Wake Forest University
9-2-1, 1-0-1
North Carolina State University
2-7-2, 0-1-1
Men’s Soccer Take A Point in Draw vs. NC State
3/13/2021 9:08:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Freshman Cole McNally earns the second clean sheet of his career in 0-0 tie with Wolfpack.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- No. 4 Wake Forest earned a draw in a competitive ACC matchup against NC State, tying the Wolfpack 0-0 Saturday night at Spry Stadium.
The Demon Deacons (9-2-1, 1-0-1) pressured the Wolfpack early and often, firing off seven shots in the first half while holding NC State to just two. The Wolfpack (2-7-2, 0-1-1) would mirror the shot count in the second half, countering with seven shots of their own while holding the Deacs to just two.
Despite totaling 21 shots combined across 110 minutes of action, however, the two teams only combined for five shots on goal the entire game.
Junior Kyle Holcomb led all players with two shots on goal across his 104 minutes on the pitch. Freshman Cole McNally earned his second career clean sheet in the net for the Deacs. The Mount Airy, Md., native had a pair of saves to keep NC State off the scoresheet.
How It Happened
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Sophomore Jake Swallen opened the action for Wake Forest, with his second minute shot flying over the bar for the Deacs' first offensive attack of the contest.
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Kyle Holcomb forced a corner kick in the 25th minute with a shot that was parried by NC State goalkeeper Leon Krapf wide right
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NC State threatened with a free kick straight on from about 30 yards out in the 38th minute, but McNally maneuvered gracefully to collect the shot with no issues for his first save of the evening.
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Holcomb's 45th-minute attack resulted in a shot toward the lower right corner, parried across the endline by Krapf. Benalcazar's header on the final second corner sailed just over the bar to end the half.
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The teams entered the dressing room at halftime tied 0-0. The Deacs outshot the Wolfpack 7-2, had six corner kicks to NC State's zero, and possessed the ball 65 percent of the half.
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Freshman Hosei Kijima took a quality chance early in the second half, taking a shot outside the box after a great counter attack started by Jake Swallen's mid-air interception at midfield. The Yokohama, Japan native's shot sailed wide right.
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NC State had the best chance of the second half in the 87th minute, but Tal Segev's 24-yard free kick from the right sailed wide right.
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Freshman Chase Oliver earned a chance after a Demon Deacon counter-attack in the 97th minute, but he skied right-footed shot over the frame.
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The Deacs faced a late corner in the 99th minute, but McNally secured the cross into the box to end the threat and force a second overtime period.
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The Deacs earned five free kicks in the final overtime, but could not convert the chances into shots on goal, as the game ended 0-0.
Demon Deacon Details of Note
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Freshman Cole McNally earned the second clean sheet of his career. The Mount Airy, Md. native has a record of 2-0-1 in the net after taking over in the spring season for MLS draftee Andrew Pannenberg.
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Freshman Oscar Sears made his first career start.
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Freshman Cristian Escribano made his 10th career start.
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Sophomore Sebastian Scrivner made his first appearance of the spring. The Bellevue, Wash., native also played against NC State in the fall.
Muuss' Musings
"For the first 35 minutes, I thought we were playing Wake Forest soccer. I thought we executed what we wanted to do. I thought defensively we were good, the press worked well, we were turning them over and winning second-chance balls. And then we made some changes and obviously some fatigue hit. Our lack of long-minute game experience hit us a little bit where we just kept dropping. The good thing is I thought we stayed organized. I think NC State had a lot of shots, but they were from distance. And we can handle those as they don't get in behind, and I didn't feel they did that tonight. All in all, like I told these guys, you can't be arrogant and be mad that you got a point in the ACC. We're happy that we got a point in the end, but we wanted three. We played everybody that was eligible to play here today. We got invaluable experience for next week, the week after that, and for next year from guys that haven't gotten a chance to play in ACC games as much as they did tonight."
Up Next
Wake Forest will travel for the first time this spring when it faces Notre Dame next Saturday in South Bend, Ind.
The Demon Deacons lead the all-time series 6-4-2 against the Fighting Irish.
