North Carolina State University Athletics
Thursday, November 12
5:30 PM
NC State
vs
North Carolina
11/11/2026 12:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
RALEIGH, N.C. - 11-seed NC State men's soccer (7-5-6, 1-3-4 ACC) will take on 7-seed/No. 12 North Carolina (9-2-6, 3-1-4) Thursday evening in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Kickoff is set for 5:30 pm at First Horizon Stadium at WakeMed Soccer Park.
This is the Wolfpack's first trip to the semifinals since 2009. They look to make the championship match for the first time since 2009 as well.
Watch the match live here on ACC Network. Live stats will be available here on Statbroadcast.
A win on Thursday would…
- Be the 584th win in program history (583-498-126)
- Be the 266th win in Hubbard's head coaching career (265-65-52)
- Be Hubbard's 34th victory at NC State (33-13-15)
- Be the 23rd win over North Carolina (22-54-16)
Series History…
- Sunday marks the 92nd all-time meeting between NC State and North Carolina, and the second meeting this season.
- NC State trails in the series (22-54-16).
- The Wolfpack traveled to Chapel Hill for its last regular-season match on Oct. 30. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Quick Notes…
- The Wolfpack entered the season ranked No. 2 nationally, dropped to No. 20 after the first two games, and have fallen out of the rankings since the second week.
- After being picked to finish first in the ACC following a historic 2025 season, the Wolfpack finished 11th.
- The ACC holds six teams ranked nationally in the top-25 (No. 1 SMU, No. 5 Clemson, No. 12 North Carolina, No. 13 Louisville, No. 20 Wake Forest and No. 21 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 recorded its first shutout and ranked win of the season on Sept. 15 against No. 23 UNCW, 1-0.
How the Pack Got to the Semifinals…
- Round 1: NC State beat Virginia Tech 2-1 to advance to the quarterfinals in consecutive seasons for the first time since 2018-19.
- Quarterfinals: The Pack scored 52 seconds into overtime to beat Wake Forest 1-0 and advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2009.
- NC State has not played in an ACCT Championship match since 2009 (runner-up finish). The Pack has only won the ACC Tournament once, in 1990.
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 three times and three clean sheets as he helped the Wolfpack record shutouts over No. 4 UMKC, Mercer and No. 15 Wake Forest.
The 5th-year Aidan Payne…
- Aidan Payne currently leads the team with 10 goals and 21 points. Seven of his goals came during the month of October.
- Payne's scoring run began on Oct. 11, when he recorded a hattrick to power a 3-0 shutout over No. 4 UMKC.
- Against UMKC, Payne opened scoring in the 43rd minute and then struck again in the 70th minute. Just over two minutes later, he completed his hat trick to give the Wolfpack a commanding 3-0 lead.
- A week after Payne's hat trick, he recorded his second career brace, helping the Wolfpack draw 2-2 at California. Because of his performance against California, Payne was named ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 20.
- Payne scored a last minute goal at UNC on Oct. 30 to help the team record a 1-1 draw at UNC to close out the regular season.Â
- In the first round of the ACC Tournament, Payne scored the game-winning goal that gave NC State a 2-1 lead over Virginia Tech.
- The Wolfpack is 3-1-3 when Aidan Payne scores.
Ranked Opponent Match Ups…
- The Wolfpack is 3-2-1 against ranked opponents during the 2026 season.
- NC State shut out No. 23 UNCW 1-0, No. 4 UMKC 3-0, and No. 15 Wake Forest 1-0 (OT).
- 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 faced six in-state opponents.
- The Pack finished the regular season 3-2-1 against in-state opponents, having beaten Queens (2-1), Duke (3-1) and No. 23 UNCW (1-0), lost to Wake Forest (1-2) and UNCG (1-3) and tied against UNC (1-1).
- In the postseason, NC State faced Wake Forest in the ACCT quarterfinals and beat them 1-0 in OT to secure a win over the Demon Deacons for the first time in 21 years.
@PackMensSoccer || #PerformanceOverPressureÂ
Players Mentioned
GK
/ Men's Soccer
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