University of North Carolina Athletics
North Carolina
NC State
Tar Heels, Wolfpack Battle to 2-2 Draw
September 14, 2005 | Men's Soccer
Sept. 14, 2005
CARY, N.C. - North Carolina forward Ben Hunter buried a free kick at the 89:04 mark, and NC State defender El Hadj Cisse followed with a rebound goal with just five-tenths of a second left in regulation, as the No. 2 Tar Heels (4-0-1, 0-0-1 ACC) and Wolfpack (3-2-1, 0-0-1 ACC) battled to a 2-2 tie in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams Wednesday at SAS Soccer Park.
All four goals came in the final 13 minutes of regulation, including the two in the final minute. Neither team managed much offense in the first overtime, but both squads squandered chances for the winning goal in the second. Carolina freshman Brian Shriver fired a shot over the crossbar with just 10 seconds remaining, as the Tar Heels and Wolfpack tied for the third time in the last five meetings.
Carolina has still not lost to NC State since 1997 and owns an 8-0-3 mark in the last 11 games in the series.
After Hunter gave the Tar Heels a 2-1 lead off a 25-yard free kick with just 56 seconds remaining, Cisse followed a shot off the crossbar by forward Aaron King with his second goal of the season to send the match to overtime.
Earlier in the second half, King broke a scoreless tie in the 77th minute with his sixth goal in six games. Midfielder Santiago Fusilier served a long pass to the left side of the field that King collected and fired into the net from about 15 yards out for a 1-0 Pack lead. The goal ended Carolina's season-opening scoreless streak at 436:37.
Hunter tied the game just over five minutes later when he buried a penalty kick into the lower right-hand corner of the net past NC State keeper Jorge Gonzalez. The goal at 83:10 was Hunter's first as a Tar Heel. Cisse committed a handball in the box on a shot by Shriver to set up the PK.
In a physical first half, neither team could find the scoreboard, but the Tar Heels held a 6-4 edge in shots, including two on goal.
The second frame opened with a flurry of action, including a combined seven shots in the first 15 minutes. The Tar Heels dodged a bullet in the 60th minute when a Pack corner kick soared over UNC keeper Ford Williams, but defender Andre Sherard cleared the ball out of the box to end the scoring threat. Seventeen of the match's 33 shots came in the second half.
Carolina held a 21-12 edge in shots on the night. Williams made one save and allowed two goals in 110 minutes for UNC, while Gonzalez made six stops for the Pack and allowed two scores.
The Tar Heels return to action against No. 22 Old Dominion at Fetzer Field at 2 p.m. Sunday.
