The NC State men’s soccer team will continue its season this Saturday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. against University of Alabama at Birmingham. The Pack went 0-6-1 in the fall and was only able to score three goals in seven games.
Nonconference Play
The Pack will start off the second half of its year with two nonconference games against UAB and VCU.
The Blazes went 1-6 in the fall season, besting their first opponent, but their performance steadily declined throughout the season. However, UAB has shown improvements in its exhibition games in January and early February, tying with Lipscomb and winning over Montevallo.
VCU has not logged a lot of game time this year, only playing one exhibition game that ended with a tie against Georgetown University.
With the way the Pack played in the fall, both of these games could go either way against a team that has a similar record to NC State and a team that just hasn’t had enough time on the field to make a judgement call.
Vs. Louisville, March 4
NC State will kick off conference play this spring against Louisville. These two teams didn’t play each other in the fall, but NC State beat Louisville 2-1 in the 2019 season. This game will open Louisville’s spring season after the Cardinals went 1-6-1 in the fall.
At Wake Forest, March 13
This will be the third matchup between Wake Forest and NC State in the 2020-2021 season. After the fall, Wake Forest has a record of 7-2 overall. The Pack fell to the Deacons twice in the fall, and a similar outcome can be expected from this game if Wake Forest keeps up its performance.
At Clemson, March 20
Clemson and NC State will meet again this spring after Clemson beat the Pack 1-0 in the fall. Clemson came out on top in the ACC Championship in November of last year, defeating Pittsburgh for the title. Additionally, the Tigers came out of the fall season with a record of 8-2-1.
Vs. Syracuse, March 26
Syracuse and the Pack have not met this year, and Syracuse had a short and disappointing fall season, with just three games and a 0-2-1 record. However, Syracuse did come back and win its first game of the spring against Hofstra. NC State fell to Syracuse 3-0 the last time these teams met in the 2019 season.
Vs. Duke, April 3
Duke was able to log both of its wins in the fall against the Pack, and this will mark the two teams’ third matchup this year. The Blue Devils came out of the fall with a 2-6-1 record. There is a long way to go until this game, but hopefully, the Pack will be able to come back and win against Duke after some vast improvements from the fall.
At Boston College, April 9
Boston College has not played since the 2019 season, where it had a record of 9-6-3 and lost to the Pack 1-0. There’s not much to say for this team this year as it hasn’t had any field time, so until they play a couple games, it’s unknown how NC State will fare against Boston College.
The spring season will kick off on Saturday, Feb. 20 at 7 p.m. at Dail Soccer Field in Raleigh against UAB.
