After falling to UNC-Chapel Hill in its fourth ACC game, the Wolfpack men’s soccer team traveled to Syracuse for the last of three consecutive road games.
The Wolfpack ( 5-4-2, 0-3-2 ACC) put up a long fight, with two overtimes, against the Orange (6-5-2, 1-3-1 ACC) that ultimately ended with a 0-0 draw.
NC State wasn’t able to take any offensive opportunities, especially in the first half. Two of the Pack’s five shots came in that half, but neither were on the goal. The Pack had two more shots in the second half, with one of them being on goal by senior forward Kuda Muskwe in the 73rd minute. That shot on goal was NC State’s only scoring chance before overtime.
In the 76th minute, senior forward Ivy Brisma was shown his second yellow of the match and the Wolfpack was forced to play the remainder of the game with 10 men.
Syracuse outshot NC State significantly, with 18 shots to the Pack’s five. To keep up, redshirt senior goalkeeper Leon Krapf had to put up a great defensive performance, with five saves over the whole game. Krapf’s first save came in the first period in the 44th minute, with two more coming in the second half and three in overtime play.
The Wolfpack was able to get an early shot in the first overtime as freshman midfielder Yaniv Bazini shot to the top center of the net in the 91st minute, but once again, NC State couldn’t get on the board. This was the Pack’s last scoring opportunity of the game.
NC State has not been performing the way it should be against conference opponents and this tie keeps the team at the bottom of the ACC Atlantic division. The Pack will return to play on Tuesday, Oct. 12 in Raleigh to play against a non-conference opponent, High Point University.
