The NC State men’s soccer team will take on Longwood on Friday in what will be its first match since suffering a 1-0 overtime loss earlier this week against St. John’s.
NC State struggled to score Sunday in Raleigh, leading St. John’s to a slim victory, sliding past the Pack with a goal in the second overtime.
With a tough loss early in the week, you can expect the Pack to be ready to jump back into action, hungry for a win. With St. John’s being the Pack’s only loss, the Pack is still off to a strong start, with a long line of matches to come.
An area of focus for the Pack will be getting the ball in the back of the net, with many of its shots in the previous match barely missing, hitting the goal post more than once.
NC State is led by senior midfielder Gabriel Machado, the top scorer for the Pack last season, followed by junior defender Jamie Smith, who has been a standout player for the Pack so far this season with his strong contribution in goal scoring.
With junior goalkeeper Leon Krapf’s injury versus Loyola leaving his playing status questionable, the Pack will be in good hands regardless. Redshirt senior goalkeeper Vincent Durand has temporarily replaced Krapf, and Durand only allowed one goal against Loyola, including a saved penalty kick in overtime.
While NC State remains a tough squad to beat, Longwood is not being counted out.
Forward Mikel Abando will look to lead the Lancers in offense after coming off a strong game against Howard University that saw him score two of his team’s three goals.
The defense will be led by sophomore Jonas Kalchner, who was named to the Big South All-Tournament Team after an outstanding freshman year, with the most minutes played out of any other Longwood player for the 2018 season.
A strong win against Longwood is crucial for NC State. With a tough schedule on the rise, the Pack will need all the preparation it can get before ACC play begins later this month. The 22nd-ranked Pack will be playing five nationally-ranked teams this season, including No.1-ranked powerhouse Wake Forest.
The match against Longwood is set to kick off at Dail Soccer Field on Friday at 7 p.m.
