NC State men’s soccer made its first-ever national championship appearance. The quest to return starts this spring

Marc Hubbard sat at the dais on the second floor of WakeMed Soccer Park’s stadium suites, just moments removed from NC State’s 3-2 overtime loss to Washington in the national championship 10 weeks ago. He was appreciative and reflective of the path to the program’s deepest NCAA Tournament run ever, but turned the page to next season rather quickly. 

And the veteran coach, one with a knack of turning programs around in a hurry like he did with the Wolfpack, knew the team’s chances of returning to the title game would likely be tougher than they were to break through the first time. 

“It’s not going to get any easier for us,” Hubbard said after the runner-up finish. “When we take over a program and we’re rising, it’s easier to change that culture quickly. And then when you get to the top, there’s only a little bit more. That’s the hardest piece. … To get back here, is a big challenge.”

Fast forward to now, and Hubbard’s tone hasn’t changed at all. He believes in what he’s building in Raleigh, but it’s only been two seasons since he arrived from New Hampshire to take over a squad that won just four ACC games in the previous four seasons combined. Factor in replacing the nation’s-leading goal scorer and winner of the MAC Hermann Trophy in Donavan Phillip (19 goals) and the No. 1 overall pick in the MLS SuperDraft as defender Nikola Markovic was selected by D.C. United, and the Pack has its work cut out for itself this spring. 

But this is the time in which the program expects its mix of returning contributors, young players and five mid-year newcomers to earn minutes on the pitch for the fall — not including the 12 to 14 freshmen, transfers and international additions that Hubbard expects to add over the summer. NC State is in the midst of its five-game Carolina Cup scrimmage schedule, while it works to blend all of its pieces together to prepare to contend for the ACC title in the fall.

TheWolfpacker.com caught up with Hubbard recently to learn more about the impact of the College Cup, what he expects to see this spring and what the recruiting landscape looks like for his program after the trip to the national championship. Here are the highlights of the conversation.

What is the approach to this spring to build off the run to the College Cup?

HUBBARD: “I would say not the easiest. We’re trying to get five [new] guys on the same page and trying to lift the hangover of the run a little bit. We’re trying to reset ourselves and sort of use the confidence and the belief that we gained from last season, but at the same time know that it’ll be harder to accomplish that next year. We have to work harder in these moments. There’s a lot of younger players who don’t have game experience, so it’s a great opportunity for them to earn a role and to improve. They can’t rest on the laurels of team success. They have to keep pushing. I think on the recruiting front, we have a lot of needs left to go. It’s pretty consistent as to where we were the last couple of years at this time, but there’s a lot more recruiting left to be done.”

How do you balance the experienced players that were a key part of the run and the younger players that are looking to earn a significant role?

HUBBARD: “Everyone personally has their overall goals and long term plans. Whether it’s guys that played last year — they have goals to play professionally after here, so that drives them — and the young guys, they were absorbing so much over the past six or seven months and the hope is that they can apply that now that they’re going to be in position to play this spring and earn those spots. I think it’s just daily reminders, this is our focus, and when guys fall out of line of that, to make sure we hit that individually but also in the team dynamic.”

How big is this spring to blend the experience and youth to set the table for the fall and a new season?

HUBBARD: “It was a big reason why we had so much success last fall from an off-the-field perspective in building a leadership group and guys who are going to take the reins and hold guys accountable. From that standpoint, we’re going to continue to do that and build our leadership off the field. But the spring is important because it’s a competitive environment with the Carolina Cup, but it’s also not at the same time. It can be a little bit more individually focused and we can find our own ways to be competitive within our own group to keep it going in the spring, but it’s nice to have games where we can build towards. You can feel the energy shifting within the group.”

How do you approach replacing the production you lost off last year’s roster?

HUBBARD: “Nothing changes. We’re trying to build some good players from within that need to step up and fill those roles. We have to go out and find some replacements within the entire world, I would say. That’s just a daily grind. There’s no exact recruiting science. You can be recruiting a guy for two days and he commits or you can be recruiting a guy for two years and he doesn’t come. You just have to apply yourself and have a good effort every single day, be positive and hold true to our standards. That’s important, not to give in emotionally to maybe what other schools are doing or what other people have. We have a pretty good method of bringing in good people first and holding good standards to player expectations and trying to hit that every single day. It’s daunting to have to bring in a lot of players, or to replace the “best player in college soccer” up front, or the No. 1 overall draft pick in the back. There are a lot of older players that have experience here that are now pursuing pro opportunities. That’s where we want to be, it’s what we want to do every single year, so we can’t complain about it. It’s a product of our success and we’ve just got to hit it every single day and not take our foot off the gas.”

It’s a good problem to have with guys leaving early, right?

HUBBARD: “It is. You just want to make sure that when they go, it’s the right time and they’re not feeding into guaranteed contracts or promises. You want to make sure that when they leave, they’re still in position to get their degree while they’re playing, and at the same time, be ready for that jump to be as successful as possible in the pro game.”

What do you like about your five mid-year enrollees?

HUBBARD: “I think there’s a balance, in terms of positional fit. We play a specific system that’s proven to do well over years and many programs. Guys have to buy into that, and that’s part of our recruiting process, making sure they understand what their role is and where they would play. This will be a big spring for the new guys as well and our young core. We’re definitely naive as a newer group out there, so we’ll learn as we go. We hope that there’s a big learning curve this spring so they’re in a good place while we’re still having success, but they’re learning and taking calculated risks so when they come back in the fall, they’re confident and hitting the ground running with probably 14 other guys that we’re going to bring in.”

What’s the biggest thing you can learn about your team in the spring, even though a big chunk of the roster isn’t on campus yet?

HUBBARD: “Not as many people are watching, so what are these guys doing on their own to get better? And are they taking advantage of every resource that we have here? We’re blessed to have a Wolfpack performance program where it’s heavily resourced and the guys can get better from a mental performance standpoint, a nutrition standpoint, strength and conditioning, getting ahead with their academics, getting more heavily involved in community service. I think all these things lead to more maturity and better overall performance on the field and in the biggest moments. I think those are the things we look out for and try to provide them and find natural moments to coach them on those things. But, ultimately, it’s on them to be able to take advantage of those things. Those are things we’re taking notes on and applying them when we’re trying to recruit or overrecruit certain positions within the program.”

How much did the run to the College Cup help in recruiting?

HUBBARD: “I think all this stuff gives us good juice right away, but we’re still in a position where we’re competing against the best programs in the country on these players. Ultimately, it comes down to some extra money sometimes, sometimes you can see through that and if people have the right reasons or intentions of choosing the right place. That’s a balance. You’re going to lose some battles and win some battles, but try not to change too much of who we are or how we go about things, as frustrating as that can be sometimes on the recruiting trail. But I think the College Cup run gives everyone belief that it’s possible. If we stick to our process, work really hard, then good things can happen. I think it provides a lot more buy-in to what we’re doing, and if we stick to it with another new group that hasn’t been there before, on the field physically playing, then the motivation will eventually still be there.”