South Raleigh News

NC State men's soccer team ended its season with a 1-2 loss to Marshall in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. The match took place on Saturday afternoon in Huntington, West Virginia. This marked NC State's first appearance in the Sweet Sixteen in three decades.

Marshall, seeded 13th, scored early when Lineker Rodrigues dos Santos intercepted a pass from NC State's defense and scored in the 9th minute. Isaac Heffess of NC State nearly equalized soon after with a header that required a quick save from Marshall's goalkeeper.

Rodrigues dos Santos added another goal for Marshall in the 37th minute, extending their lead to 2-0. In the 77th minute, Vusumzi Plamana scored for NC State, narrowing the gap to 2-1. Despite this effort, NC State could not find further scoring opportunities.

Reflecting on the season, head coach Marc Hubbard said: "We've got to take advantage of the momentum we have created within the program. I'm proud of the group for what we did. It was a long process starting back in January and then we worked really hard in the spring. This is the type of group that just kept getting better the more they played with one another."

Hubbard continued: "The hope is that the values and habits that we created every day will continue to seep into the returners and the messaging and legacy and story of guys leaving will seep into newcomers. I am definitely proud of what we accomplished and there is a lot to look forward to in Raleigh."

Under Hubbard's leadership this year, NC State had its best start since 1992 and best season conclusion since 1994, finishing with ten wins—their first double-digit win season since 2018.