RALEIGH – It was senior day for the Wolfpack as they took on rival and in-conference foe Boston College at Dail Soccer Stadium. The drama was intense in the first half, despite the 0-0 draw at the half.
About 8 minutes into the first half, Boston College goaltender, freshman Antonio Chavez Borrelli took an unexplainable red card right in front of the Boston College goal. By rule, Boston College was forced to play with just 10 men for the rest of the match. Despite the disadvantage, Boston College out shot the Wolfpack 6-5 in the first half, while NC State had 5 corner opportunities in the opening 45 minutes.
NC State did start to take control of possession towards the end of the first frame, with 2 shots by freshman Manny Perez and senior midfielder Jan-Luca Ahillen that both went high and wide respectfully.
The extra man proved to be a huge advantage for the Pack, as State dominated the second half tallying 4 shots to Boston College’s 1. The action, while heavily favoring NC State in most categories, stayed even throughout 90 minutes.
After a five minute intermission the teams squared off in two 10 minute overtime sessions, where NC State continued to dominate the shot total. Most notably, a strike by Ahillen right as time was expiring in the second overtime frame. A sprawling save from Eagles’ sophomore goaltender Jack Bacon denied Ahillen a win on his senior day, and denied the wolfpack a pivotal win in the ACC race.
The draw sets the Wolfpack at 8-4-4 and levels Boston College at 6-9-1. NC State’s opponent is still to be determined, but the Wolfpack, for the first time in program history, will host the ACC Tournament 1st round match next Wednesday at 7pm.