The NC State men’s soccer team picked up a 2-1 victory against UNC-Wilmington after a tight matchup Tuesday night Dail Soccer Stadium.
The Wolfpack (7-4-3, 2-3-1 ACC) ended its two-game scoreless streak against a stingy Seahawks team. (9-5-0). After UNC-Wilmington tied the game with under 10 minutes to play, the Pack responded with freshman forward Manny Perez’s second assist of the night that set up the game winning goal by senior forward Ade Taiwo in the 86th minute.
“I like how we managed ourselves after that,” head coach George Kiefer said. “We just kept doing what we were doing and created [the] goal. Really pleased with the guys, and Wilmington is a very good side.”
NC State struck first in the 18th minute with a shot and goal by junior forward Clayton Sparks off an assist from Perez who raced down field, crossed his double coverage and passed it to the open Sparks at the post. It was Spark’s second goal of the season and Perez’s second assist of his young college career.
“Our speed of play was great,” Perez said. “We got our chances tonight, and we finished them. That’s something we’ve always worked on, and it was good to do tonight.”
Midfield battles was the highlight for both teams the majority of this first half of the match.
Freshman goalkeeper Leon Krapf recorded a save on the first Seahawks shot in the 29th minute.
State recorded another shot in the 38th minute by junior forward Stephen Elias who came off the bench. The shot was deflected off a UNC-Wilmington defender’s leg and was saved by the Seahawks’ goalkeeper. This shot occurred one possession after a defensive deflection from Krapf.
A corner kick for the Wolfpack in the last minute of the first period gave State the chance to build upon its lead, but the Pack took it to halftime with a 1-0 lead. Both teams recorded two shots and contested the ball heavily in the middle of the field.
The Seahawks started out the second half fast with three wide shots in the first five minutes. NC State responded in 60th minute with a shot by Perez that was blocked and set up a corner for the Wolfpack. UNC-Wilmington’s goalkeeper batted the ball away and set up quick turnaround for the Seahawks that ended in a shot and save by Krapf in the 61st minute.
NC State was primarily on defense most of the second period; however, the team still managed to attempt six shots on the night to UNC-Wilmington’s eight. Seahawk offensive pressure was strong at the end of the period with a free kick shot on the goal which was Krapf’s third save of the night.
The Seahawks made the game interesting with less than 10 minutes left with a goal from 25 yards to the far post. This goal was the Pack’s first goal allowed in the last 338 minutes of play.
Perez came in clutch once again for the Wolfpack with another run downfield and another assist, this time to Taiwo, who hit the back of the net on a low finish that beat the goalkeeper.
“We knew that this was a big, important game for us,” Taiwo said. “We stuck to want we do best. Keeping the ball, getting behind them, that was our game plan for tonight, and it payed off.”
Taiwo, who is coming back from injuries that sidelined him for some of the season, earned his second goal of the year to go along with this season’s three assists.
“Ade has been through a lot with the injury,” Kiefer said. “So to be back and to really give the team what it needed tonight, [I’m] really pleased for him because he has been working very hard.”
The Pack moves to 6-1-2 at home and aims to build upon its recent play in the final three matches of the season. The team’s next game is at No. 5 Louisville on Saturday.
