The NC State men’s soccer team wrapped up preseason play this past weekend with a 1-0 victory at Virginia Commonwealth University on Saturday, the Wolfpack’s only win in three exhibition matches.

While the team hasn’t impressed on the scoreboard and head coach Kelly Findley has experimented heavily with personnel configurations, this season’s Pack can draw its strength from an unlikely place: midfield.

 NC State lost two of its most influential central midfielders from last season, Roland Minogue and Michael Bajza. Bajza led the team in total points with 12, while Minogue featured in 16 of 18 matches.

This year, a number of players have made the leap from squad players to serious contributors, which has Findley upbeat about the quality and depth of the team’s midfield. 

“I think the guys who are there are team guys,” Findley said. “And that’s the most important thing. It doesn’t matter if you have quality if you’re not bought in to what the team is doing. I always talk about the fact that you have attitude, effort and skill. All three of those things add up to your outcome. For me, the guys who are playing the midfield now have the attitude, they have the effort, and they have the skill, and I think their production’s going to be great.”

After playing a 4-2-3-1 formation for much of last year, the Pack made an adjustment to a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield in the spring and has not looked back since.

This new system packs the center of the field and has paid off in terms of possession. With more players comfortable with the ball at their feet in the middle of the field, the Pack has controlled matches comfortably and has kept the ball for longer stretches.

Senior captain and 2014 third team All-ACC nominee Holden Fender played two exhibition games at center back, but once the Pack is healthy, it’s likely he moves back to his normal position at holding mid. 

With a spot on the 2014 All-ACC freshman team already on his resume, sophomore Zach Knudson will return to the lineup with heavy expectations. He scores the team’s only goal against VCU, and while he sometimes featured as a forward in preseason, it’s likely he drops back into his best position: attacking midfield.

Joining them will be a mix of new and returning players, including sophomore Cameron Steele, redshirt freshman Nick Retzlaff and juniors Yanni Hachem and Julius Duchscherer.

In 2014, Steele saw sporadic playing time, but the former Cardinal Gibbons standout has found himself thrust into a much bigger role in 2015.

Steele is a prototypical midfielder with excellent passing skills and a superb engine. He covers huge amounts of ground on the pitch, but he’s also disciplined enough to perform specific duties, rather than expend energy pointlessly chasing the opposition.

“Cam is super athletic,” Findley said. “He’s very clean on the ball and he just works incredibly hard. When you put those things together, that’s a good player.”

After redshirting his freshman year, Retzlaff has made a huge jump in year two and should contend for a starting spot. At the very least, he’s a valuable rotation piece for Findley and the new-look Pack midfield. 

Retzlaff’s best quality is his positional sense. His sharp movements create easy passing angles for teammates, and he has added a level of energy to his game that makes him almost constantly available as a supporting option. He finds space and time within the frantic atmosphere of a collegiate match. 

Hachem played a big role toward the end of last season, finished fifth in points and should feature heavily in 2015, starting all three of the Pack’s exhibition games.

Hachem rarely stands out during matches because most of his work is done off the ball facilitating for others, but the attacking midfielder is excellent at finding free space in and around the opposing team’s penalty box. 

Against Campbell, Hachem should’ve scored after finding himself free 18 yards out but dragged his shot wide. He did score in a similar situation against Elon, ghosting into space unmarked, latching onto junior Travis Wannemuehler’s cross and slamming the ball into the net from just inside the box.

One of three new Germans to join the Wolfpack, Duchscherer played 90 minutes over the weekend against VCU and has started every match so far.

A diminutive figure, Duchscherer has tremendously quick feet and has fit in seamlessly with the rest of the Pack. While he’ll need time to adjust to the style of college soccer, he has staked his claim to feature prominently this season and looks to be a big part of Findley’s plans.

Despite seeming like a big weakness after Bajza and Minogue chose to transfer, the midfield has looked a bright spot on the 2015 team. Although players are still adapting to new roles and learning new defensive responsibilities, the quality and variety of player types available to Findley makes the midfield key to State’s success this season.