The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1527657
46 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT HERB he opportunity seemed too good to be true at first. It was certainly too good to pass up, and yet Taig Healy's initial response when presented with a chance to continue his collegiate soccer career in the ACC was not exactly joyful disbelief. It was more like reluctant acceptance. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted the opportunity to be true. Healy's entire life was in his native New Hampshire — his family, his girl- friend, his school, his soccer club. Did he really want to leave all that behind to follow his coach 800 miles south from the University of New Hampshire to NC State? The high-scoring midfielder wasn't so sure. "I loved UNH," Healy said. "I loved the people there. I loved being close to my family. They always came to home games. I could see them at least once a week, and family time has always been valuable to me. It made the decision tough." In the end, though, the allure of play- ing in collegiate soccer's best confer- ence — and getting to do it under the tutelage of new NC State head coach Marc Hubbard, with whom Healy had spent two seasons at New Hampshire — proved irresistible. He enrolled in the spring, helping smooth the program's transition to a new coaching era. A 5-foot-7, 145-pound junior, Healy has made a smooth transition of his own. He had been a nine-game starter as a sophomore at New Hampshire, and he has emerged this year as one of the most formidable offensive threats in the ACC. Through the Pack's first 10 games, he was tied for eighth in the conference in both shots (26) and goals (5), and he was leading the team with 10 points. The son of an all-region player at Southern New Hampshire University, Healy grew up with the sport and is versed in its subtleties, as well as the de- tails of Hubbard's system. In nine sea- sons at New Hampshire, Hubbard went 115-32-21 with seven NCAA Tournament appearances, and he has brought his dis- ciplined, attacking style to NC State this year. One of the reasons why Healy decided to uproot himself and head to Raleigh was because he believed so strongly in Hubbard's team-building approach. "He's just a winner," Healy said. "When he took over the UNH program about 10 years ago, they were not very good. When he left, they were ranked eighth in the country. He made the team better each year. He gets his teams close together off the field and then applies it on the field. He has a very specific way he wants our team to play. If we execute, it's very hard to stop. I think that showed in the results he had at UNH. "Coming down here, I knew NC State hadn't had the best few years program- wise, but I had no doubt he was going to recruit quickly; he's always been a very good recruiter, as well as Coach [Jon] Shaad, the assistant he brought down. I knew he would develop a competitive team quickly. That was never a worry for me." Healy spent the summer playing for New Hampshire-based Seacoast United of United Soccer League Two, helping the Phantoms win the USL2 title in Au- gust. A few weeks later, he played a key role in getting the Hubbard era off to a winning start, scoring in the 66th min- ute of NC State's season opener against High Point, a 3-2 comeback victory. The Pack had compiled a 5-2-3 record head- T LANDING ON HIS FEET Taig Healy Makes An Impactful Debut With The NC State Men's Soccer Team Healy totaled 5 goals in the Wolfpack's first 10 games, ranking among the ACC's scoring leaders in his debut season in Raleigh. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS