You never want to lose a game at home in the 1st Round of the NCAA Tournament, but that is what happened to the NC State Men’s Soccer team (9-7-3) on Thursday night, falling to Coastal Carolina (10-7-3) 3-2 in double overtime.
Junior Midfielder David Loera put the team on his back, scoring both Wolfpack goals. He got the scoring started with a goal in the 22nd minute off of an assist from Senior Tyler Gabarra.
Coastal Carolina tied the game on a direct kick from 22 yards out, and then took the lead in the 64th minute, which also involved a free kick.
Loera’s 5th goal of the season tied the game up in the 74th minute.
Unfortunately, the Wolfpack had a handful of kicks that were inches away from being goals, but the game ended up going to 2 overtime periods, with Coastal Carolina’s Tyrone Mondi scoring his 7th goal of the season in the 104th minute to seal the deal on the upset.
Senior Wolfpack goalkeeper Vincent Durand had a career high 5 saves, but it wasn’t enough.
Despite the devastating loss, head coach George Kiefer has the Wolfpack headed in the right direction, leading them to three straight NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time since 1985-87, and a 5th place finish in the ACC this year, which is the best finish since 2005.
Photo Credit