Peggy Boone
Coach George Tarantini’s reaction to his team being picked last to finish in the ACC in the coaches’ preseason poll this season was straight forward.
“That has got nothing to do with anything,” Tarantini said.
Indeed, the entire team seems unfazed by low expectations following last year’s 6-10-1 finish. Senior midfielder Ernesto Di Laudo said the team can use the ranking as motivation, and they can find many other benefits from the lack of hype surrounding the squad.
“For us, that ranking is a positive thing,” Di Laudo said. “Teams may think we are weak — we are not. We are working hard, and that makes us work harder. We are going to do the best we can to get to No. 1.”
With the top four scorers returning from last year’s team, this season’s group has quite a bit of experience. So far, the team has shown it can compete on a high level as they fought No. 1-ranked UCLA to a 2-2 draw in an exhibition game Saturday. Senior midfielder and team captain El Hadj Cisse, who scored the Wolfpack’s first goal against UCLA, said the team cannot dwell on the past — be it last year or last week.
“Last season was a lesson for us,” Cisse said. “We don’t even worry about it now — the past is the past. This year we are trying to work hard because we have a lot of freshmen coming out. After the UCLA game, of course we feel great, but that’s in the past now. We have to worry about the future.”
A core of seniors, who, according to Tarantini, are one of the major strengths of the group, leads the team. This year’s seniors have been around for several ups and downs: from the 11-7-1 team of 2005 that earned a first round bye in the NCAA tournament to last season’s team that went 1-6-1 in ACC play.
“The leadership we have is definitely a strength,” Tarantini said. “We have great team players, and the captains do a tremendous job. The seniors — Ernesto [Di Laudo], El Hadj [Cisse], [defender Hugh] Cronin, [goalie Tom] DeStefano — they are doing a fantastic job. Everybody we have is on the same page.”
Tarantini also pointed to the resiliency the team displayed last season and this year when they were forced to play from behind.
“The most important part of our team is what we showed at the ACC championships last year,” Tarantini said. “We can come from behind — like we did against UCLA the other day. We were behind twice, and we came back twice. This team has a lot of character.”
As the team prepares to begin the season Friday against Valparaiso, every member of the squad seemed to notice one thing — the chemistry.
“We are becoming a group,” Di Laudo said. “We used to have a lot of really good players. This year we have team bonding, and we are building up from there.”
Cisse echoed Di Laudo’s sentiments.
“We have great communication, and we play well as a team,” Cisse said. “The team chemistry we have is a big help.”
Asked what the team needed to do to succeed this season, Cisse talked about everyone doing their part.
“We just have to keep working hard as teammates,” Cisse said. “Our captains have to bring leadership. Our freshmen have to step up. The freshmen have to tell themselves ‘We are part of N.C. State. We are part of the Wolfpack — we aren’t freshmen anymore.’ They have to grow up and take charge.”