The NC State men’s soccer team will put its five-game unbeaten streak to the test Saturday at No. 5 Louisville. The Wolfpack (7-4-3, 2-3-1 ACC) has three wins and two ties in its last five matches, which includes a 2-1 conference win against Syracuse and a scoreless tie at home to No. 6 Virginia.
First year head coach George Kiefer has the Wolfpack currently sitting in fourth place in the ACC Atlantic with seven points, while Clemson is directly ahead in third with nine points. Saturday’s game against the Cardinals (10-1-3, 4-1-1 ACC) is one of two remaining conference games for the Pack, with the other coming at home to Boston College on Oct. 27.
With just three games remaining in the 2017 season, the matchup with Louisville will be NC State’s final regular season away game, as the last two against South Carolina and Boston College will both be played at Dail Soccer Field. State has struggled on the road thus far this season, with only one of the team’s seven wins coming away from Raleigh.
The Cardinals have been nearly perfect in 2017, with its only blemish being a 3-1 loss to ACC leader No. 2 Wake Forest. Louisville also has three draws on the year, the most recent of which came at home to No. 4 UNC-Chapel Hill. In its last outing, Louisville escaped with a 1-0 overtime victory versus UNC-Charlotte.
Louisville’s edge so far this season has been its defense. The Cardinals lead the ACC in the goals allowed category, having given up only eight this season through 14 games. The Wolfpack, on the other hand, sits at seventh in the same category with 15 goals conceded through 15 games.
While the Cardinals have given up the fewest goals in the conference this season, the team ranks 11th out of 12 in the goalkeeper saves category. This shows that the true strength of the team’s defense lies with the backline and not the keeper.
The Wolfpack is coming off of a win at home over UNC-Wilmington after senior Ade Taiwo scored in the 86th minute to give his team the 2-1 victory. UNCW is one of only two teams this season to defeat UNC-CH, as the Seahawks blanked the Tar Heels 1-0 in Wilmington in September. NC State also scored two goals in the win after going scoreless over its previous two matches.
With three games remaining, it’s still too early to begin talking about ACC Tournament seedings, but a win or even a draw against Louisville could very well be the difference in NC State playing its first round match of the tournament at home or on the road.
While the State men’s soccer team has some quality wins and draws on its resume such as a 1-0 victory over No. 3 Clemson, the 2-1 win over UNCW and a 0-0 draw with No. 6 Virginia, these may not be enough to sway the NCAA committee to granting the Wolfpack a spot in the NCAA Tournament this season. NC State last made the NCAA Tournament in 2009.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. this Saturday and can be watched on the ACC Network.
