North Carolina State University Athletics
Men's Soccer to Play in Duke/adidas Classic
9/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Raleigh, N.C. The NC State men’s soccer team will make the short trip to Durham, N.C., this weekend to take part in the 2007 Duke/adidas Classic at Duke’s Koskinen Stadium. The Wolfpack (2-0) will take on No. 12 St. Louis on Friday at 5:00 p.m., and then face Villanova on Sunday at 5:00 p.m.
The Wolfpack is off to a strong start to its 2007 season, after winning both games of the Wolfpack Classic last weekend. NC State downed Valparaiso 2-1 last Friday, then shutout Delaware on Sunday.
The NC State defense performed strong during the first weekend of play, and seemed to take shape as NC State has had to replace three starters from last year’s team. Senior Hugh Cronin is in his third year starting one of the Pack’s central defenders, and this past week was to Top Drawer Soccer’s Team of the Week. Three newcomers have joined Cronin in the starting lineup, juniors Stanley Mathurin and Phillip Foy and freshman Tyler Lassiter.
Sophomore Christopher Widman earned the start in both games, and gave up just one goal and recorded his first shutout of the season.
On offense, the Pack had three different players score each goal. Senior Ernesto Di Laudo and sophomore Orry Powers recorded goals in the Valpo win, while sophomore Jorge Mora’s free kick in the 84th minute downed Delaware.
NC State head coach George Tarantini also sits at 198 career wins, and is looking for his 200th career win this weekend.
St. Louis moved up nine spots in the NSCAA Coaches Poll this week, and is ranked No. 12 nationally. The Billikens’ only game this season was a 1-1 tie against No. 8 SMU. St. Louis is one of the most storied programs in NCAA history, earning a record 10 NCAA Championships and reaching the NCAA Tournament 43 times in the 48-year history of the program.
Villanova comes in at 1-1 on the season, after pulling out a 2-1 comeback win over Siena on Wednesday. The Wildcats were 6-10-1 last season, but return all 11 starters for the 2007 season.
