The Wolfpack suffered a tough loss to the University of Minnesota on Thursday night as it fell in a 1-0 shutout to the Golden Gophers.

Minnesota (1-4-1) scored the lone goal in the match, converting a corner kick with a header in the 59th minute. The win was the first of the season for the Golden Gophers despite being last year’s Big 10 Champions. 

NC State (3-3), with its same starting eleven that it has seen for most of the season, couldn’t seem to get lucky, outshooting Minnesota 13-8 in the match, but not finding the back of the net despite that advantage. 

The Pack seemed to have tied it in the 76th minute with freshman forward Jameese Joseph placing the ball past the goalkeeper, however, the play was ruled offside, further piling onto the Wolfpack’s misfortune.

NC State has struggled out of the gate this season, failing to take advantage of seemingly favorable matchups. The Pack is 2-2 on the road this season and 1-1 at home, not being able to show favor for either scenario. Last season, the Wolfpack went 6-3-2 at home and 5-4-1 on the road managing to come out positive in both and starting the season 6-0-1. 

Despite the Pack’s strong performance against its last opponent, Duquesne, on September 8, NC State has struggled in its last few games. With being shut out twice in its last three games, the offense has seemingly dried up.

Scoring is a surprising issue for a Wolfpack team with a lot of offensive talent. senior forward Tziarra King is ranked fourth in the NCAA in career goals among active players with 34. However, this year, King is the joint-leading scorer with only two goals in five games, but it isn’t from a lack of trying. King had all five of NC State’s shots in the first half with three being on net.

NC State will return home to take on Furman Sunday, Sept. 15 at 1 p.m. before it starts a five-game road trip. The Wolfpack will need to pick up the win at home if it hopes to be able to build momentum into the long trip.