46 ■ THE WOLFPACKER
BY NOAH FLEISCHMAN
ary Higgins knew what
he was walking into when
he accepted the NC State
women's soccer head
coaching role last De-
cember. The team had
failed to make the ACC
Tournament in each of
the past two seasons, despite qualifying
for the NCAA tourney six times in the
seven preceding years.
Higgins, who last fall led East Caro-
lina to the first conference championship
in the program's 30-year history, felt as
though NC State had the pieces in place
to resume its winning ways. He saw the
talent firsthand when his Pirates handed
the Wolfpack a 1-0 loss in Raleigh in last
season's home opener.
As far as Higgins was concerned, the
roster wasn't the issue. Instead, he said,
the program's mindset needed to change.
Players needed to believe they could be
successful in the nation's toughest wom-
en's soccer league.
"It was very noticeable when I got
here," said Higgins, a native of Scotland.
"I knew there was some talent on the
team, but they were lacking that winning
mentality, for whatever reason.
"It's difficult to have that. You have
to have the right environment, but you
also have to intentionally work at it every
single day. It's just like practicing kicking
a soccer ball — you have to practice the
G
NEW ATTITUDE NEW ATTITUDE
First-Year Women's Soccer Coach Gary Higgins
Looks To Rebuild NC State's Winning Culture
