The NC State men’s soccer team beat the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds on Friday, Aug. 26 with a 2-0 victory. It was a strong season opener for the Wolfpack, with graduate midfielder Connor Kelly and freshman midfielder Calem Tommy finding the net and a clean sheet by sophomore goalkeeper Lucas Hatsios.
Hatsios had a strong showing with four saves, two of which came on back-to-back shots taken within a few feet of the goal. It was a balanced match for much of the night with some highlights for both the Greyhounds (0-1) and the Pack (1-0), but Kelly’s frozen rope from well outside the 18-yard box broke the match open in the 77th minute.
“I picked it up from [senior forward Jeremiah Luoma] and looked, saw the keeper a little off his line and decided to go for it,” Kelly said. “I’ve been hitting them pretty well in warm-ups, so I was due for a goal. I just let it rip.”
There were times when the match got chippy, featuring 28 combined fouls and one yellow card charged to each team. Both teams brought their A-game, but NC State outbattled Loyola Maryland with better ball movement to set up scoring opportunities and combat the physicality of the Greyhounds.
“They are definitely a tough team to play against,” Kelly said. “They had a really good season last year; they made the tournament. They were a really good opponent to have in the first game.”
NC State was outshot by Loyola Maryland as the Greyhounds fired off 11 shots to the Wolfpack’s six. However, both teams notched four shots on goal, with NC State converting on two.
The flow of the match favored the Pack in the first half, with the team keeping the ball mainly on Loyola Maryland’s side of the field. As halftime crept closer, Loyola Maryland hit back with its own offense, a pattern that continued in the second half.
NC State’s student section, The Red Terrors, showed out for the season opener, unfurling chants and making their allegiance known. The student section’s support made an impact on the match, getting the rest of the crowd involved in its chants and encouraging the Pack to capitalize on every opportunity it had, while ensuring Greyhound keeper Konstantinos Parisis heard them as well.
“The Red Terrors and the student section, it’s as good as it gets in the ACC in terms of the people,” Kiefer said. “We may not have the bricks and the mortar but the people make it one of the best places in the ACC to play in terms of excitement.”
The second goal scored came off of a beautiful assist from junior forward Junior Nare to Tommy. Nare made an unselfish pass to set his teammate up and close out the match in the 87th minute.
“To get that second one in transition, we work on that a ton,” Kiefer said. “[It was] electric, Calem running; great ball, great finish. To get the second one, especially in a year where there’s no overtime, that’s great.”
Tommy’s dagger put the match in the bag for NC State, which starts the season with a win. After finishing below .500 at 7-8-2 and bowing out in the first round of the ACC Tournament a season ago, a season-opening victory bodes well for Kiefer’s squad.
The Wolfpack will stay at home for its next match against the Wofford Terriers on Monday, Aug. 29. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
