August 30, 2019

 

RALEIGH – The NC State men’s soccer team won its season opener for the third straight time on Friday evening, defeating visiting Loyola by a final score of 2-1 at Dail Soccer Stadium. 

 

NC State controlled much of the match, outshooting Loyola by a 17-5 margin. The Wolfpack recorded more shots on goal (6) than the Greyhounds did total shots (5) during the 90 minutes of the contest.

 

Despite NC State outshooting Loyola 10-1 in the first half, the teams went to the locker room tied at 0-0. Jamie Smith opened the scoring in his Wolfpack debut, heading a great pass from David Loera inside the far post in the 58th minute. Striker Kuda Muskwe doubled NC State’s lead just 10 minutes later, pressuring a Loyola defender and taking possession from him before finishing low and inside the near post.

 

Redshirt senior goalkeeper Vincent Durand made his Wolfpack debut in the 54th minute, coming on to replace starting goalkeeper Leon Krapf. Durand allowed just one goal in 36 minutes of action, when Loyola’s Josh Fowale capitalized on a loose ball inside the NC State penalty area in the 85th minute, tucking one home to halve the Wolfpack advantage.

 

Postgame Notes

-NC State is now 3-0-0 in season openers under head coach George Kiefer.

-The Wolfpack is 3-0-0 in the series against Loyola.

-Friday’s match marked the first career collegiate starts for George Asomani, Muskwe, Pablo Pedregosa, and Smith. Sheldon China, Durand, and Tonny Temple also made their career debuts during the victory.

-Loyola junior goalkeeper Chase Vosvick had limited his opponents to one or fewer goals scored in 27 of 33 career starts before Friday evening.

 

NC State returns to action at home on Sunday evening when St. John’s comes to town. Kickoff from Dail Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 7 pm. ACCNX will provide live streaming coverage of the match.

 

#GoPack // @PackMensSoccer