No. 14 NC State men’s soccer opened the season strong with a 2-0 victory over Queens.

The Wolfpack (1-0) opened the scoring in the 22nd minute against the Royals (0-1) with an impressive dribble by junior forward Donavan Phillip on the right side of the box, slipping past multiple defenders and slotting it into the bottom left corner.

“I imagine [the shot],” Phillip said. “I take the guy on. I shoot it. I didn’t see it go in — I just heard the people cheering to be honest… I know we’re trying to do something special this year, so this goal is not just for me.”

Phillip was one of several players recruited last year in head coach Marc Hubbard’s first season, when the Pack reached the NCAA third round for the first time since 1991. In a small sample size, the Pack remains on the rise.

In the 36th minute, the Wolfpack managed three threatening shots on goal in a sequence that had the home crowd on their feet, but Queens goalkeeper Matheus Rhormens was equal to the challenge.

However, soon after, sophomore defender Nikola Markovic controlled a long diagonal cross from redshirt junior defender Isaac Heffess and made it 2-0.

The Wolfpack managed one more major attempt before half on a volley from senior midfielder Justin McLean, which required the Queens goalkeeper to make an acrobatic save, pushing the ball onto the crossbar and over the goal.

The second half slowed, with a few early shots from Phillip, which were easily saved, and redshirt junior forward Aidan Payne was unable to convert a big chance in front of the goal following a high cross.

The Pack played more conservatively in the second half, the defense allowing only one shot on goal — a deep shot outside the box in the 72nd minute, which senior goalkeeper Logan Erb handled. Besides claiming a few dangerous crosses in the first half, Erb was untested.

“The second half, we knew we had to manage the game, and we couldn’t make it fall into their hands,” Phillip said. “We kind of possessed it more and tried to get more attack in our possession and try to put them away.”

Despite the 2-0 victory, Hubbard was less than pleased with the team’s lack of vigor in the second half.

“[It was] one of the most boring second halves that we’ve played since we’ve been here,” Hubbard said. “And with enough people here, you gotta be able to put on a show and come out and continue what we did for the first half.”

Hubbard is already having to manage player expectations in his second year.

“Some guys are upset they didn’t play as many minutes,” Hubbard said. “But our team is in a position where we have depth and we gotta perform and show up every single time.”

The Pack will get another chance to showcase its depth against Wofford Sunday at 6 p.m.