September 25, 2018

 

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The 12th-ranked NC State men’s soccer team (6-2-0, 1-2-0 ACC) sustained just its second defeat of the 2018 season on Tuesday evening, falling by a final score of 3-1 at Pittsburgh.

 

NC State took an early 1-0 lead on a Brad Sweeney free kick in the sixth minute, but the Panthers answered with two goals to take the lead before halftime and one early in the second half to arrive at the final score.

 

The Wolfpack outshot the Panthers 6-4 in the second half and created three late scoring opportunities after Pittsburgh’s Shane Wiedt was sent off with a straight red card in the 75th minute, but was unable to find the back of the net. Pittsburgh goalkeeper Johan Penaranda made three saves in the winning effort. Gabriel Machado led NC State with three total shots, two of which were on target.

 

Sweeney scored his second goal of the season and the second goal of his career in the sixth minute to give NC State an early 1-0 lead. The sophomore perfectly hit a 22-yard free kick over the Pittsburgh wall and into the back of the net for his second free-kick goal of the year.

 

Pittsburgh (4-4-0, 1-2-0 ACC) answered in the 20th minute when Jackson Walti capitalized on a loose ball in the penalty area and hit a shot from 12 yards that ended NC State’s streak of 194 minutes without conceding a goal.

 

The Panthers doubled their lead in the 31st minute when Marcony Pimentel hit a first-time shot from eight yards out that took an unfortunate deflection off an NC State defender and spun away from Krapf into the back of the net. Alexander Dexter assisted on the goal.

 

Pittsburgh added a third goal in the 47th minute when Edward Kizza scored from close range on assists by Dexter and Pimentel. The goal was Kizza’s sixth of the season.

 

NC State returns to action at home on Friday, Sept. 28 when sixth-ranked Louisville comes to Raleigh. Kickoff from Dail Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 7 pm with live video coverage provided by ACC Network Extra.

 

#GoPack | @PackMensSoccer