The men’ soccer team (4-7-1) hosted the Blue Hose of Presbyterian College (2-10-1) last night under the lights of the N.C. State soccer stadium. The Wolfpack picked up the 5-1 win, improving their home record to 4-3-1. The win came off the leadership of redshirt junior captain Ronnie Bouemboue and junior Alan Sanchez.
“That team came over here to play and we cannot afford to not be motivated right away,” coach George Tarantini said. “I thought that Ronnie Bouemboue again showed leadership and Alan [Sanchez]; they showed a lot of leadership to end the game and they really take care of business. They have been the two people who gave us the momentum to change things and win the game.”
With the game scoreless 31 minutes into the first half, senior Tommy Rodriguez picked up a red card for the Blue Hose giving the Pack the advantage of playing a man up. Forward Ronnie Bouemboue got the ball and broke away, leaving him one on one with Rodriguez. Rodriguez fouled Bouemboue, and being the last defender, the foul automatically warranted a red card.
“The red card for them, it really just made them [have] to sit in,” freshman midfielder Watt Williams said. “They couldn’t come at us, they couldn’t attack us anymore so they knew they were going to have to counterattack and we knew were going to have to bring the game to them from there on out. So it really helped us.”
Sophomore defender Tyler Lassiter was able to capitalize on the free kick that ensued after the red card. Lassiter curved the ball right over the line of defenders’ heads, putting the ball in the corner of the goal just a hair to the left of the post. This gave the Pack the lead which it would never relinquish.
Also scoring in the first half were sophomore midfielder Chris Zuerner and midfielder Alan Sanchez. Zuerner scored off a long cross from junior Federico Nachmann and Lassiter. Sanchez’s goal came unassisted from a rebound off a Watt Williams shot.
With these scores, the Wolfpack entered halftime with a 3-0 lead. Even with the three point lead, the Pack knew that they still had a half left and defense was the main topic during the halftime break.
“At halftime he really just talked about making sure we keep the pressure up. [Assistant coach] Dan [Popik] really wanted us to make sure we focused on defense and playing really hard,” Williams said. “And they came out and got one right away and they told us if they got one right away it would be a game and he was right so we had to come back and fight.”
In the 51st minute of the game sophomore defender Logan Huff scored the first goal for the Blue Hose. Huff scored off a deflection from a corner kick into the box and put the score at 3-1. With Presbyterian on the board the Pack had to fight to keep the pressure on and prevent any other scores from the team.
Both Bouemboue and Williams scored late in the second half to seal the victory for the Wolfpack. With a strong lead in the second half coach Tarantini was able to give other players on the team playing time, giving the starters some rest and the others some extra playing time.
“I think it’s good [for] everyone,” Tarantini said. “This team is starting to find itself, this is a brand new team. It’s not excuses, it’s the truth. It’s a brand new field of combinations, but the possibilities are good and brining in those players from the bench makes us a better team in the end.”