On September 27, in its first-ever ACC game at the NC State Soccer Stadium, the men’s soccer team picked up its first ACC win of the season and its first shutout of the season as well.
The team later found that the 2-0 win over No. 13 Boston College would go on record as a 0-1 loss to the Eagles and a forfeit loss for the Pack. The forfeit was the first of head coach George Tarantini’s coaching career at State.
“It is certainly something we have never faced before,” Tarantini said. “We discussed the situation right away.”
The forfeit was due to the participation of an ineligible player. The ineligibility was based on the number of red cards the student athlete accumulated over the previous games played. According to Lindsey Rogers, associate director of media relations for the ACC, the ineligible player was determined by a self report to the NCAA from the N.C. State coaching staff.
Though the forfeit counts as a win for Boston College and a loss for the Pack, all the statistics acquired during the game are irreversible and will still count. Redshirt junior Ronnie Bouemboue’s two goals, freshman Watt Williams’ assist, junior Alan Sanchez’s assist and redshirt junior goalkeeper Christopher Widman’s shutout all still count toward their respective averages. As far as ACC tournament seedings go, the game will be considered a no contest.
Despite the forfeit result, the Saturday game is still seen as a turning point for the Pack.
“Boston College was definitely a turn around for us,” Bouemboue said. “The win was definitely big for us and whatever happened after that is out of our hands.”
Since the forfeit, State has scored nine goals in two games, winning both contests.
“We want to move forward, we are excited about finishing our chances,” Tarantini said. “We are looking to build, Saturday is a new game and we’ll see what happens.”
According to Bouemboue, the team has been affected positively by the situation.
“Everybody is still high spirited. Ever since [the forfeit] everybody has been playing their hearts out,” Bouemboue said. “Whatever happened with that is unfortunate but we are looking forward, we are moving forward. The past is the past.”
