Columbia
N.C. State
Men's Soccer Blanked by N.C. State, 1-0, on Final Day of Duke/Nike Classic
9/6/2009 2:30:00 PM | Men's Soccer
DURHAM, N.C. - After a scoreless first half, N.C. State midfielder Chris Zuerner scored the match's lone goal in the 53rd minute to help propel the Wolfpack to a 1-0 victory over the Columbia University men's soccer team on the second anf final day of the Duke/Nike Classic on Sunday afternoon.
First-year Will Stamatis had a team-high four shots for the Lions, who fall to 0-2 on the season. For their efforts, senior Ryan Scully and sophomore Alexander Aurrichio were named to the all-tournament team.
The opening period was evenly matched throughout, as Columbia held the narrow edge in shots 9-8. In the eighth minute, junior Bayo Adafin got off a shot that was blocked by an N.C. State defender.
Seconds later, sophomore Mike Mazzullo fired a blast that went wide of net. In all, three of the Lions' nine shots in the half were blocked by the Wolfpack defense.
In the second stanza, both teams were called for offside infractions in the opening minutes before N.C. State finally broke through. Zuerner received a pass from Ronnie Bouemboue and slotted a shot into the far post to give the Wolfpack a 1-0 advantage.
Stamitis had Columbia's best chance for the equalizer, but N.C. State goalkeeper Christopher Widman was up to the challenge in the 79th minute.
Columbia will return to action on Saturday, Sept. 12 as it travels to Brooklyn to take on Long Island University at 1 p.m.
