NC State men’s soccer is playing in the College Cup for the first time since 1990, and boy, is it a hot ticket.
With one General Admission seat in First Horizon Stadium going for $238 on the resale market as of Wednesday afternoon, getting into the semifinal will cost you some coin — and that is for good reason. The Wolfpack has a great chance to win it.
Taking on Saint Louis right down the road in Cary at 8:30 p.m. Friday night, in college soccer’s version of the Final Four, No. 15 NC State is vying for a spot in the championship game. After a season of earning ACC accolades and recognition in the coaches polls, the Pack is almost across the finish line in the race for its ultimate goal: a national title.
How we got here
Heading into the year, most Wolfpack fans knowledgeable about soccer were confident in the trajectory of the men’s team. Head coach Marc Hubbard had already proven his ability to contend in the NCAA tournament, reaching the Sweet Sixteen last year, and looked the part of winning head coach. The hype was real.
By NC State’s Sept. 5 matchup versus North Carolina, the Pack was undefeated and ranked No. 5 in the nation. Dail Soccer Field was so packed out with a record-setting crowd, fan overflow made its way to the Coliseum Deck and watched the Pack from up high. NC State struggled offensively in a 0-0 draw with the Heels, but the Pack’s potential was clear.
On Sept. 23, the Wolfpack’s ranking peaked at No. 1 — a first for the program. But with a subsequent 1-0 loss at Virginia, and drawing with UNC Greensboro and Syracuse, it seemed like the Pack was fading. It culminated with a 3-0 to Syracuse in the second round of the ACC Championship.
“We put ourselves into a situation after the second Syracuse game where it kind of felt like our season was over,” Hubbard said.
But the Pack used that letdown as fuel, coming out with a vengeance and beating talented squads in the NCAA Tournament — Marshall, UNCG and No. 7 Georgetown.
Accolades
Along with being ranked No. 1, the Pack has also been recognized in other ways on the national stage.
Most notably, three of its players received All-ACC honors, with junior forward Donavan Phillip being named ACC Offensive Player of the Year, sophomore defender Nikola Markovic being named ACC Defensive Player of the Year and senior goalkeeper Logan Erb being named ACC Goalkeeper of the Year.
Along with those three, senior midfielder Taig Healy was named to the All-ACC First Team. With a whopping four players on the First Team, NC State faces no shortage of talent.
Markovic and Phillip are also two of 15 semifinalists for the 2025 Men’s MAC Hermann Trophy, an award given to the top player in the country. NC State has never had a Hermann Trophy winner.
For much of the season, Phillip led the nation in goals — at one point leading by four. His offensive abilities, whether it be in the air with the header or on the ground with his legs, proved to be among the best. He finished with 17 goals, the second-most in Division I.
Statistically, the Pack as a team leads in multiple categories in Division I, including goal differential and shutouts with a school-record 15. Furthermore, the Pack was the last team to concede a goal in the nation, going over a month into the season without giving one up, all the way up to its ninth game.
Scouting Report
On the other side of the bracket, Saint Louis pulled off the upset and took down No. 14 Akron to reach the Final Four. The Billikens path consisted of wins over Kentucky, No. 6 Indiana and No. 11 Bryant in the first three rounds.
With eight draws in the regular season, and two of its four NCAA tournament games decided in extra time or penalty kicks, Saint Louis is no stranger to tight games. And it has thrived in that environment.
“At this point, any team is going to be very good, very organized, and have its own identity,” Hubbard said. “I think Saint Louis is well coached, they’re organized, they have a lot of belief … They haven’t had a loss in a very long time, so I think [they’re] improved, fast, very hardworking, opportunistic encountering situations, very good in crosses and second phase attacks in the box and will definitely post some challenges for our back line.”
On the offensive side, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year is looking to attack.
“Every team in the College Cup right now is pretty good,” Phillip said. “… I would say one of the weakest spots in the back line. So we go into it, pressing and trying to get some early goals and kind of maintain that shutout. … We know for a fact that from time, we put in one or two at the back of the net, we can shut out anyone in the country.”
The Wolfpack is two wins away from a men’s soccer national championship. If it can get it done versus Saint Louis, it will face the winner of the semifinal matchup between No. 16 seed Furman and Washington — taking place at 6 p.m. before the nightcap at 8:30. The championship game is slated for 7 p.m. on Monday.
