Earlier this season, Ryan Goodman was riding a seven-match winning streak after beating a ranked opponent. Then came a match at Navy on Jan. 26.

Things started out normally as Goodman, a 184-pound redshirt junior, jumped out to an early lead. But midway through the match, he sprained his MCL and lost to his Midshipmen opponent 11-4. He hasn’t wrestled since.

Before his injury, he was ranked No. 20 in the nation, with a season record of 14-5.

“It’s definitely not fun sitting out the most crucial part of the year,” he said. “I want to be out there as much as I can, but at the same time, everybody works hard and deserves a shot at it. It’s good to see new guys out there.”

Goodman has missed six matches since his injury. During that span, redshirt freshman Dane Coffee, the sophomore backup at 184 pounds, has gone 0-6. N.C. State, 9-10-1 overall, has posted a mark of 3-3.

“The team obviously needs him,” coach Carter Jordan said. “Whenever you lose a ranked guy, it’s very difficult to make up. It’s been a tough year because of what we’re trying to do in the bigger picture. We’re trying to redshirt some pretty key guys, and we’ve had some key guys injured almost every week.”

Randy Goodman, Ryan’s older brother and the starter at 174 pounds, also suffered an injury the same weekend and has not been back in the lineup.

The brothers have always been competitive with each on the mat. Now, they’ve found other ways to occupy their time while their injuries heal.

“We always want to be better than each other,” Ryan Goodman said. “He’s hurt right now too, so we’re not really doing much. We compete in Madden right now.”

Ryan Goodman also competes as a member of the Wolfpack football team. He made the move to State after spending his freshman year at the University of Nebraska. Goodman was recruited to play both sports for the Huskers. But when the wrestling coach asked him to quit football, he decided to look elsewhere.

Every year, Goodman misses the beginning of wrestling season while fulfilling his duties with the football team.

“In wrestling you get burned out real quick,” he said. “It’s a six-month season, and I barely have to do it for three months. Now I got hurt for two months, so it’s like I didn’t even wrestle this year.”

Before this season, Ryan Goodman competed at 197 pounds. In his former weight class, he captured two ACC championships and was twice named co-outstanding wrestler. But for Goodman, the ultimate goal is a national championship.

At the beginning of last season, Goodman weighed in at 217 pounds. By the time the national tournament came around, he barely weighed 190.

“It was very noticeable when he went out there to wrestle,” Jordan said. “He was competing against guys who were cutting down from 215 pounds. He still competed very well, but it should be a lot less difficult now because it’s a fair fight.”

Goodman is hoping to be back in the lineup for the ACC tournament on March 8 to help the Pack defend its conference title. Although he has one year of eligibility remaining, he hopes to make a run at the national title this season.

“At the beginning of this year, I said, ‘You don’t always have next year, so you have to use your time wisely,'” he said. “As you see, I’m hurt now. It’s kind of funny how it worked out, but I’ll be back for ACCs. So we’ll see what happens.”

By the numbers: Ryan Goodman2 ACC championships at 197 pounds4 wins against ranked opponents in his redshirt freshman year6 matches in a row missed this season14-5 record before being injured this season22 wins for Goodman his first year at StateSource: N.C. State Athletics