RALEIGH — The NC State men’s soccer team is back in the NCAA College Cup for the first time in 35 years — and the Wolfpack and their fans won’t have to travel very far.
No. 15 seed NC State (15-2-4) takes on Saint Louis (14-2-7) in the NCAA College Cup national semifinals Friday night at Cary’s First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park. Washington (14-6-2) and No. 16 Furman (17-1-4) play in the first semifinal at 6 p.m.
The winners will meet Monday for the national title.
“It’s something that we’ve been working for all year, and the fact that it’s in Cary, I’d say, it’s a huge advantage for us,” said defender Nikola Markovic, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy, given to the nation’s top player.
Second-year coach Marc Hubbard, who has engineered a quick turnaround of the program, said people have been texting him seeking tickets to the sold-out games. Tickets on the secondary market are selling for more than $350.
“Wolfpack Nation, again, will show up in support and hopefully paint the stadium red,” Hubbard said.
The Wolfpack program was once a regular in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Round of 16 five times between 1986 and 1994. NC State made the 1990 College Cup before losing in penalty kicks to UCLA in the national semifinals. In 1991, Saint Louis — behind two goals from future U.S. Men’s National Team star Brian McBride — defeated NC State 3-0 in the national quarterfinals.
As they prepare to face the Billikens again, an alum let Hubbard know that loss still stings.
“They’ve been waiting since that day to get redemption,” Hubbard said.
The program has struggled since the end of that run. Legendary coach George Tarantini added three more NCAA appearances in the 2000s before his 2010 retirement, but the next two coaches left Raleigh with losing records.
Enter Hubbard, who led New Hampshire to seven consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances before being hired at NC State in December 2023.
“We believe in the culture that we’re building and the people that we are and what we have to offer, and we just continue to stick with that,” said Hubbard, who played collegiately at Colgate and professionally for five years.
In his first season, the Wolfpack went 10-5-5 last season and reached the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 16. This year, the Wolfpack has been even better.
“He sold me this dream of where he thinks the program could go, especially in my last two years of eligibility,” said ACC Goalkeeper of the Year Logan Erb, a transfer from San Diego State. “And I think he’s fully capitalized on what he told me.”
Of the 26 players Hubbard inherited, just six remain. But he’s built a powerhouse on both ends of the field. NC State ranks ninth in the nation in goals per game and second in the nation in goals against average. The Wolfpack have 15 shutouts in 21 games.
“You can tell he was ambitious,” said Markovic, a sophomore. “Everybody was telling me, ‘Hey, this is the best coach.’ And I just believed in him. I liked his plan and I think this is exactly why we came.”
Forward Donovan Phillip, a transfer from Oakland, is second in the nation in goals scored with 17. Like Markovic, Phillip is one of 15 semifinalists for the Hermann Trophy. He is the ACC’s Offensive Player of the Year.
“Little skeptical coming in because I would say NC State wasn’t my top option,” said Phillip, who is from Saint Lucia. “But when I came on my visit and meeting Coach Hubs in person and the coaching staff, I committed on the spot, like five minutes after. I knew this was a place for me, and I knew this place was going to be special, and it’s lived up to it.”
Now the Wolfpack has a chance to deliver on that vision and capture the program’s first NCAA title — with a pro-NC State crowd cheering it on.
“It’s a national championship we’re all chasing,” Phillip said. “To leave our legacy, to leave NC State in a better place. We’re really close. We’re at the door. It’s just like finishing the job.”
