CARY, N.C. - The William Peace men's soccer team took the field at WakeMed park for the first time in 2025 on a beautiful Friday afternoon. Last year's USA South championship and NCAA Tournament appearance had preseason expectations higher than ever for the 2025 Pacers on the pitch.
The season opener kicked off just after 2:00 PM as the Pacers welcomed the Piedmont University Lions to Cary. The Pacers quickly established what seems to be their identity for 2025, spending time intentionally possessing the ball and slowly building up the offense. The defense was poised in the first half, handling any push from the Lions quickly and efficiently. Senior goalkeeper Ayden Miller only had to react a few times to errant shots, none of them on frame.
The offense looked eager, understanding that each chance had heightened importance. The attack, as expected, flowed through the left wing where Ausar Omwenga directed the traffic. The senior forward directed 2 shots on frame, both getting barely handled. However, Omwenga did start up the Pacer's best chance of the half, swinging a low cross across the mouth of the goal.
Although the initial ball wasn't touched, it was picked up on the right wing by freshman forward, Ibra Ndiaye. Making an instant impact, Ndiaye slid the ball back across to sophomore Gabe Faria, who tucked it into the bottom left corner. The Pacers took a 1-0 lead and carried it into halftime.
The Lions came out aggressive in the second half, pushing for an equalizer. The Pacers were able to weather the storm with good communication and sound challenges, for the most part. Junior defender Joey Hurley was given a yellow card in the 51st minute on a challenge that didn't quite get enough of the ball.
Hurley quickly bounced back, coming up to head in a beautiful in-swinging corner kick from sophomore midfielder Rafa Quevedo-Antunez. The Pacers really seemed to settle into their game plan once the lead was doubled. A dominant second half would continue to build, even as the Pacers made a plethora of substitutions around the 70th minute.
One of those substitutions paid off in a big way as another freshman, Santiago Escobar scored a pair of goals in just 5 short minutes. The surprise production hints at some unprecedented depth in this Pacer offense, which is a welcome sight for coach Huber and his staff.
Piedmont did get onto the scoreboard in the 87th minute, capitalizing on a sloppy turnover within the defensive line from the Pacers. The season opener went about as well as it could for Coach Huber's squad, a dominant 4-1 win that never seemed to be in question.
