Wolfpack Set for Regular-Season Finale at No. 15 North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State men's soccer (5-5-5, 1-3-3 ACC) will travel 30 minutes West to close out the regular season against No. 15 North Carolina (8-2-4, 3-1-3 ACC). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Dorrance Field at Play2Dream Legacy Stadium.

Watch the match live here on ACCNX. Live stats will be available here on Statbroadcast.

A win on Friday would…

Be the 582nd win in program history (581-498-125)
Be the 264th win in Hubbard's head coaching career (263-65-51)
Be Hubbard's 32nd victory at NC State (31-13-14)
Be the 23rd win over North Carolina (22-54-15)

Series History…

Friday marks the 92nd meeting between NC State and North Carolina.
NC State trails in the series (22-54-15).
The first meeting between these two teams was in 1950. That year, the teams met twice, with North Carolina winning both matchups.

Quick Notes…

The Wolfpack entered the season ranked No. 2 nationally, dropped to No. 20 after the first two games, and has fallen out of the rankings since the second week.
NC State was picked to finish first in the Atlantic Coast Conference, earning eight first-place votes.
The ACC has six teams ranked in the top-25 nationally according to the United Soccer Coaches Poll (No. 1 SMU, No. 3 Clemson, No. 10 Louisville, No. 15 North Carolina, No. 16 Wake Forest and No. 18 Pitt).
A draw with Coastal Carolina to open the season moved the team's opening record under Marc Hubbard to 2-0-1.
The Wolfpack faced its first ranked opponent of the season, No. 23 UNCW on September 15th. NC State shut out the Seahawks 1-0 to earn its first shutout and ranked win of the season.

The 5th-year Aidan Payne…

NC State shut out No. 4 UMKC, 3-0, on Oct. 11. The win was powered by a hat trick from Aidan Payne.
Payne opened scoring in the 43rd minute and then struck again in the 70th minute. Just over two minutes later, Payne completed his hat trick and gave the Wolfpack a commanding 3-0 lead.
A week following Payne's hat trick, he recorded his second career brace, helping the Wolfpack draw 2-2 at California. Due to his performance against California, Payne was named ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 20.
Payne currently leads the team in goals (8) and points (17). Six of his goals have come during the month of October.

Remember the Name: Gabe Lamphere…

Freshman goalkeeper Gabe Lamphere earned his first career start at Louisville on Oct. 2 and has started every match since then.
Lamphere has recorded a career-high three saves twice and achieved his first clean sheet and shutout victory against No. 4 UMKC.
Three days after his clean sheet against No. 4 UMKC, he recorded another shutout against Mercer.

Ranked Opponent Match Ups…

The Wolfpack is 2-2-0 against ranked opponents during the 2026 season.
NC State shut out No. 23 UNCW 1-0 and No. 4 UMKC 3-0.
The win against No. 4 UMKC on Oct. 11 marked the first top-5 win of the Marc Hubbard era.

The Wolfpack Versus In-State Opponents…

During the 2026 regular season, NC State will face six in-state opponents.
The Pack is 3-2-0 against in-state opponents, having beaten Queens (2-1), Duke (3-1) and No. 23 UNCW (1-0) and lost to Wake Forest (1-2) and UNCG (1-3).

Welcome to The Field…

Throughout the season, 13 newcomers and two returners have taken the field in red and white for the first time.
Nine of the newcomers have earned at least one starting nod.
Newcomers: Emanuel Adou, Brandon Bent, Russell Berko, Oriol Comas, Josh Gordon, Gabe Lamphere, Cameron Letterlough, Adrià Muñoz, Erik Peña, Malcolm Rangon, Abdou-Magib So, Hayato Takayama and Tom Wingate; Returners: John Pottle and Gianni Rosario.

The Last Month of the Regular Season…

The last month of the regular season includes seven games, with four on the road and three at home.
The team will play three non-conference games: UNCG on the road, and UMKC and Mercer at home.
As well as finishing up the ACC regular season on the road at Louisville, California and North Carolina, and celebrating its seniors at home against Stanford.

@PackMensSoccer || #PerformanceOverPressure

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Players Mentioned

Emanuel Adou

Brandon Bent

Russell Berko

Oriol Comas

Josh Gordon

Gabe Lamphere

Cameron Letterlough

Aidan Payne

John Pottle

Malcolm Rangon

Gianni Rosario

Abdou-Magib So

Hayato Takayama

Tom Wingate

North Carolina State University Athletics