NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024 ■ 47
ing into its visit to Virginia Tech on Oct.
11 and was already close to matching last
year's total of six wins.
The challenge will be to continue mak-
ing progress now that the conference
season is underway. As of Sept. 29, there
were seven ACC teams in the United
Soccer Coaches' top 25, including the top
three teams in the poll: Pitt at No. 1, fol-
lowed by Stanford and North Carolina.
With its 2-0 loss to the Tar Heels on
Sept. 20, NC State began a stretch of
six consecutive games against ranked
opponents. That's a tough assignment
for a team that's trying to reestablish
NC State as a force in men's soccer after
having missed out on the NCAA Tour-
nament the past four years. For Healy,
though, the difficulty was a big part of
the draw. An aspiring pro, he wanted to
be challenged.
"I had played two years under Coach
[Hubbard], and he knew he could trust
me to be his guy," Healy said. "I knew I
would fit into his system right away. If I
was going to leave, I would have wanted
it to be for the ACC, the highest level of
soccer in the country.
"There were a lot of factors, and it was
a very tough choice. I wouldn't say at
the time it was something I wanted to
do, but it was the right thing to do, so I
did it." ■
"
There were a lot of factors, and it was a very
tough choice [to leave New Hampshire]. I
wouldn't say at the time it was something I
wanted to do, but it was the right thing to do,
so I did it.
Healy
