Friday, August 24
Raleigh, NC
7PM
NC State
vs
USC Upstate (Back to School Night)
Wolfpack Opens 2018 Season at Home Friday vs. USC Upstate
8/23/2018 1:45:00 PM | Men's Soccer
August 23, 2018
TICKETS | Match Notes | Live Stats | WATCH LIVE
RALEIGH – Coming off its first appearance in the NCAA Championship since 2009, the NC State men's soccer team opens the 2018 season and the second season under head coach George Kiefer on Friday evening at home against USC Upstate. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 pm from Dail Soccer Stadium on campus with a live broadcast provided by ACC Network Extra.
FRIDAY PROMOTIONS
-Back to School Night.
-Camper Reunion Night.
-Student Wolfpack Club Night.
-First 200 fans receive an NC State insulated lunch bag.
-Face painter/balloon artist in the Kids Zone.
-Post-match youth penalty kicks and autographs.
A WIN ON FRIDAY WOULD...
-Be the 510th win in program history (509-441-92).
-Be the 338th home win in program history (337-170-47).
-Be the 171st win in HC George Kiefer's career (170-92-55).
-Be Kiefer's ninth win at NC State (8-6-4).
-Be NC State's second win over USC Upstate (1-0-1).
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
-Return four starters from last year's team and welcome 15 new players to the roster.
-Scored 0.93 goals per match last season while allowing 2.33.
-Leading scorer Cam Philpot (four goals) and goalkeeper CJ Cluck (nine starts last season) return in 2018.
-Voted to finish ninth in the Big South this season by the league's head coaches.
SERIES HISTORY
-Friday's match will be the third meeting between NC State and USC Upstate. NC State leads the series 1-0-1.
-The last meeting between the teams was a 0-0 draw in Raleigh on Oct. 10, 2017.
UP FOR THE CHALLENGE
On the eve of the 2018 season, NC State has five opponents ranked within the national top 11 of the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll. The Wolfpack will take on No. 3 UNC-Chapel Hill, No. 4 Akron, No. 5 Wake Forest, No. 6 Louisville, and No. 11 Clemson during the season.
WATCH EVERY HOME MATCH
All 10 of NC State's home matches this season will be broadcast either online or on television. Nine matches will be carried on ACC Network Extra (WatchESPN) and the Sept. 21 match against Virginia Tech will be shown on Fox Sports South and a collection of additional regional networks around the country.
YOUNG BUT EXPERIENCED
Though NC State fields a young roster for the 2018 season, the Wolfpack returns nine players who started at least eight of the team's 18 matches last year. Five players (Leon Krapf, David Loera, David Norris, Simon Blotko, Christoph Schneuwly) started every match in 2017.
KIEFER'S NCAA STREAK
Second-year head coach George Kiefer has now qualified for 11 NCAA Championships as a head coach (10 at USF). Including his time with the Bulls and the 2017 season with the Wolfpack, he has led his teams to the postseason in 10 of the last 11 years.
AMONG THE TOP ASSISTANTS
Associate head coach Jeff Negalha this summer was named among the top assistant coaches in the nation by College Soccer News. Negalha helped lead the 2017 Wolfpack to an NCAA Tournament appearance and has played a large role in securing two national top-13 recruiting classes in 2017 and 2018.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES FOR MANNY PEREZ
Sophomore Manny Perez is earning notable recognition heading into the 2018 season. After being named the 2017 ACC Freshman of the Year, Perez has been named a College Soccer News Preseason second team All-American and included on the TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Best XI second team.
NOTABLE ACC RECORD
In Kiefer's first season in Raleigh, the Wolfpack finished the ACC schedule with a 3-3-2 record and tied for seventh place in the league standings with Notre Dame to achieve the best finish since 2009.
ACC PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
NC State was selected to finish fourth in the ACC Atlantic Division and eighth of 12 teams overall according to a preseason vote of the league's head coaches.
Wake Forest was predicted to win the Atlantic Division and UNC-Chapel Hill was predicted to win the overall conference title.
Last season, the Wolfpack tied for seventh in the league standings despite a preseason prediction of 11th.
#GoPack | @PackMensSoccer
TICKETS | Match Notes | Live Stats | WATCH LIVE
RALEIGH – Coming off its first appearance in the NCAA Championship since 2009, the NC State men's soccer team opens the 2018 season and the second season under head coach George Kiefer on Friday evening at home against USC Upstate. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 pm from Dail Soccer Stadium on campus with a live broadcast provided by ACC Network Extra.
FRIDAY PROMOTIONS
-Back to School Night.
-Camper Reunion Night.
-Student Wolfpack Club Night.
-First 200 fans receive an NC State insulated lunch bag.
-Face painter/balloon artist in the Kids Zone.
-Post-match youth penalty kicks and autographs.
A WIN ON FRIDAY WOULD...
-Be the 510th win in program history (509-441-92).
-Be the 338th home win in program history (337-170-47).
-Be the 171st win in HC George Kiefer's career (170-92-55).
-Be Kiefer's ninth win at NC State (8-6-4).
-Be NC State's second win over USC Upstate (1-0-1).
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
-Return four starters from last year's team and welcome 15 new players to the roster.
-Scored 0.93 goals per match last season while allowing 2.33.
-Leading scorer Cam Philpot (four goals) and goalkeeper CJ Cluck (nine starts last season) return in 2018.
-Voted to finish ninth in the Big South this season by the league's head coaches.
SERIES HISTORY
-Friday's match will be the third meeting between NC State and USC Upstate. NC State leads the series 1-0-1.
-The last meeting between the teams was a 0-0 draw in Raleigh on Oct. 10, 2017.
UP FOR THE CHALLENGE
On the eve of the 2018 season, NC State has five opponents ranked within the national top 11 of the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll. The Wolfpack will take on No. 3 UNC-Chapel Hill, No. 4 Akron, No. 5 Wake Forest, No. 6 Louisville, and No. 11 Clemson during the season.
WATCH EVERY HOME MATCH
All 10 of NC State's home matches this season will be broadcast either online or on television. Nine matches will be carried on ACC Network Extra (WatchESPN) and the Sept. 21 match against Virginia Tech will be shown on Fox Sports South and a collection of additional regional networks around the country.
YOUNG BUT EXPERIENCED
Though NC State fields a young roster for the 2018 season, the Wolfpack returns nine players who started at least eight of the team's 18 matches last year. Five players (Leon Krapf, David Loera, David Norris, Simon Blotko, Christoph Schneuwly) started every match in 2017.
KIEFER'S NCAA STREAK
Second-year head coach George Kiefer has now qualified for 11 NCAA Championships as a head coach (10 at USF). Including his time with the Bulls and the 2017 season with the Wolfpack, he has led his teams to the postseason in 10 of the last 11 years.
AMONG THE TOP ASSISTANTS
Associate head coach Jeff Negalha this summer was named among the top assistant coaches in the nation by College Soccer News. Negalha helped lead the 2017 Wolfpack to an NCAA Tournament appearance and has played a large role in securing two national top-13 recruiting classes in 2017 and 2018.
PRESEASON ACCOLADES FOR MANNY PEREZ
Sophomore Manny Perez is earning notable recognition heading into the 2018 season. After being named the 2017 ACC Freshman of the Year, Perez has been named a College Soccer News Preseason second team All-American and included on the TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Best XI second team.
NOTABLE ACC RECORD
In Kiefer's first season in Raleigh, the Wolfpack finished the ACC schedule with a 3-3-2 record and tied for seventh place in the league standings with Notre Dame to achieve the best finish since 2009.
ACC PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
NC State was selected to finish fourth in the ACC Atlantic Division and eighth of 12 teams overall according to a preseason vote of the league's head coaches.
Wake Forest was predicted to win the Atlantic Division and UNC-Chapel Hill was predicted to win the overall conference title.
Last season, the Wolfpack tied for seventh in the league standings despite a preseason prediction of 11th.
#GoPack | @PackMensSoccer
Players Mentioned
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