After upsetting No. 3 Clemson at home one week ago, the NC State men’s soccer team was not able to deliver against a top-five opponent again, falling to No. 2 Notre Dame 3-0 in South Bend, Indiana Friday night.
It was set pieces that dismantled the Wolfpack (3-2, 1-1 ACC) as the Fighting Irish (4-0, 2-0 ACC) tallied two of their three goals on corner kicks. While NC State did have two goals called back for offsides during the match, it was a night to forget for the Pack, whose defense was unable to compete with the powerful Irish attack.
It appeared that State had gone up 1-0 in the seventh minute again, exactly replicating the start of the Clemson game, but a questionable and considerably late offsides call disallowed freshman David Loera a stunning goal.
Loera sent a beautiful chip across the box and over the head of the goalie that found the opposite-side netting, but it was called back. The ball had long been in the back of the goal with the Pack already celebrating before the whistle for offsides was blown.
The momentum of the game completely shifted following the decision, as Notre Dame began piling on chances. The offensive barrage paid off for the Irish in the 31st minute when a powerful header from Matt Habrowski was powered into goal off of a corner kick. Habrowski rose above every Pack defender in his vicinity to be the first to meet the ball and get Notre Dame on the board.
The Irish struck again in the 39th minute, scoring on another corner kick. This time however, it was a much weaker attempt on goal from Notre Dame. A lapse in State’s defense allowed Patrick Berneski to get free and get his head to the ball, which he sent very softly into the back of the net to make it 2-0.
With just nine seconds remaining in the first half, Notre Dame made it 3-0 on a well-placed shot from Jon Gallagher. Gallagher got in behind the Pack’s back line, and collected a perfect pass from teammate Jeff Farina. Gallagher calmly slotted the ball past State freshman goalie Leon Krapf from 18 yards out.
The second half was a much slower affair with most of it consisting of Notre Dame controlling possession. The Wolfpack did however get chances late in the game, peppering multiple shots on goal in the final 10 minutes. Senior Ade Taiwo even found the back of the net in the 88th minute, but again it was ruled offsides by the side judge.
The Wolfpack matched the Fighting Irish in shots at 12-12, but simply couldn’t find a way to legally get the ball into the netl. Notre Dame controlled the game on both ends of the field to put the Pack away.
NC State will have a midweek tuneup at Elon on Sept. 19 before returning home to host No. 4 Wake Forest on Sept. 23. It will be the third-straight top-five game for the Pack to start its ACC season.
