The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1153250
78 ■ THE WOLFPACKER toph Schneuwly and Simon Blotko. Kiefer thought that junior Cyrus Rad had a good spring, and he is excited about a pair of new- comers in junior Jamie Smith and freshman Pablo Pedregosa. Smith was an all-region performer at Limestone College in Gaffney, S.C., while Pedregosa was a top interna- tional prospect from Villarreal, Spain. "We know for sure we could be very good defensively and be one of the quickest teams in transition with the players we have coming in," Kiefer noted. "… In this league you get pushed back at times no matter who you are playing. Teams are very good. "How much better can we get in the op- ponent's half on the ball and pressing and getting it back?" Leading the Pack attack are a pair of mid- fielders that Kiefer has supreme confidence in — senior Gabriel Machado and junior David Loera. Machado led the team with six goals and 15 total points in 2018. Loera added three goals and had a team-best seven assists (tied for fourth in the ACC), making him second on the squad with 13 points and a first-team All-ACC choice a year ago. "I think you can build the attack around David and Machado," Kiefer said. "Those two guys are very special." Junior Brad Sweeney (five goals and two assists last year) also returns, which means the Pack will have its top three goal scorers and total point producers from 2018 back. Sophomore Ivy Brisma (one goal, four as- sists), junior Jose Morales Jr., sophomore Aidan Foster (two goals) and senior Tyler Gabarra (one goal) also have experience. Kiefer thinks a healthy sophomore Alex Newcomer To Watch NC State is hoping that recent history will re- peat itself. A year after Gabriel Machado trans- ferred from Monroe College to NC State and quickly asserted himself, his former teammate at the Bronx junior college, midfielder George Asomani, joins the Wolfpack. Asomani, a junior from Accra, Ghana, was a first-team All-American in 2018. All three of junior midfielder David Loera's goals in 2018 were game-winners, including one in a 1-0 victory over top-ranked and previously unde- feated North Carolina. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS