The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2014 ■ 59 Findley is confident that the talent influx will mix in well with the veterans. They in- clude senior forward Nick Surkamp. In his first season in Raleigh after transferring in from Longwood, he led the Pack and was tied for third in the ACC with eight goals last year. Junior midfielder and former UCLA transfer Holden Fender, who was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Georgia as a senior at Walton High in Marietta, was one of just four players that started all 17 games last year. Fender has been named a team captain along with fifth-year senior defender Ryan Metts, who has 54 career starts to his credit. Senior defenders Clement Simonin and Moss Jackson-Atogi are also back after starting every contest in 2013. Perhaps the biggest question mark is who will replace Fabian Otte and start in goal. Junior Alex McCauley started one game last year, and redshirt junior Joe Mills started three times in 2012. Sopho- more Johnathan Davis is also in the mix. Those three veterans could be pushed by touted freshman Marius Heislitz, who was rated the No. 37 recruit in the 2014 class by CollegeSoccerNews.com and the No. 6 goalkeeper nationally by Top Drawer Soccer. "I think Fabian was a really good goal- keeper, but I think all these guys we have coming up have good qualities," Findley noted. Findley is confident in his roster. His focus is getting the young players up to speed on how they run the program so they can turn their attention to getting results on a schedule that has 12 of the 17 games at home. "Our goal is to make this a place where people don't come in here and get points," he said. "A very, very tough place to play is what we want to make it." Do that, and State could accomplish even more in 2014. ■ ■ By The Numbers 4 Numbers of years NC State has gone without mak‑ ing the NCAA Tournament, a streak the Pack came close to stopping last year. 12 Home games on NC State's schedule in 2014, compared to five road dates. 93.3 Percentage of minutes played in goal last season by departed starter Fabian Otte. Noting The Pack • NC State will host ACC newcomer Louisville Oct. 3. The Cardinals replace Maryland in the Wolf‑ pack's Atlantic Division. The Pack has a very sparse history playing the Cardinals, going 1‑1 all time against them. Maryland is leaving the ACC at a time when they are considered one of the nation's elite programs. They were ranked No. 2 in the preseason NSCAA coaches' poll behind only Notre Dame. In addition, the Terps got one first‑place vote in the rating, the only team besides the Fighting Irish, who got the other 19, to receive a first‑place vote. Louisville, though, is a well regarded program in its own right. The Cardinals were ranked No. 14 in the preseason coaches' poll after going 11‑5‑4 last year. They join Notre Dame, Virginia (No. 3), Wake Forest (No. 11) and UNC (No. 22) in the rankings. Clemson and Duke also received votes. • Notre Dame was the preseason pick to win the ACC with six of the league coaches' 12 votes. Virginia (three), UNC (two) and Louisville (one) also earned consideration. Louisville was the heavy favorite to win the Pack's Atlantic Division, receiving nine of the 12 first‑place votes. Wake Forest was picked second and had two votes to win it. Clemson received a vote of confidence and was third followed by NC State. Boston College and Syracuse rounded out the Atlantic Division pre ‑ season coaches' poll. In the Coastal Division, Notre Dame was favored followed by Virginia, UNC, Duke, Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh in order. Players To Watch Junior midfielder Holden Fender He started all 17 games last year, scoring a goal and dishing out two assists. He was named the team's "Iron Man" winner for being its most consistent player in terms of quality minutes and has been selected as a team captain for the upcoming season. Senior defender Clement Simonin Along with Fender, Simonin was one of just four players to start every game last season for NC State. He was second on the squad with four goals and he added three assists to finish with 11 total points, good for fourth best on the squad. Simonin also has been selected as a team captain. Senior forward Nick Surkamp Last year, Surkamp was one of the most prolific goal scorers in the ACC with eight. He also led NC State with 18 points, 41 shots and 24 shots on goal. Among players who attempted more than three shots, Surkamp was one of just two to put more than half of their shot attempts on net. ■ Key Games To Watch Sept. 12 at Wake Forest — The luck of the draw was a little bit on State's side this year on the schedule. Preseason nationally ranked No. 1 and ACC favorite Notre Dame was not drawn, nor was preseason No. 3 Virginia. That's not to say that NC State got completely off the hook, though. The Pack has to open ACC play at Wake Forest, which enters the season ranked No. 11. This will also be NCSU's first road game. Sept. 30, vs. Coastal Carolina — The toughest non‑conference game on the slate could come from Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers were ranked No. 17 in the preseason NSCAA coaches' poll. NCSU has never lost to Coastal Carolina in three previous games. Oct. 17 vs. North Carolina — The Tar Heels are always circled on NC State's calendar when the sched ‑ ule gets released. This year UNC is likely to come into Raleigh with revenge on its mind after the Pack stunned them in added time last season in Chapel Hill. UNC is ranked No. 22 in the preseason coaches' poll. Newcomer To Watch Freshman defender Conor Donovan — He is expected to play a key role on this team. He enrolled at NCSU with lofty prep credentials and was the headliner in the Pack's highly ranked recruiting class. College Soccer News rated him as the No. 15 player in the 2015 class, and Donovan has trained with both the U18 and U20 USA Men's National Teams. He has 33 international caps and has scored three goals in them. Donovan could find himself as one of the two center backs for the Wolfpack on the back line. Junior midfielder Holden Fender was named the Wolfpack's "Iron Man" winner for being its most consistent player in terms of quality minutes during the 2013 campaign. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS