"Tonight was a strange game," head coach Justin Maullin said. "We didn't play particularly well, but we still had our chances tonight. We out-shot NC State and if a chance goes in early it is an entirely different game."

 
NC State took the early lead in the 12^th minute of action as Alex Martinez found space along the end line. Martinez beat a UNCG defender and broke towards goal where he beat fifth-year senior goalkeeper Peyton Ford (Jamestown, N.C./Southwest Guilford) with a shot to the bottom corner for his third tally of the season.

 
UNCG nearly tied the game in the 29^th minute of play after a free kick. The Spartans sent the ball deep down the sideline before crossing it into the box. Junior midfielder Oddur Gudmundsson (Reykjavik, Iceland/Breidholti) ripped a turning shot that sailed just over the cross bar keeping the Wolfpack in the lead.

 
NC State threatened again in the 35^th minute as Zabarle Kollie drove a header off the cross bar. The Wolfpack kept the pressure on and sent the ball back into the box where this time Kollie ripped his header past Ford for a 2-0 lead in the 36^th minute.

 
In the 57^th minute, the Spartans came within inches of cutting into the Wolfpack lead. Junior Brian Graham (Bowie, Md./Bowie) sent a cross through the box to freshman midfielder Lukas Zarges (Freidrichsdorf, Germany/Philipp Reis-Schule) who ripped it past NC State goalkeeper Fabian Otte but it struck the post and bounced out of play.

 
NC State extended its lead to 3-0 in the 69^th minute of action as Kollie beat Ford to a loose ball in the 18-yard box. He sent the ball back across the box to an on-running Martinez, who deposited it into the empty net for his second tally of the night. The Spartans once again hit the post in the 73^rd minute as this time Jonathan Leonard (Greensboro, N.C./Grimsley) saw his attempt ricochet off keeping it a three-goal contest.

 
UNCG broke the shutout in the 78^th minute of action as it was rewarded a free kick just outside the 18-yard box. Senior forward Hakan Ilhan (Stuttgart, Germany/Univ. of Stuttgart) stepped up and place a perfect shot over the NC State wall and into the side netting without an attempt by Otte. The goal was the fourth of the season for Ilhan and his fourth in the past three games.

 
The Spartans ended the night with a 10-8 edge in shots as Zarges paced the way with four. Ford picked up the loss as he allowed three goals in 69:42 while Otte posted a shutout making one save in 90 minutes of action.

 
UNCG returns to play next Tuesday night as it travels down the road to High Point for a 7 p.m. contest against the Panthers.

 
- UNCG -