Oct. 31, 2006

Box Score

Quotes

ACC Men's Soccer Championship

BOYDS, Md. - Sophomore Ronnie Bouemboue scored twice in the span of 1:28 to give No. 9 NC State a thrilling 4-3 come-from-behind win against No. 8 Virginia Tech in the first round of the 2006 ACC Men's Soccer Championship at the Maryland SoccerPlex. All seven goals in the match were scored in the second half.

Bouemboue notched the first goal of the game and the last two to lead the Wolfpack. Junior El Hadj Cisse tallied the other goal for NC State and also added the game-winning assist. Tom DeStefano has a spectacular day in goal with eight saves. Freshman Orry Powers and senior Santiago Fusilier also notched assists in the win.

For the Hokies, junior Patrick Nyarko had a hand in all three goals as he recorded five points with two goals and an assist. Juniors Scott Spangler, Ben Nason, and Marcus Reed all recorded assists for Virginia Tech.

After a slow first half with just six total shots, the pace picked up quickly after halftime. Bouemboue struck quickly for the Wolfpack in the 48th minute when Powers sent him a through ball on the left side. Bouemboue slipped a shot under keeper Brendan Dunn for the first score of the half.

Less than three minutes later in the 51st minute, a NC State attacker was brought down by Dunn on the left side of the box and the Wolfpack was awarded a penalty kick. Cisse was selected to take the shot and drilled it into the back of the net, giving the Wolfpack the 2-0 cushion.

Virginia Tech responded quickly with a goal of its own in the 53rd minute when Spangler sent a cross into the box from the right side. The pass found Nyarko in front of the goal, who connected on his chance to cut the lead, 2-1.

The Hokies equalized the match in the 64th minute on another Nyarko goal. Nason sent a long pass from the NC State half of the field to Reed on the right side in Virginia Tech's territory. Reed dribbled down the right side of the pitch and sent another cross into Nyarko who connected again to tie the game, 2-2.

Over 20 minutes ran off the clock before another goal was scored in the 87th minute. Nyarko started the attack this time, sending a shot in that was saved by DeStefano. The rebound deflected back to Nyarko who dished off to Brent Dillie in front of the box, who tapped in the go-ahead goal to put the Hokies up, 3-2, late in the match.

The Wolfpack responded immediately off the kickoff as Fusilier found an open Bouemboue in the offensive third. He made a move on the keeper and found himself in front of a wide open net, knocking in the equalizer 17 seconds after Virginia Tech took the lead.

Just 1:28 after NC State tied the match, Cisse took the ball on a throw-in on the left side in their offensive third. His ball was sent to Bouemboue on the right side and with a defender on him, slipped a shot inside the post to give the Wolfpack the dramatic 4-3 win.

NC State advances to play top-seeded Duke tomorrow, November 1, at 2:30 p.m. at the Maryland SoccerPlex in the quarterfinals.

A replay of this match/game's Webcast is available online through ACC Select at TheACC.com.