CHAPEL HILL — Nazmi Albadawi seems to have a penchant for game-winning goals against Virginia Tech.

Albadawi, a sophomore at N.C. State, put the Hokies away in overtime on Oct. 14 in a 2-1 victory, its second and only ACC win of the conference season.

On Monday, he continued his Hokie-slaying ways with a 60th-minute goal that gave the Wolfpack a 1-0 win in the first round of the ACC men's soccer tournament.

The eighth-seeded Wolfpack (7-10-2) will play top-seeded North Carolina at 7 p.m. today in Chapel Hill in a quarterfinal match.

Monday's game wasn't projected to be a shootout. Virginia Tech (4-13-2) and N.C. State entered the game ranked last and next-to-last in goals per game in the conference, averaging 0.83 and 1.17 goals, respectively.

In the 60th minute, Matt Ingram took a shot from the top of the box that was blocked by Virginia Tech. Ryan Metts collected the rebound and curled along the right flank before crossing into the box to Albadawi.

The ball was blocked by Virginia Tech goalie Kyle Renfro, but he couldn't corral it, and Albadawi put away the game's only score and his team-high ninth goal of the season.

"I thought we did a really nice job of moving the ball through the midfield and changing the point of attack," Wolfpack coach Kelly Findley said. "It's always good when you have a wide back that high up the field, because that means you had a lot of possession and he played a great ball to Naz."

Virginia Tech entered the game having won one of its past 13 games - a stretch that included three ties and nine losses. N.C. State was in the midst of a four-game losing streak.

"We haven't had a good run leading up to the game, so we looked like a team afraid to lose for the first 20 minutes of the game," Findley said. "I'm really pleased with how they managed the game and the second half, and I thought we got exactly what we deserved."

The Wolfpack held a less-than-potent Hokies offense to seven shots - three below its average - and none on goal.

N.C. State must quickly turn its attention to today's game against the Tar Heels, who are ranked third nationally. Less than two weeks ago, the Wolfpack lost 2-1 to North Carolina in overtime on a rainy night at Fetzer Field.

Findley voiced concern about his team's legs in a game scheduled to be played just 28 hours after completion of Monday's first-round match, but Albadawi said he and the rest of the Wolfpack will be up for the challenge.

"Last time we played them, it was well-fought game," Albadawi said. "We'll be OK. It's UNC, so we'll be OK to play."