North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: SRO For State-UNC Soccer Match
9/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 10, 2010
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. - There was a different kind of excitement at the Dail Soccer Field Friday night, one that exceeded even NC State's long-time rivalry with North Carolina.
With the permanent and temporary stands bulging with students, alumni, youth soccer players and a smattering of Tar Heel fans, there were only a few places left on the south side of campus to see what was happening as the Wolfpack kicked off its Atlantic Coast Conference slate against its biggest foe.
A few fans found their way to the old football practice field and watched through the fence. Many more filled the three upper decks of the Reynolds Coliseum parking deck.
The NC State marching band, on hand in a rare appearance to generate a little additional enthusiasm, had to be displaced from the stands onto the track surrounding the field, just to free up a few more seats for those who wished to see the game.
Students began arriving nearly 2.5 hours early for the 7 p.m. game. The 500 free T-shirts given out to the early arrivers went fast. The free pizza went a little slower, only because it arrived about 30 minutes before game time.
Chancellor Randy Woodson and his wife found a cozy place to sit in the concrete stands to watch the game on a picture-perfect pre-autumn evening.
The atmosphere was unlike anything veteran head coach George Tarantini had seen for a Wolfpack home game in a long, long time. Extra efforts were taken throughout the week to attract a larger crowd, and larger bleachers were used behind the west goal to accommodate more students.
"The crowd was huge, huge, huge," Tarantini said. "I want to thank everyone in the administration who helped us get this crowd, and I especially want to applaud my athletics director [Debbie Yow], because I think she understands what this means for us.
"You can't believe how much I got out of it."
The game was a heartbreaker for the Wolfpack portion of the crowd. North Caroina's Eddie Ababio scored off the rebound of a save by NC State sophomore goalie Will Mackvick for the game's only score, coming at the 32:00 mark.
The Wolfpack had a flurry of shots late in the second half, including a close miss in the final 30 seconds to tie the game, but could not pull off its second win in a row over the Tar Heels.
However, there were positives for Tarantini, who lost eight senior starters from the team that beat second-ranked North Carolina on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals of the ACC Championship last year.
This time around, the coach played six true freshmen and a handful of sophomores in his rotation. Only the thinnest margin between the Wolfpack and the No. 3 ranked team in the nation was a heads-up play off a saved goal.
"We were playing against an excellent team," Tarantini said. "They took advantage of their opportunity. But I was proud of the way our team, which is very young, competed.
"We have to be careful not to feel so happy that we lost. I am not happy we lost. But the positive thing is that we competed against a very good team."
The other positive was the support of the standing-room-only crowd. The Wolfpack hopes it's not a one-time thing: Similar promotions for students and fans are scheduled for the Pack's other three ACC home games.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
