North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State
6-6-2, 0-4-2
William & Mary
5-6-0, 2-3-0
Valiant Effort by the Pack Comes Up Short 1-0 to William & Mary
10/19/2021 9:28:00 PM | Men's Soccer
RALEIGH – The NC State men's soccer team (6-6-2) put together an incredible effort in Tuesday night's non-conference match against William & Mary (5-6) but ultimately came up just short as the Tribe came away with the 1-0 win.
The Wolfpack generated a multitude of quality scoring chances but was unable to find the back of the net. The Tribe, meanwhile, took advantage of its first look of the game in the 55th minute which was enough for the win.
William & Mary's goal followed its first shot of the game after a throw in on its side of the field. Diba Nwebgo fired a shot that went off the lower left post, and Nathan Messer was the fastest to the loose ball. He fired it into the roof of the goal to put the Tribe on the board.
The Pack continued to pepper shots, but William & Mary goalkeeper Connor Andrews made eight saves on 24 Wolfpack shots on his way to the clean sheet.
In the 87th minute, Kendall Edwards won the Pack a penalty kick when he was tackled in the box by Messer. Kuda Muskwe took the ensuing penalty kick but fired it off the crossbar. The Tribe defense was able to clean up the rebound to preserve the win.
"I think that's why we love this game," said head coach George Kiefer. "You walk out of here thinking you did enough to win the game, and you lose. That's what keeps you going. Clearly there were enough chances and mature looks and good opportunities to score a goal. It was just one of those nights where the ball just was not going to go in the net. We just couldn't find one tonight, and that's the beauty of the sport."
NC State had complete control of the opening half. At the break, the Pack owned a 9-0 advantage in shots, with three of those coming on target and all being saved by Andrews.
Henrique Santos came up with the Wolfpack's best first-half look in the 26th minute. Pepe Garcia crossed a ball into the middle of the box, and Santos sent a bullet of a shot to the bottom right corner that was knocked away at the last second by Andrews.
Santos also created a chance early in the second half (42') when Noe Cabezas played a through ball to him behind the William & Mary defenders. Santos tried to curl the ball to the back post, but Andrews remained up to the challenge and pushed the ball away.
The final two games on the Pack's regular-season slate are both ACC matchups. NC State will make the trip to Louisville, Ky., to take on the Cardinals at 7 p.m. on Friday night, and the team then returns home a week later to host Boston College for Senior Night on Oct. 29.
#GoPack | @PackMensSoccer
Team Stats
Nathan Messer (3)
Assisted By: Diba Nwegbo
GOAL by WMU Messer, Nathan Assist by Nwegbo, Diba.
54:02
