Program First: Gardner-Webb Plays N.C. State to a 1-1 Draw on Tuesday Night
October 02, 2013 | Men's Soccer
Boiling Springs, N.C. - The Gardner-Webb men's soccer match on Tuesday night was a historical one as it marked for the first-time in the program's 27-year history that an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent (ACC) came to Boiling Springs, N.C. and Greene-Harbison Field for a regular season meeting, as the Runnin' Bulldogs and North Carolina State Wolfpack played to a 1-1 double-overtime draw in front of a crowd of over 600 spectators.
Gardner-Webb took a 1-0 lead on a goal from junior forward Denzel Clarke by way of a header of a Marius Hammersmark corner kick in the 75th minute, only to see the Wolfpack's Michael Bajza score the equalizer off a corner kick in the 86th minute which proved to be the lone two goals of the match.
The tie pushes Gardner-Webb to 4-4-1 overall on the year, while N.C. State moves to 4-2-2 on the season.
Despite facing 33 shot attempts from the Wolfpack over the 110 minute match, GWU freshman Matthew Swan was up for the challenge, posting a career-high 13 saves in the draw.
N.C. State looked to silence the huge crowd early, as Alex Martinez posted the first shot of the game in the fifth minute that required a diving stop by Swan out of the box to keep the visitors off the scoreboard.
After a Clement Simonin shot was blocked by a GWU defender in the eighth minute, the Runnin' Bulldogs took its first scoring chance in the 12th minute as midfielder Patrick Gürser put a shot on frame that rolled into the waiting arms of N.C. State goalkeeper Alex McCauley to keep the match scoreless.
Both defenses continued to play strong over the next 20 minutes of the first half, as each goalkeeper made yet another save apiece, while the defensive backlines also both recorded one blocked shot during the span, which was highlighted by a huge blocked by GWU defender Eric Yeager who made a diving stab at the ball in front of an open net and sent it flying out of play in the 35th minute.
The final 10 minutes of the opening half saw the visiting Wolfpack squad post three more shots, one of which was again corralled in by Swan, while the other two flew out of play, to send the match to halftime knotted up at 0-0.
Gardner-Webb's Clarke got the action going in the second half, as he placed a shot on the mark in the 47th minute which forced McCauley to make a great diving play for the save.
N.C. State controlled possession for much of the next 15 minutes of play, as the Wolfpack attack continued to put pressure on both the defensive backline and Swan of GWU. Again Swan was up for the task, as the freshman turned away four straight N.C. State shot attempts and five shots total during that stretch to keep the home team in the contest.
GWU's Kevin Comvalius had a shot attempt blocked in the 65th minute, as the junior looked to put the home team on the scoreboard from just outside the top of the box, while fellow midfielder Ali Al-Gashamy fired a shot towards the goal which was captured by McCauley less than 20 seconds later to again put pressure on the Wolfpack defense.
Following two more huge stops in goal by Swan, GWU's Clarke rewarded the home team's defense with a goal in the 75th minute, his sixth of the season. On the play, Hammersmark played a cross into the box where Clarke leaped up and put his head on the cross and placed it just under the top of the cross bar to put the home team on top 1-0.
It would not take long, however, for the Wolfpack to find the back of the net, as approximately 10 minutes later, in the 86th minute, State's Martinez played a corner kick to the top of the box to Bajza who took one touch, lined up his shot and fired with his right foot a ball that bent just past the outstretched hands of Swan for the equalizer.
GWU's Hammersmark and Clarke both looked for the game-winning goal over the next three minutes of play, however, neither team would score to send the match into overtime.
Both teams recorded a shot in the early stages of the overtime period, as GWU's Riley Shelton had a shot sail high of the goal in the 95th minute followed by N.C. State's Moss Jackson-Atogi putting a header just wide of the frame in the 97th minute to keep the match tied at 1-1.
State's Jackson-Atogi almost found the back of the net with seconds to play in the first overtime period, as he played a throw in from the far left side line off his head in front of the near post which was stopped just prior to crossing the goal line by GWU's Swan.
The second overtime period saw GWU's Iman Mafi put a shot on line from just outside of the top of the box in the 103rd minute, however, that would be the last scoring chance for the home team who saw the defense stand tall against six more N.C. State shot attempts over the final six minutes of the match to end the showdown in a 1-1 double-overtime draw.
GWU was outshot 33-14 in the 110 minutes of play, while Clarke led the way with four shot attempts, three of which were on frame.
Gardner-Webb, who moves to 1-21-1 all-time versus the ACC after Tuesday night's draw, remains unbeaten at 2-0-1 in front of the home crowd this season.
GWU (4-4-1, 1-1-0 Big South) will return to both the road and conference play this weekend, as the Runnin' Bulldogs will head north to face off with the Highlanders of Radford University on Saturday, October 5th, at 6 p.m.
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| Box Score: N.C. State 1, Gardner-Webb 1 (2ot) |
