The Panthers tallied 31 shots to the Eagles' seven. (Anatoly Guz / Heights Staff)
After an upset win over No. 14 Virginia Tech last weekend, Boston College men’s soccer looked to continue that momentum against conference foe No. 2 NC State.
In a conference game against such a highly ranked opponent, it was never going to be an easy affair for the Eagles. And coming into the game, NC State had yet to concede a goal all season.
That statistic held up on the field on Friday night as BC (4–4–0, 1–2–0) lost 2–0, and the Wolfpack (7–0–1, 1–0–1) shut down every attack the Eagles put together.
“This is one of the top-ranked teams in the country, and the second half showed that we can play with a team like this,” BC head coach Bob Thompson said. “I think we just gave them a little bit too much respect early on in the game.”
NC State’s defensive dominance revealed itself from the start.
The Eagles struggled to string passes together in the face of a dominant NC State press and struggled to get out of their own half. As a result, their only outlet seemed to be long balls over the top. On defense, BC sat back, inviting the Wolfpack to launch its offense into action.
NC State willingly accepted that invitation. Their midfield attack allowed the Wolfpack to move the ball quickly, freeing up their wide players to attack both of BC’s wings.
This proved to be the biggest threat to BC, as the Eagles were forced to defend a barrage of crosses in the first half. As a result, BC conceded 11 corners in the first half alone, as well as nine fouls—a handful of which came in wide areas.
In the 28th minute, this aerial pressure proved too much for the Eagles, and NC State’s 6-foot-2 striker Donavan Phillip from Saint Lucia delivered a thumping header into the top corner of BC’s net.
The Wolfpack kept its foot on the gas, and Phillip struck again two minutes later with another header, only for the goal to be disallowed because of a foul on BC defender Fynn Henze.
A big part of the problem was the Eagles’ lack of any attacking outlet. Anytime they won the ball back, there were no offensive options to progress up the pitch.
BC failed to record a shot on goal in the opening half, compared to the nine shots that freshman goalkeeper Andrej Borak had to defend against. The Eagles’ already challenging first half concluded with a yellow card for midfielder Connor Gibson.
Thompson’s halftime talk seemed to have been a productive one, as the second half told a different story. Two shots on goal in the opening 2:11 helped to reinvigorate BC’s offense, and the Eagles looked much sharper in possession.
They also managed to disrupt NC State’s rhythm on defense, providing an answer to the constant pressure BC had faced in the first half. Three-quarters through the match, the game had become scrappier and more contested, and NC State’s dominance on the ball had become noticeably challenged.
The tension broke in the 70th minute when Phillip scored his second goal of the night. He headed the ball home after Borak’s initial athletic save parried it in Phillip’s direction, allowing for the rebound score.
As often happens in a tight 1-0 game, this second goal proved to be the most important. Despite a few convincing offensive plays from BC, the Wolfpack sealed a victory on the road to maintain its unbeaten streak.