No. 24 NC State men’s soccer is off to its best start in 12 years. The Wolfpack is unbeaten through its first five games for the first time since 2012 when it started the season with seven straight wins. NC State is also nationally ranked for the first time in five years.
As the Pack gears up for ACC competition, here are some key takeaways from NC State’s historic start.
New leadership, immediate results
Head coach Marc Hubbard has quickly elevated the standard at NC State. Hubbard brought an impressive resume to Raleigh and has authored a quicker turnaround than expected for a previously failing program.
Maybe it should’ve been expected, though. In his first season as head coach of the University of New Hampshire in 2015, he led the Wildcats to a 10-5-3 record after they went 6-10-1 the previous year. Hubbard then brought the school its first four America East Tournament championships and its highest ranking in the United Soccer Coaches Poll at No. 4 in 2021.
Hubbard brings a unique system to the Wolfpack where defenders play further up in attempt to pin opponents in their own zone and capitalize on their mistakes. While aggressive on offense, Hubbard’s teams are also stingy on defense.
During his nine-year tenure with the Wildcats, New Hampshire was top 10 in the country in goals-against-average six times with first-place finishes in 2019 and 2021. NC State’s current squad seems to be adjusting to Hubbard’s system well — it has produced two shutouts and is coming off a 7-0 win over Winthrop.
“I’m very much in love with his system,” said senior midfielder Vusumzi Plamana. “When he came in the spring, the standard quickly rose, and now we have the introduction of good quality players as well, and we are gelling together.”
Late game heroics
In three of the Wolfpack’s four wins, the game-winning goal has been scored with less than 10 minutes to go in the game. In its first two games of the season, the game-winner was scored in the exact same minute.
Against High Point, Plamana broke a 2-2 tie in the 88th minute for his first career goal in the red and white. A few days later, senior midfielder Will Buete nailed a penalty kick in the 88th minute to break a 0-0 stalemate with Florida Gulf Coast.
In its ACC opener against California, the Wolfpack once again waited until the waning minutes of the game to secure victory. In the 80th minute, senior midfielder Henrique Santos netted the game-winner for NC State’s first conference victory of the season.
“It’s a whole collective effort from our bench and staff just to keep going and fighting to the end,” Hubbard said. “That’s who we are and who we want to be as a part of our ethos and character here at NC State.”
Different ways to win
The most impressive part about NC State’s start to this season is the different ways it’s been able to win. In the first game of the season against High Point, the Wolfpack went down twice but still managed to come back and secure a high-scoring 3-2 win.
In its next game against Florida Gulf Coast, the Wolfpack put on a defensive clinic, holding the Eagles to just two shots on goal in a 1-0 rout. NC State used a similar formula against California, limiting the Golden Bears to four shots on goal in a 2-1 victory.
Then, in its latest game, the Wolfpack put it all together and dominated Winthrop in a 7-0 blowout with seven different goal scorers. NC State only allowed Winthrop three shots on goal while the Pack fired 14 shots on net.
“I think it shows we can play in different kinds of games and do the business we need to,” said junior midfielder Taig Healy.
