NC State
4-5-3, 1-4-1
North Carolina
6-3-3, 2-2-2
NC State Ties UNC 2-2 in Rivalry Showdown
10/14/2022 11:12:00 PM | Men's Soccer
RALEIGH – Playing in front of the second-largest home crowd in the George Kiefer era, NC State men's soccer (4-5-3, 1-4-1 ACC) earned another point in the conference standings with a 2-2 draw against rival North Carolina (6-3-3, 2-2-2 ACC) on Friday evening.
The Pack's home match, which occurred in front of 1,939 fans and was televised nationally, marked the team's second time this season picking up points against an ACC foe. Conor Kelly put together a four-point night with a goal (13') and an assist, and defender Pablo Pedregosa tallied the first score of his senior campaign (40') to account for NC State's second tally in the match.
Each team scored their first goal of the night on free kicks from just outside their respective boxes. Kelly netted his directly off the set piece in the 13th minute with a spinning strike that beat out UNC's goalkeeper Andrew Cordes.
CONOR. FREAKING. KELLY.
— NC State Men's Soccer (@PackMensSoccer) October 15, 2022
Goal #6 of the year for @Conor_kelly9 to put us in front in the 13th minute!#GoPack pic.twitter.com/459prY91Wf
UNC knotted the score six minutes later with NC State goalie Lucas Hatsios making the save on Ernest Bawa's free kick strike but Til Zinnhardt immediately putting away the rebound.
Pedregosa's goal sent the Wolfpack into the break with the lead. His was also off a set piece, with Kelly delivering a ball from the left sideline that went straight to Pedregosa for the easy header.
Set piece magic in Raleigh 🤩@pablo_pedregosa's first of the season puts us back in front just before the half!#GoPack // #90MinuteParty pic.twitter.com/HAumaZb4mR
— NC State Men's Soccer (@PackMensSoccer) October 15, 2022
From there, NC State's lead stood for nearly 30 minutes, but UNC netted the equalizer in the 64th minute courtesy of a shouldered down ball by Bawa.
Hatsios kept the Heels from scoring again just minutes later with his second save of the outing, and NC State registered another three shots on target in the final 21 minutes of the match but did not manage to get back in front. The Pack owned the advantage in shots (10-7) and shots on goal (7-4).
NC State closes out the non-conference portion of its regular-season slate at home on Tuesday, Oct. 18 when it hosts William & Mary. That game is set for a 7 p.m. kick off from Dail Soccer Stadium and will be aired live on the ACCNX.
#GoPack | @PackMensSoccer
Team Stats
Conor Kelly (6)
GOAL by NCSU Kelly, Conor.
12:55
Til Zinnhardt (1)
Assisted By: Milo Garvanian
GOAL by UNC Zinnhardt, Til Assist by Garvanian, Milo.
18:32
Pablo Pedregosa (1)
Assisted By: Conor Kelly
GOAL by NCSU Pedregosa, Pablo Assist by Kelly, Conor.
39:31
Ernest Bawa (1)
Assisted By: Akeim Clarke , Sam Williams
GOAL by UNC Bawa, Ernest Assist by Clarke, Akeim and Williams, Sam.
63:59
