NC State men’s soccer took down Longwood 6-2 on Sept. 28th in its first of three away games. 

The Wolfpack (5-3-1) put on a brilliant offensive display on Tuesday night against the Longwood Lancers (2-5-1), soundly defeating the Big South opponents by six goals to two. 

The Wolfpack brought the pressure early and in the 11th minute, senior forward Kuda Muskwe put the Wolfpack in front with a brilliant looping header for his second goal of the season. The header was set up by freshman midfielder Yaniv Bazini who was able to make space on the left and send in a great cross. Muskwe used his 6-foot-2 frame to get to the cross first and tap it past the keeper for the opening score.

After the goal, the Wolfpack began to settle in and work on controlling possession and the tempo of the game. NC State only allowed two shots, but neither were on target or challenged redshirt senior keeper Leon Krapf. 

At the end of the first 45, the Wolfpack led in most of the offensive categories. The Pack managed seven total shots with two being on target, while the Lancers only had two shots, with none being on target. The Wolfpack also led in corner kicks, having two compared to Londwood’s zero. 

The second half began much like the first with the Wolfpack having the first few chances. In the 51st minute, the Wolfpack was able to double its lead. After winning a freekick on the right side, the cross was sent into freshman midfielder Luke Hille who calmly headed it down to senior forward Ivy Brisma. Brisma struck it well and sent it past the keeper to the left for his first of the season. 

Almost immediately after the goal, Longwood sent the ball into the Wolfpack half and won a penalty after only one minute. The penalty came from a handball by graduate defender Jamie Smith who was unfortunate to be called after a cross made contact with his arm. 

Markus Gronli stepped up for the kick and calmly placed it to the keeper’s left for his fourth goal of the season. 

Then, again almost immediately after the goal, the Brisma-Hille connection continued. In the 53rd minute, Brisma sent a good through ball to Hille who sent his shot to the left of the keeper for his fourth goal of the season. Hille, who just came back from an injury picked up right where he left off, getting a goal and an assist in his first game back. 

Both squads kept attacking, and neither looked to sit back and defend. Only six minutes after the last, the Wolfpack added another goal to its tally. In the 59th minute, freshman midfielder Noe Cabezas scored his first goal of the season. The goal was assisted by Brisma, who was having a perfect game with one goal and two assists. 

The Wolfpack continued the onslaught of goals in the 73rd minute as Bazini poked home his second goal of the season and first of the game. Bazini was assisted by freshman midfielder Alex Hernadez who passed up a shot of his own to set up his fellow midfielder just inside the six-yard box. 

Then, with only nine minutes left in the second half, senior midfielder Aidan Foster joined in on the fun and scored a brilliant goal from just outside the box. Foster was able to bend his shot over the Longwood defense after receiving a pass from Bazini, for his second assist of the game.

In the closing minute, Longwood was able to pull one back, as Tonsin Ayokunle sent in a powerful shot to Krapf’s right. The goal didn’t mean much in the grand scheme of the contest but added to the action-packed goal-fest. 

The Wolfpack outshot the Lancers by an astounding 21-8, and had 10 shots on goal to Lonwood’s three. After coming off of a draw to ACC opponent Wake Forest, this contest should put the Wolfpack on the right track as it faces two ACC opponents on the road coming up. 

The Pack returns to action on October 3 at 7 p.m. when it faces off with North Carolina in Chapel Hill.