No. 2 NC State men’s soccer team dominated William & Mary 7-0 in the final home game before their first road test.
The Wolfpack (6-0-1) applied early pressure, opening the scoring in the third minute against the Griffins (0-4-2). After winning a corner, the Pack ran a short-corner routine, with freshman defender Riley Maloney coming short and whipping in a fast-paced cross. Junior forward Donavan Phillip met it with a soaring header. The W&M goalkeeper got a hand to the shot but failed to keep it out.
Phillip proceeded to score from a tight angle in the 20th minute before using his head in the 27th minute to complete his second hat trick of the season.
Only a minute later, Phillip decided three wasn’t enough. He collected the ball and drove forward at the Griffins’ backline, shifted the ball to his left and launched a missile straight into the top-left corner. Phillip’s fourth goal of the match brought his total to 10 goals in seven games. After just 28 minutes, Phillip’s night ended, and the home crowd applauded as Hubbard subbed him off.
“Anytime you can come out and get early goals and get guys off the bench and get [them] rested, especially on a quick turnaround, that’s the ultimate goal,” head coach Marc Hubbard said. “So [we’re] happy that we were able to do that today.”
Hubbard’s squad controlled first-half possession, kept the ball in the attacking third, quickly won possession and consistently launched threatening crosses the Tribe defense struggled to clear. The Pack limited William & Mary to one shot on goal while firing six of their own, clearly earning their four-goal halftime lead.
Five minutes after the break, redshirt-junior forward Aidan Payne held up the ball in the box and laid it off to fifth-year midfielder Max Ogawa, whose powerful strike ballooned the lead to 5-0.
In the 69th minute, following a W&M corner, the Pack launched a counterattack. Under pressure, Payne drove half the length of the pitch before rolling a through ball to Ogawa. The W&M goalkeeper misjudged it and left his line. Ogawa reached the ball first and coolly dribbled around the keeper to secure his second goal of the match.
Captain junior midfielder Caden Toletino fired a stunning strike from distance in the 83rd minute, to put the final touches on the Pack’s 7-0 win.
Following the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, the Wolfpack sit at No. 2 in the nation, their highest ranking ever.
“We want number one [ranking in United Soccer Coaches poll],” said Ogawa.” But at the end of the day, we’re just taking it day by day. I think that’s what makes us so competitive.”
The Pack remains undefeated and has yet to allow a goal this season, but now face a new challenge: A road trip to Boston College — a team which will look to make a statement win in a resume-building game.
Hubbard, however, had a different mindset.
“[Boston College is] ahead of us in the ACC standings,” Hubbard said. “So we’ve got our first road game, and it presents a lot of challenges — the plane trip, playing on turf for the first time up there. We have a lot to prepare for. They also have a little more rest than us … so we need to be even more focused to confront it.”
The Pack’s upcoming three-game road stint will feature Boston College (4-3), Pittsburgh (3-3-1) and a nonconference battle against UNC-Wilmington (1-2-1).
The Pack’s first road trip is not a short one, as they must travel more than 700 miles to face Boston College this Friday at 7 p.m.
