In another heartbreaking week for the Pack, Wake Forest defeated N.C. State 5-2 at the Dail Soccer Stadium Saturday, resulting in their second consecutive defeat. In a game in which the Pack (6-8-2, 2-4 ACC) squandered numerous opportunities, Wake Forest (7-6-2, 4-3 ACC) made the best of theirs to hand the Pack a resounding defeat in their own backyard. The Deacons, coming off a 2-0 loss to Elon, started the game fast and went up off a free-kick in the 23rd minute when midfielder Teddy Mullin stepped up and shot past the keeper to give Wake Forest the early lead. The goal was just the spark the Wolfpack needed as the offense came close on numerous occasions but were pegged back again as in the 44th minute the Deacons found the back of the net after a quick breakaway saw Deacon forward Luca Gimenez slotted past Pack keeper Fabian Otte to put them up 2-0 going into the second half. Coach Kelly Findley felt the Pack was unlucky to concede right before the half ended and that did them in for the entire game. “I was disappointed we didn’t start a little bit stronger, even though we came in a little bit but then giving in a goal with only a minute left in the half was frustrating after missing so many chances,” Findley said. “Going into the half 1-0 or even 1-1 would be fair. And I thought that [the second goal] changed the game quite a favor.” The Pack didn’t give up as sophomore forward Nazmi Albadawi scored after showing some neat footwork to outfox the WFU defenders and unleashed an unstoppable shot that the Deacon keeper had no answer to and cut the lead. That was, however, short-lived as Wake Forest rebounded with two goals in two minutes after some sloppy defending by the Pack to make the score 5-1. Albadawi, who later added a consolation goal and had another one hit the crossbar and bounce off the goal-line, felt the score-line wasn’t an actual representation of the game and that the team needed to pull up it’s socks to avoid a similar result. “The scoreline was actually worse than the actual game, I thought we played just as good as we have played all season, pretty much. There were little moments that killed us in the game like the PK [penalty kick],” Albadawi said. “We made mistakes that we need to cut out, especially with the ACC Tournament coming not.” Senior defender Justin Willis, who was playing his last ever game at home, felt it was an emotional moment for him on the occasion of Senior Day. “It was kind off a bittersweet thing coming in as a senior, just playing at N.C. State,” Willis said. “It was just a great opportunity playing on this field. The upgrades to the stadium have been tremendous and the fans have been amazing all Monday.” The Pack next plays UNC-Chapel Hill away on Friday at 7 p.m.
Men’s soccer dropped by Demon Deacons
October 22, 2011