NC State
#20 Seton Hall
NC State to Host #20 Seton Hall Friday, UCF Monday for George Tarantini Classic
9/2/2021 10:56:00 AM | Men's Soccer
RALEIGH – NC State men's soccer (2-0) will honor the life and legacy of the late George Tarantini as the team hosts a four-team event named in his honor over Labor Day Weekend.
The Wolfpack will play matches against No. 20 Seton Hall (Friday at 7 p.m.) and UCF (Monday at 7 p.m.), with both of those contests set to be broadcast live on ACCNX. Tenth-ranked Virginia Tech will also travel to Raleigh to participate in the Tarantini Classic.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Game 1: Virginia Tech vs. UCF
Friday, Sept. 3 | 4 PM | Stats | No Stream | Virtual Parking Permit
Game 2: NC State vs. #20 Seton Hall
Friday, Sept. 3 | 7 PM | Stats | Stream
Game 3: Virginia Tech vs. #20 Seton Hall
Monday, Sept. 6 | 11 AM | Stats | No Stream
Game 4: NC State vs. UCF
Monday, Sept. 6 | 7 PM | Stats | Stream
FREE ADMISSION
Beginning in 2021, NC State men's soccer games are free of charge. Gates will open one hour prior to the start of each match. As NC State works toward a more normal on-campus experience, NC State Athletics will continue abiding by the current policies for campus as outlined in the University Community Standards.
HONORING TARANTINI
Former NC State men's soccer head coach George Tarantini passed away in September of 2019. He retired in November of 2010 as the winningest soccer coach in school history. Tarantini earned ACC Coach of the Year honors in 1992 and 1994 and directed the Wolfpack to nine NCAA Tournament appearances. That included the program's Final Four appearance in 1990 that came after the team won its first and only ACC Championship.
SERIES HISTORY WITH PIRATES (NC State trails 0-1-0)
• Friday is the second meeting between NC State and Seton Hall.
• The Wolfpack and the Pirates are set to face off for the first time since September of 1988. In that matchup, Seton Hall came away with the 5-3 overtime victory. That game was played at a neutral site.
SERIES HISTORY WITH KNIGHTS (NC State leads 1-0-0)
• Monday will also be just the second all-time meeting between NC State and UCF.
• The Wolfpack owns the advantage in this series after beating the Knights by a 2-0 score in neutral territory in September of 1979.
TRACKING THE PACK (2-0)
• NC State is off to a 2-0 start to the season for the first time since 2018.
• The Wolfpack has yet to concede a goal in its first two games of the year. It's the first time in the Kiefer era/in goalkeeper Leon Krapf's career that the team has opened a campaign with back-to-back shutouts. The last time NC State posted a pair of clean sheets to start a season was in 2013.
• The Wolfpack is outshooting its opponents 37-10 and averaging 18.5 strikes per game. The team's scoring offense (3.0 goals per game) and total goals (6) both rank in the national top 13.
FRESHMEN FIREPOWER
Five freshmen have made their first appearances in NC State uniform this season: Luke Hille, Henrique Santos, Yaniv Bazini, Vusumzi Plamana and Will Buete. Those five players have accounted for:
- Four of the team's six goals and three of its five assists
- 19 of the Pack's 37 shots
- 11 of the 17 points tallied by NC State players this year
BACK LINE SHUTDOWN
With the combined efforts of Krapf and an experienced group of defenders, NC State is one of just 18 teams nationally that has compiled a 1.000 save percentage and given up no goals. The Pack's back line has limited the team's two opponents to just four shots on goal, one of which was a penalty kick.
COMING UP
Following the weekend's event, NC State is set to step into conference play and host its ACC home opener against fourth-ranked Clemson. That match is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Friday, Sept. 10.
#GoPack | @PackMensSoccer
