NC State
5-5-3, 1-4-1
William & Mary
4-4-6, 2-2-3
Hille's Late Game Heroics Lift Pack Past Tribe
10/18/2022 9:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Hille (87'), Kelly (12') account for NC State's pair of goals against William & Mary
RALEIGH – In a night that was bookended by Wolfpack scores, Luke Hille scored the game winner in the 87th minute to secure a 2-1 NC State men's soccer (5-5-3) victory over visiting William & Mary (4-4-6).
The match marked the last non-conference fixture for the Wolfpack during the 2022 regular season. NC State went 4-1-2 in its out-of-league contests this season as it heads into its final two ACC matchups before postseason play begins.
Hille notched the go-ahead goal with under 3:40 remaining in the game off a perfect ball from teammate Calem Tommy. Tommy raced down the right sideline, playing through a tackle to take the ball to the corner. He was able to settle his dribble to serve up a cross through to Hille for the header.
Late-game heroics by Hille! Excellent score by @hille_luke off the perfect ball from Calem 👏
— NC State Men's Soccer (@PackMensSoccer) October 19, 2022
Wolfpack 2, Tribe 1 pic.twitter.com/StOmwgRyg3
The score came after nearly 60 minutes of scoreless battling between NC State and William & Mary. Wolfpack midfielder Conor Kelly broke open the game early with a 12th minute goal, benefitting from a deflected pass through the box and weaving past the Tribe defenders to put it away. William & Mary then answered back in the 18th minute with a goal from Jack Crocco to bring the score to 1-1 where it would stay until Hille's 87th-minute game winner.
You guessed it. ANOTHER @Conor_kelly9 goal 🚨
— NC State Men's Soccer (@PackMensSoccer) October 18, 2022
Wolfpack 1, Tribe 0 pic.twitter.com/JDdbYCZycy
Hille's second-half goal was his second of his sophomore season as he joins Tommy and Kelly as the Pack's three multi-goal scorers this year. Kelly bumped his scoring total to seven and has now scored in back-to-back games.
NC State managed to put a lot of offensive pressure on William & Mary with its 12 strikes marking the third-highest shot total of the season. The Pack forced Tribe goalkeeper Danilo Nikcevic into five saves and also limited William & Mary to just three shots in each half.
Wolfpack keeper Lucas Hatsios made three saves of his own, with all three coming after William & Mary's first goal to keep the Tribe from capitalizing again.
23' | CLUTCH save by Lucas to keep things equal.
— NC State Men's Soccer (@PackMensSoccer) October 18, 2022
Wolfpack 1, Tribe 1 pic.twitter.com/EuocdPpCMo
NC State will host its final home game of the 2022 campaign on Saturday, Oct. 22 as it takes on fourth-ranked Syracuse. The match is set for a 7 p.m. start on ACCNX, and the team will honor its 2022 senior class prior to the start of the game.
#GoPack | @PackMensSoccer
Team Stats
Conor Kelly (7)
GOAL by NCSU Kelly, Conor.
11:50
Jack Crocco (1)
Assisted By: James Bradley , Alexander Levengood
GOAL by WM Crocco, Jack Assist by Bradley, James and Levengood, Alexander.
17:00
Luke Hille (2)
Assisted By: Calem Tommy
GOAL by NCSU Hille, Luke Assist by Tommy, Calem.
86:18
