A stunning bicycle kick goal from sophomore midfielder Zach Knudson secured a 1-1 draw for the No. 21 ranked NC State men’s soccer team against No. 7 Notre Dame Sunday afternoon at Dail Soccer Stadium.
Despite dominating on the stats sheet and controlling possession throughout the match, the Wolfpack (6-2-2, 1-1-2 ACC) fell behind in the 34th minute and needed a moment of brilliance from Knudson, who made solid contact on a chip from freshman midfielder Julius Duchscherer in the 76th minute of play to tie the score with the Fighting Irish (7-2-2, 2-1-1 ACC) at one apiece.
In extra time, redshirt senior Philip Carmon nearly scored the winning goal to complete the upset, but the Pack settled for one point against the 2014 ACC regular season champions on the rain-soaked pitch in Raleigh.
From the opening whistle, NC State came out the aggressor, with the Wolfpack’s midfield quartet in fine form. Sophomore defensive mid Cameron Steele was typically industrious, breaking up Irish attacks and smoothly transitioning the ball into attack. Junior Yanni Hachem and Duchscherer were energetic and pressured Notre Dame’s midfielders into conceding possession.
Knudson was typically active in attack and often ended up joining sophomore forwards Ade Taiwo and Ryan Peterson on the front line, with the two strikers spreading out to form a compact wall the Irish couldn’t penetrate.
The Pack peppered Irish goalkeeper Chris Hubbard’s net, outshooting Notre Dame 11-1 during the first 45 minutes, but in typical NC State fashion, the Wolfpack couldn’t find the finish. The home team paid the price 10 minutes from halftime, when a corner kick was headed down at the back post before being put away by sophomore forward and ACC leading scorer Jon Gallagher.
Notre Dame emerged stronger in the second half, and the match seemed to proceed according to the classic NC State script: lots of possession, plenty of chances, but no goals before conceding against the run of play.
This time, however, despite the slippery conditions, NC State’s Knudson emerged in the 76th minute. Duchscherer provided a gorgeous chipped pass from just outside the 18-yard box, and Knudson pulled off a move any professional player in the world would’ve been proud of, scissoring his legs over his head and ripping the ball into the top corner of the net.
After 90 minutes, the score was level, but the sheer quality of the Pack’s performance showed. The Wolfpack had 22 shots to Notre Dame’s five while racking up nine corner kicks to the Irish’s three.
Senior NC State goalkeeper needed to make just one save, and senior center backs Reed Norton and Holden Fender were rarely troubled save for a few attacks from the Fighting Irish that got beyond the Pack’s pressing higher up the field.
Sophomore left back Caleb Duvernay kept 2014 ACC Offensive Player of the Year Patrick Hodan shackled, and the Irish’s senior captain recorded no shots, goals or assists in his 106 minutes of play.
In the extra time period, Notre Dame had greater spells of dominance but could not find a way through, and the Pack’s Carmon nearly ended the match when his header in the 98th was just palmed over the bar by Hubbard.
After 110 minutes, both teams had players collapse to the grass in exhaustion after playing out one of the toughest contests one can see in the ACC.
NC State will feel disappointed not to have found a winner in what could have been a statement of intent to the rest of the conference, but results aside, the team’s dominance on the field of play will give the team confidence heading into another clash with a top-five program, as the Wolfpack welcomes No. 6 Wake Forest Friday.
