a wall of defenders, and an NC State header that saw the Cavaliers first save of the night. A yellow card took away an opportunity for the surging Virginia offense to score, and the Wolfpack ran out the remaining time to secure a tie.
“We are making progress” junior defender Simon Blotko said. “It’s very important for us at the end of the season and the ACC tournament is waiting on us. We are looking from game to game, and I think this was a good result for us.”
NC State will aim to get back in the win column when it returns to Dail Soccer Stadium Tuesday to face No. 15 UNC-Wilmington.
