Thanks in large part to some late-game heroics by freshman Manny Perez, the NC State men’s soccer team knocked off its second top-five team of the season Saturday, defeating No. 5 Louisville 3-2.
The win at Louisville was a huge boost for the Wolfpack (8-4-3, 3-3-1 ACC) in many different areas. First off, it came as NC State’s third ACC win of 2017, after going the last three seasons with the same number of conference wins combined.
Additionally, the win proved that State can win big games away from home, seeing as this was only the team’s second road win of the season, but came to a conference opponent that had only one loss on its record late in October.
Finally, the win gives new head coach George Kiefer’s team a head of steam heading into its final two games of the year.
NC State will play host to South Carolina on Tuesday at Dail Soccer Stadium. The Gamecocks (4-8-2) are the final nonconference opponent that the Pack will face this season. State has gathered a 5-1-2 record against nonconference schools in 2017, with its lone loss coming early in the season to William & Mary.
The last time the Wolfpack tasted defeat was on Sept. 29 in a 1-0 loss to UNC-Chapel Hill. Since then, the team has won four games and tied two others. During the unbeaten streak, the Pack has a plus-six goal differential, having scored 10 goals while only allowing four.
The Gamecocks have struggled in their last six games, going 0-5-1. South Carolina has come close in those five losses, however, narrowly falling 2-1 to No. 2 Wake Forest and 1-0 to No. 20 Kentucky. Earlier this season, the Gamecocks tied No. 4 North Carolina 0-0 and defeated No. 13 Furman 1-0.
USC is led by the winningest active head coach in NCAA Division I, Mark Berson. Berson first came to South Carolina in 1978 and has stayed put ever since, reaching one College Cup. Berson led his team to berths in the second round of the NCAA Tournament the past two seasons. This year, part of the Gamecocks struggles can be placed on the youth of the team, with 14 new faces gracing the pitch than a year ago.
With three games remaining, including Tuesday’s match with NC State, the 2017 South Carolina team is in danger of giving Berson his worst ever season as head coach. Berson’s 2012 team had a .333 winning percentage, currently the worst of his career.
UNC’s 4-0 win over Virginia Tech on Sunday guaranteed that NC State will finish in the top eight in the ACC standings this season. The top eight teams are granted hosting privileges for the first round of the ACC Tournament starting Nov. 1.
This is good news for State seeing as the team is 6-1-2 at home this year. The last time the Wolfpack won an ACC tournament game was in 2011.
Kiefer, in his first year in Raleigh, has entered with a bang. The 2017 Pack has beaten two top-five teams and recorded points in four ACC games. The previous era of coaching, led by former head coach Kelly Findley, was characterized by a team that could consistently win non-conference games but would always fall flat in the ACC.
NC State will wrap up its 2017 regular season with a home ACC matchup against Boston College on Friday. With only two games remaining on the schedule, the Pack could enter the postseason riding an eight-match unbeaten streak.
