November 1, 2019

 

RALEIGH – The NC State men’s soccer team (8-5-3, 3-4-1 ACC) endured a 3-0 loss to second-ranked Clemson (14-1-1, 6-1-1 ACC) on Friday evening at Dail Soccer Stadium in the regular-season finale for both teams.

 

NC State finished the regular season in fifth place in the ACC standings and earned the right to host 12th-seeded Duke in the first round of the ACC Tournament. This match will be played at Dail Soccer Stadium in Raleigh on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 2 pm and will be televised on the ACC Network. Clemson claimed the ACC Atlantic Division title and will play the winner of Boston College and Notre Dame on Nov. 10.

 

The fifth-place finish in the ACC standings is the best mark achieved by the NC State program since the 2005 team finished third.

 

The Wolfpack only trailed Clemson by three shots (14-11) on Friday evening, but the Tigers proved to be very efficient with their chances. Clemson entered the match with the No. 1 scoring offense in the nation at 3.80 goals scored per match and scored two goals in rapid succession in the 11th and 12th minutes to take an early lead.

 

NC State came very close to pulling a goal back in the 24th minute when Kuda Muskwe headed a Gabriel Machado corner kick on target. Clemson goalkeeper George Marks dove to his left and made an impressive one-handed stop to keep his side’s lead at two goals.

 

The Tigers scored the third and final goal of the evening on a similar opportunity in the 49th minute when Malick Mbaye headed a Kimarni Smith corner kick just past a diving Vincent Durand.

 

Match Notes

-Prior to the match, NC State celebrated the careers of seniors Harry Adanuty, Nick Cournoyer, Vincent Durand, Tyler Gabarra, and Gabriel Machado.

-The loss was just NC State’s fifth at home since the beginning of the 2017 season (21-5-6).

-For the third season in a row, NC State will host the first round of the ACC Tournament when Duke comes to town for a 2 pm kickoff on Nov. 6.

 

#GoPack | @PackMensSoccer