North Carolina State University Athletics
Men's Soccer Advances at ACCs with 3-1 Win
11/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
CARY, N.C. The NC State men’s soccer team advanced to the quarterfinals of the 2008 ACC Tournament, with a 3-1 win over Virginia Tech Wednesday afternoon at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. Junior Ronnie Bouemboue netted a pair of goals off of assists from both Kris Byrd and Chrystel Bakong on each score. The Pack now advances to face No. 1 Wake Forest on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity,” Wolfpack head coach George Tarantini said. “Just imagine, we’re getting ready to play the No. 1 team in the country. It’s one of the greatest things that can happen. We’re playing the defending national champions, a wonderful team. They’ve got speed, they’ve got talent, they’re well coached. It’s a wonderful problem we’re facing.”
“Our players decided in the middle of the season that they wanted to win despite what anyone said, despite what anyone told them and that’s what happened,” Tarantini said. “We’ve become a family. We play with emotion, we try hard, and that’s been the difference.”
NC State first struck in the 33rd minute. Bakong won a ball in the midfield, and found Byrd on the right wing. Byrd took the ball to the corner, and placed a cross into the Virginia Tech box. Bouemboue ran onto the pass, and headed in the game’s first score at the 32:25 mark.
The Pack went into the half with a 1-0 lead.
Virginia Tech would tie the score up in the 63rd minute of action. Luiz Yamashita used some fancy footwork to get the ball down to the endline, and slotted a pass into the middle of the Pack PK box where Hunter Cheatham would connect and tie the score at the 62:27.
The Pack would not go away, and regain the lead less than five minutes later. This time it was Byrd who found himself with the ball on the right wing, and found Bakong in the middle of the field. Bakong played a through ball into the Hokie PK box, where Bouemboue would run onto the ball and find the back of the net at the 67:20 mark.
NC State would add an insurance goal in the final minute of play. Bouemboue received a clear from the NC State defense and found Alan Sanchez on Virginia Tech’s side of the field. Sanchez worked a two-on-one down in the Hokie box, and slotted a pass over to Federico Nachmann who picked up the Pack’s final goal at the 89:15 mark.
The NC State defense was stout once again, limiting the Hokie offense to just four shots on goal. The Pack’s Christopher Widman made three saves for the win.
The Pack has now won eight of its last 10 games on the season, including four of the last five against ACC opponents.
NC State will have a quick turnaround, as the quarterfinals will be played tomorrow. The Wolfpack will face No. 1 Wake Forest at 5:30 p.m.
NCSU 1 2 -- 3
VT 0 1 -- 1
Scoring: NCSU-Bouemboue from Byrd and Bakong at 32:25
VT-Cheatham from Yamashita at 62:27
NCSU-Bouemboue from Bakong and Byrd at 67:20
NCSU-Nachmann from Sanchez and Bouemboue at 89:15
Shots: NCSU 9, VT 12
Saves: NCSU 3 (Widman 3), VT 1 (St. Germain 1)
Corner Kicks: NCSU 4, VT 4
Fouls: NCSU 11, VT 9
Records: NCSU 9-8-1; VT 5-13-1
“It’s a wonderful opportunity,” Wolfpack head coach George Tarantini said. “Just imagine, we’re getting ready to play the No. 1 team in the country. It’s one of the greatest things that can happen. We’re playing the defending national champions, a wonderful team. They’ve got speed, they’ve got talent, they’re well coached. It’s a wonderful problem we’re facing.”
“Our players decided in the middle of the season that they wanted to win despite what anyone said, despite what anyone told them and that’s what happened,” Tarantini said. “We’ve become a family. We play with emotion, we try hard, and that’s been the difference.”
NC State first struck in the 33rd minute. Bakong won a ball in the midfield, and found Byrd on the right wing. Byrd took the ball to the corner, and placed a cross into the Virginia Tech box. Bouemboue ran onto the pass, and headed in the game’s first score at the 32:25 mark.
The Pack went into the half with a 1-0 lead.
Virginia Tech would tie the score up in the 63rd minute of action. Luiz Yamashita used some fancy footwork to get the ball down to the endline, and slotted a pass into the middle of the Pack PK box where Hunter Cheatham would connect and tie the score at the 62:27.
The Pack would not go away, and regain the lead less than five minutes later. This time it was Byrd who found himself with the ball on the right wing, and found Bakong in the middle of the field. Bakong played a through ball into the Hokie PK box, where Bouemboue would run onto the ball and find the back of the net at the 67:20 mark.
NC State would add an insurance goal in the final minute of play. Bouemboue received a clear from the NC State defense and found Alan Sanchez on Virginia Tech’s side of the field. Sanchez worked a two-on-one down in the Hokie box, and slotted a pass over to Federico Nachmann who picked up the Pack’s final goal at the 89:15 mark.
The NC State defense was stout once again, limiting the Hokie offense to just four shots on goal. The Pack’s Christopher Widman made three saves for the win.
The Pack has now won eight of its last 10 games on the season, including four of the last five against ACC opponents.
NC State will have a quick turnaround, as the quarterfinals will be played tomorrow. The Wolfpack will face No. 1 Wake Forest at 5:30 p.m.
NCSU 1 2 -- 3
VT 0 1 -- 1
Scoring: NCSU-Bouemboue from Byrd and Bakong at 32:25
VT-Cheatham from Yamashita at 62:27
NCSU-Bouemboue from Bakong and Byrd at 67:20
NCSU-Nachmann from Sanchez and Bouemboue at 89:15
Shots: NCSU 9, VT 12
Saves: NCSU 3 (Widman 3), VT 1 (St. Germain 1)
Corner Kicks: NCSU 4, VT 4
Fouls: NCSU 11, VT 9
Records: NCSU 9-8-1; VT 5-13-1
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