The NC State men’s soccer team will take on Virginia in the first round of the ACC Tournament Wednesday night in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The winner of the first round matchup will face third-seeded Louisville in the quarterfinals Sunday.
The Wolfpack (5-11, 1-7 ACC) looks to upset the Cavaliers (9-2-5, 3-2-3 ACC) for a berth in the quarterfinals of the tournament. NC State enters ranked as the conference’s 11-seed while Virginia holds the 6-seed. A win is vital to extend the Pack’s season, as its current chances of receiving an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament are slim to none.
Coming into the year with high expectations after an eight-win season in 2015, NC State has struggled to repeat last year’s success. The Pack has won just five games this year overall, including only one conference win. Despite its record, the team has shown promise at times this year, including a victory over UNC-Wilmington and a close 1-0 loss to No. 2 Wake Forest.
Every season, NC State is forced to play against a brutal onslaught of ACC opponents week in and week out. Five of the top seven teams in the current NSCAA Coaches National Ranking are ACC schools. Furthermore, eight of the top 25 teams are also in the conference. During NC State’s conference games, the Wolfpack played a team ranked outside of the top 25 only three out of eight times.
Judging by the caliber of the programs the men’s soccer team annually faces, ACC tourney wins are hard to come by. The Wolfpack last won a conference tournament game back in the 2011 season, and has only won twice since 2009, when the team went to the finals.
In the ACC regular-season finale, the Wolfpack was edged by Boston College 5-4 in a high-scoring affair. The overtime loss may serve as fuel for the team as it heads into the postseason tournament with the close loss lingering overhead.
Virginia has experienced an up-and-down 2016 campaign. It owns conference wins over ranked opponents UNC-Chapel Hill and Notre Dame but also a tie with last-place Pittsburgh and a lopsided 6-1 loss to Louisville.
Perhaps the biggest strength that the Cavaliers own is its stout defensive line and goalkeeper. Virginia has allowed a mere 15 goals from opponents all season, good for 41st nationally. To add, the Cavs have given up only six of the 15 goals to opponents while playing at home. If NC State is going to pull off the victory, leading scorers Julius Duchscherer and Tanner Roberts will need to find a way past the Cavalier defense.
A key for the Pack in the contest will be for the team to continue its trend of outshooting its opponent. NC State has routinely held the advantage in shots-per-game during the regular season by an average of 3.9 every match. State has also garnered 28 more corner kicks than its opponents on the year.
Wednesday’s matchup is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
