Change is hard. It’s in our DNA to seek comfort; once we find something we like, it seems like there’s no logical reason for change. And it’s especially tough to move on when you’ve had success at what you’re doing.
New NC State men’s soccer head coach Marc Hubbard was in that exact position but sought discomfort anyway. Hubbard spent the last 16 years coaching college soccer in New Hampshire with the latter nine at the University of New Hampshire.
While it may seem like an easy choice at first glance to move from a mid-level college to a program in a premier conference, it was quite the opposite. Hubbard built a legacy by transforming New Hampshire into one of the best soccer programs in the country.
Hubbard concluded his run as the Wildcats’ head coach with seven consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including earning the No. 8 national seed last year. He also led New Hampshire deep into the tournament with three Sweet 16 runs that included wins over ACC teams like Syracuse and Clemson.
Meanwhile, during the Wildcats’ string of NCAA Tournament appearances, NC State only made the tournament three times and came away with just one win.
Not only was Hubbard having more success at New Hampshire than NC State was but he was living in the town he and his wife were from while raising five kids with a strong connection to his surrounding community.
So why leave a program that was having repeated success at the national level all while doing it in your hometown?
“In life, you’re given a lot of choices and this was ultimately one where if we didn’t take it as a family, we would have regretted it,” Hubbard said. “It’s about getting outside of your comfort zone with this and challenging yourself, whether it be me here as a soccer coach, or us as a family, and putting ourselves in uncomfortable situations is where you can see the most growth.”
Most in Hubbard’s position would’ve stayed because of the amount of success he was having and the comfort of home cooking.
But Hubbard is different.
He embraces the challenge. In his first year at Southern New Hampshire University, the team was coming off a 5-8-5 record in the previous season and in his first, Hubbard led it to a 15-3-4 record. In 2013, he helped Southern New Hampshire claim the Division II National Championship. But instead of basking in the success, he moved on to a new challenge.
His next revitalization project came at the University of New Hampshire. In his first season coaching the Wildcats, New Hampshire improved from 6-10-1 to a 10-5-3 record in 2015. Hubbard 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.
And despite leading New Hampshire to the No. 8 national seed in last year’s NCAA Tournament and making a run to the Sweet 16 before falling to the eventual National Champions in Clemson, Hubbard was ready for change.
The day after falling to Clemson, Hubbard received a call from NC State about his interest in being the program’s next head coach of the men’s soccer team. With his success at New Hampshire, Hubbard received calls about his availability every offseason, but he said getting this one was special.
“The process moved extremely quick, which made it difficult to kind of process the previous season,” Hubbard said. “As soon as we lost in the tournament, getting a call the next morning, and then the next morning being down here in Raleigh. So [after] a couple of visits to make sure the family was going to be okay, a lot of discussion at home, I ultimately decided to make the decision to move and take the job.”
With a new head coach comes a new system. Hubbard’s playstyle entails taking pride in shutting opponents out. 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.
It also allows for more scoring opportunities with players further up the field, pinning the opponents in their zone and capitalizing on mistakes.
“The way that we play, it’s fun, it’s up-tempo and it’s disruptive of other teams,” Hubbard said. “It’s creative in attacking chances, and that’s fun to coach, it’s fun to play, it’s fun to watch. We want to play a brand of soccer that people are excited about.”
Senior midfielder Will Buete — one of the longest-tenured Wolfpack players and points leader out of all returning players from last season — has enjoyed playing in the new system. Buete and the Wolfpack have already experienced success with its new attacking style when it made a run to the Spring Soccer Cup Championship game where it fell to Wake Forest in penalties.
“We’re pressing a lot higher,” Buete said. “Scoring more goals, getting forward more which in turn keeps them away from our goal. In the spring we saw that with a shutout and being able to keep teams higher up in their end and win the ball higher up.”
Last season, NC State allowed the third most goals in the ACC and second most goals per game but there were signs the Wolfpack could be a team that has the defensive tenacity Hubbard is looking for. In its lone matchup against eventual National Champion Clemson, NC State held the Tigers scoreless for almost the entire game before Clemson scored in the 85th minute for a 1-1 draw.
“It’s a little bit different,” Buete said. “Last year when we almost shut out Clemson we were sitting a lot deeper and sitting in front of our own goal, but now we’re sitting a lot higher and starting to really press teams in their end which is more fun to play in winning the ball higher up and having chances to score.”
For a team that hasn’t been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019, it’s going to take time to rebuild this NC State squad, but Hubbard has proven at his previous stops that he can get the most out of his teams in a short amount of time.
“The success in getting into the national tournament will be a product of all the little things that we do on a daily basis,” Hubbard said. “Setting goals and working towards those goals on a daily basis and holding each other accountable will eventually get us there.”
