Powered by a brace from senior captain Julius Duchscherer, the NC State men’s soccer team defeated UNC-Asheville 3-0 Tuesday night at Dail Soccer Stadium.
The Wolfpack (4-3-1, 1-2-0 ACC) took the lead just 15 seconds into the game and never looked back, controlling possession and shutting down the Bulldogs’ (1-8-0) offensive game. State is now 4-1 at home this year, surpassing its total of home victories from last season with six games still to play in Raleigh.
“I really like how our captain responded with two goals tonight,” head coach George Kiefer said. “To deliver like that. It’s not just scoring 15 seconds in, it’s his decision making on the ball, it’s his combination play.”
The Pack jumped ahead almost immediately, as Duchscherer tallied the opening goal of the match in the first minute. A Bulldogs defender slipped and lost the ball, and Duchscherer collected it and sent a well-placed shot past Bulldog goalie Tyler Moore to make it 1-0.
The goal was Duchscherer’s first of the season. The senior from Germany led NC State with nine goals last year, and his career total of 16 is the most among current players.
“No, I’ve never scored that early before,” Duchscherer said. “It was a really good start in the game. It is always helpful to score early.”
The Wolfpack lead was almost doubled in the 14th minute on a powerful shot from senior Ade Taiwo. Taiwo rocketed a low shot that beat Moore, but rolled straight into the post and bounced away from danger.
Taiwo continued to look potent on attack, putting together two more good chances in the early stages of the game. In the 18th minute Taiwo had a strong shot that Moore made a great save on, and then in the 20th minute freshman forward Manny Perez found Taiwo in the box, but the senior striker couldn’t corral the pass and finish.
Duchscherer tallied his second goal of the night on a phenomenal play from NC State in the 28th minute to give the Pack a 2-0 lead. Perez delivered a perfectly-placed cross into the 6-yard box, and a sprinting Duchscherer got his foot to it and put it into the roof of the net.
“When I saw that the ball went out to Manny,” Duchscherer said. “I know that he’s always looking to try to cross the ball, so I was just trying to get in front of the first defender and I hit the ball pretty well. I was lucky about that.”
The Wolfpack almost connected on an identical play just one minute later, as Perez delivered another hard cross into the box. However, Duchscherer was not quite able to catch up to the ball, barely missing out on a first-half hat trick.
The first half expired with NC State still up 2-0. The Pack completely controlled the opening 45 minutes, outshooting the Bulldogs 12-4.
The second half of play was much tamer than the first, with 40 minutes going by with not much attack from either team.
State was able to add one more goal, as junior Tyler Gabarra scored his first career goal to make it 3-0. Gabarra ripped a shot that was initially saved by Moore who directed it high into the air, but the ball fell behind Moore and into the net.
While the Bulldogs provided the Pack with a small respite from its daunting ACC schedule, State will jump right back into it Friday when it travels to take on rival No. 5 UNC-Chapel Hill at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. However, Kiefer isn’t discouraged by the tough schedule the Pack is playing.
“Those are the games we love to play,” Kiefer said. “They’re great matches for us. I was outside of the ACC looking in for awhile, and you’re playing the best teams in the country week in and week out. That’s the type of player we want here. That’s the group we have here now.”
