October 4, 2019

 

RALEIGH – The NC State men’s soccer team (6-2-1, 3-1-0 ACC) continued Atlantic Coast Conference play with an impressive 2-0 win over visiting Notre Dame (5-4-1, 0-4-0 ACC) Friday evening inside Dail Soccer Stadium.

 

Friday’s victory came on a very special evening in Raleigh. More than 50 former Wolfpack players were in attendance to watch the match and participate in a halftime ceremony to honor recently-passed head coach George Tarantini. The match was also the first-ever ACC men’s soccer match to promote the Set the Expectation movement, which combats sexual and physical violence by encouraging coaches, young men, and boys to become part of the solution. Wolfpack men’s soccer student-athletes Vincent Durand and Kuda Muskwe played large roles in this student-driven initiative on NC State’s campus.

 

Senior Tyler Gabarra had a huge night for the Wolfpack by distributing assists on both NC State goals. Fellow senior Durand made two important saves to preserve the shutout, which was the third of his career. Muskwe (35’) and Pepe Garcia (54’) scored the two goals of the evening.

 

Match Notes

-NC State pulled even in the series with Notre Dame at 2-2-1. The win was NC State’s first over Notre Dame since Sept. 9, 1990, but the teams have not met frequently since then.

-The victory was head coach George Kiefer’s eighth ACC win (8-8-4) since taking over the program. From 2009-16, the program averaged 0.72 points in the league standings per ACC match. During the last three seasons, NC State has averaged 1.40 points in the league standings per ACC match.

-NC State is outscoring its opponents 13-7 this season.

-The Wolfpack is 19-3-6 (.786) at Dail Soccer Stadium since the start of the 2017 season.

 

NC State applied pressure early, outshooting Notre Dame 5-2 in the first half and earning six corners to the visitors’ zero. The Wolfpack was rewarded for its efforts when Gabarra played a ball to Muskwe, who dribbled past a defender and beat goalkeeper Duncan Turnbull to the near post from a very tight angle.

 

The Wolfpack doubled its lead just a few minutes after the start of the second half on a play that Gabarra kept alive despite losing the ball near the Notre Dame goal in the 54th minute. The senior chased the ball to the top of the 18-yard box, where teammate Jose Morales Jr. cut off the defender looking to move the ball upfield. Gabarra picked the defender’s pocket and laid the ball off to Garcia, who hit a low strike just inside the right post for his first goal of the season.

 

NC State returns to action at home on Tuesday, Oct. 8 against ETSU. Kickoff from Dail Soccer Stadium is scheduled for 7 pm with live streaming coverage provided by ACCNX.

 

#GoPack | @PackMensSoccer