The NC State men’s soccer win over Loyola on Friday night saw the regular-season debut of head coach George Kiefer’s new system. Last season, Kiefer stuck to a standard 4-3-3 throughout the season but with the new year, Kiefer has switched it up to a 3-4-2-1.
“I just think it fits our personnel,” Kiefer said. “When you look at it, at times we might dip a guy where it looks like four backs, at times it might look like five across. I just think there’s guys that have good feet that were able to play in different spots… We are not stuck to any one formation we are just stuck to some basic principles.”
Across both the preseason and the game against Loyola the backline consisted of junior David Norris in the middle with freshman Pablo Pedregosa and junior transfer Jamie Smith flanking the experienced center half.
Both Pedregosa and Smith looked very comfortable with the ball at their feet, something that is very crucial to a team running a three back.
The most taxing position on the field in the new formation is the two outside mids who also play as wingbacks when the Wolfpack loses the ball. That position is filled on the left by sophomore Aidan Foster and on the right by sophomore Ivy Brisma
The two reserved midfielders are junior Jose Morales jr. and junior George Asomani with the two forming a strong pair at the base of midfield. The role is key to the formation working as the midfielders help to both start the attack and protect the backline.
The two forward most midfielders are junior David Loera and senior Gabriel Machado. The attacking pair both played a crucial role in the Wolfpack’s success last year with Loera leading the team in assists with seven and Machado leading the pack in goals with six.
Leading the line for the Wolfpack in the new system is sophomore Kuda Muskwe. The striker did not play last season but Kiefer is confident he made the right choice for Muskwe to spearhead his attack. Freshman Tony Temple also got significant minutes up to against Loyola.
“If you look at the contribution Kuda made last year where he was training with us all last year, he just wasn’t eligible to play,” Kiefer said. “Standing [up in the bleachers] chacing balls while the team is warming up, to see him come out and get a goal tonight. What a good person he is, that is really why we do this, it’s great that he scored, that he is an excellent nine but it really is what type of man he is. I love working with him.
Given the ability of players to return to the match after being subbed in the college game, Kiefer made a number of changes throughout the game but the system remained the same no matter the personnel.
