NC State Athletics Remembers George Tarantini

September 26, 2019

RALEIGH – The NC State Athletic Department is saddened to hear of the recent passing of former NC State men's soccer coach George Tarantini.

"While our paths only crossed briefly, the influence of George was very evident both at NC State and within our community," NC State Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan said. "The history of our soccer program is so intertwined with his time leading our program. This is a tremendous loss for our community, and my thoughts go out to (his wife and current NC State women's golf coach) Page (Marsh) and the many people he impacted."

Tarantini retired in November of 2010 as the winningest soccer coach in school history. He earned ACC Coach of the Year honors in 1992 and 1994 and was the NCAA Regional Coach of the Year in 1994. He directed the Wolfpack to nine NCAA Tournament appearances, including one postseason run in 1990 that featured the program's first ACC championship and an appearance in the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament before falling to eventual national champion UCLA on penalty kicks.

Tab Ramos, Roy Lassiter, Henry Gutierrez, Dario Brose, Scott Schweitzer, and Pablo Mastroeni, all members of the U.S. Men's National Team during their careers, played for Tarantini at NC State. In all, he produced 12 All-Americans and four ACC Players of the Year during his tenure.

"George was one of the first people I reached out to when I became the head coach at NC State," current Wolfpack head coach George Kiefer said. "He always had the program in his heart. He was very welcoming and opened a lot of doors for me when I arrived in Raleigh. Since then, I became very close with him. Most recently, he came to campus and actually spoke to the team at the beginning of this season. It was one of the most motivational talks I've heard anyone give to a group. What he embodies is that the game is about the players. He loved the players that he coached. That was always in his heart. It was never about him, but it was always about the players. I learned a lot from him in a short time and this is a big loss for the program."

Tarantini spent a total of 29 years on the men's soccer coaching staff, serving as head coach for 25 seasons and earning an overall record of 234-197-43.

Visitation for George Tarantini is Sunday, Sept. 29 from 2-4 pm at Mitchell Funeral Home (7209 Glenwood Ave) in Raleigh.

#GoPack | @PackMensSoccer

Related Videos