Gritty, defensive battle against High Point ends in 0-0 draw for NC State men’s soccer

On a cold evening at Dail Soccer Stadium, NC State men’s soccer played a heated match against High Point that ended in a 0-0 draw.

“There’s only been two teams that have beaten that team all year,” said head coach George Kiefer. “It was a good tuneup for the next couple matches we have coming because they like to get in behind you. We walk away with a point and keep moving forward.”

The story of the night was defense, with neither team allowing a single goal. The Wolfpack (6-8-1) leaned on freshman goalkeeper Samuel Terranova in his second career start and first career shutout. The Fayetteville native posted an impressive clean sheet against a tough Panthers (7-2-4) squad. 

“I was excited,” Terranova said. “We did well to get the clean sheet, upset that we didn’t win but happy to get the clean sheet.”

The first half of the defensive showdown began slowly for both sides. However, the Panthers threw the first punch, earning a corner kick at the eight-minute mark. Terranova made an excellent save off of the corner to keep High Point from building early momentum. 

The red-and-white had its own chances to seize an early lead, with two corner kicks shortly after High Point’s. However, an offsides call and penalty prevented the Wolfpack from capitalizing. With a lack of offensive success, the pressure was on both goalkeepers to protect their territory. 

As scoring opportunities continued to slip away, both sides upped their intensity. Sophomore midfielder Drew Lovelace slipped past the Panthers’ defense, but was stopped by goalkeeper Josh Caron. High Point then went on the counter, but Terranova saved the Panthers’ shot from the corner of the goal. With a 0-0 deadlock through 45 minutes, the tale of the first half was strong defense and goalkeeping.

“I thought [the defenders] blocked really well in situations where they needed to,” Terranova said. “We were solid overall as a back five and we’ve been getting better.”

The second half played out very similar to the first — it was a gritty, defensive struggle through and through. Five minutes into the half, High Point found itself in a position to finally pounce on the Pack. Defending three consecutive corner kicks, NC State protected the clean sheet with its hounding defense, capped by another save from Terranova. 

“Sam showed good poise,” Kiefer said. “He hits the ball well. His distribution was good — they were throwing a lot at him. I’m really pleased with what Sam has done.”

As the game progressed, it became clear that if either side scored just once, they’d likely walk away with the win. With just 10 minutes left, the Wolfpack skillfully used a counterattack to earn a corner kick. In one of its final chances to take the lead, the Pack failed to get the job done. However, instead of folding to the Panthers, NC State kept the pressure on and forced a tie.

“I think the guys have done a really good job,” Kiefer said. “When you play Duke on Friday night on national television and then you come here [on] a Tuesday night, you have to bring the energy on your own.”

Next up, the Wolfpack will hit the road this weekend to take on No. 22 Syracuse on Sunday, Oct. 22.