The NC State men’s soccer team defeated Florida Atlantic, 3-2, Friday at Dail Soccer Stadium in Raleigh, in its first match under new head coach George Kiefer.
The Wolfpack (1-0) was able to bounce back from being one goal down twice in the first half, as all five of the game’s goals were scored during a chaotic 12-minute stretch midway through the first half. The Owls (0-1) got two goals from Carlos Sanchis, but were unable to hold off State’s comeback.
“The first game is always key to get that one under your belt,” Kiefer said. “I thought for the match, to be down twice and still pull it out gives us good experience and I think we can learn a lot from the match with getting a W. For sure it gets you started on the correct foot.”
FAU’s Sanchis opened the scoring in the 21st minute on a low-driven shot from inside the box that got past the diving arm of State’s freshman goalkeeper Leon Krapf.
In the 25th minute, Pack freshman Manny Perez was taken down in the box by a sliding defender and State was awarded a penalty kick. On the penalty, senior Maximiliam Luftl was stopped on a great diving save from FAU goalkeeper Daniel Ragoo.
The Pack evened the score at 1-1 in the 26th minute as Pack junior Tanner Roberts headed a goal past Ragoo into the bottom corner of the net. The goal was assisted by an incredible delivery from freshman David Loera, who whipped a deep free kick into the box to find Roberts.
Just 12 seconds after the Pack tied the game, Sanchis scored on a redirected shot to give the lead back to the Owls, 2-1. State answered quickly as well, and in the 28th minute the Pack was given another penalty kick after a foul on an attempted header by Roberts. This time junior Stephen Elias drove the ball to the left of Ragoo to tie the game at 2-2.
State jumped ahead in the 33rd minute, as Perez knocked a rebound off of a hard shot from Elias into the goal past Ragoo for his first career goal to put the Pack up 3-2.
“It was amazing,” Perez said. “I love the atmosphere out here. The crowd is fantastic. I appreciate the crowd and the fans. It just felt good to score for my dream school and put us up 3-2.”
The Wolfpack held its lead for the rest of the first half, and entered the break playing well. State outshot the Owls, 6-3, during a very physical first frame that saw the teams combine to commit 21 fouls.
The second half of the game was much calmer than the first one, as the game came to an end with neither team adding a tally to the scoreboard. The Wolfpack defense settled in and shut down the Owls during the second 45 minutes, as FAU was unable to get a single shot on target.
Kiefer had high praises for the way his team made adjustments and settled in to control the second half of the game.
“I thought that was a good sign of a team and we didn’t get rattled at all,” Kiefer said. “The information we gave them at halftime, they did a good job where we just had better ball security. We didn’t just move it to the right and attack on the right. To get the left in, and intentionally moving FAU to spaces so we could find other spaces. I thought they did a really good job of that.”
The Pack fielded a very unfamiliar team, as seven new faces to the program, including four freshmen, started the match. Perez, who is one of those freshmen, expressed how important it was for the team to get off to a good start and what this win means.
“Overall the team performed well and we did well moving the ball,” Perez said. “just getting back to the motion of the game. It was a great victory, excited how we play and just looking forward to the next game.”
The Pack will be back in action this Monday as it travels to take on William and Mary before returning home for a matchup against LIU-Brooklyn on Sept. 1.
