Men's Soccer to face Virginia Tech in First Round of ACC Tournament

Wednesday, November 4

Blacksburg, VA

6 PM

NC State

Virginia Tech

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11/3/2026 12:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer

MATCH 17 | VT (ACCR1)

RALEIGH, N.C. - 11-seed NC State men's soccer (5-5-5, 1-3-4 ACC) will travel north to take on 6-seed Virginia Tech (8-5-3, 4-2-2 ACC) in the first round of the ACC Tournament Wednesday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Thompson Field.

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

A win on Wednesday would…

Be the 582nd win in program history (581-498-126)
Be the 264th win in Hubbard's head coaching career (263-65-52)
Be Hubbard's 32nd victory at NC State (31-13-15)
Be the 12th win over Virginia Tech (11-9-2)

Series History…

Friday marks the 23rd meeting between NC State and Virginia Tech, and the second matchup this season.
NC State leads the series (11-9-2).
The Wolfpack opened ACC play this season against the Hokies in Raleigh, N.C. 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.
As of Oct. 27, the ACC holds six teams ranked nationally in the top-25 (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 recorded its first shutout and ranked win of the season on Sept. 15 against No. 23 UNCW, 1-0.

The 5th-year Aidan Payne…

A hat trick from Aidan Payne powered a 3-0 shutout over No. 4 UMKC, 3-0, on Oct. 11.
Against UNKC, Payne opened the 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. Due to 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.
He currently leads the team in goals (9) and points (19) and seven of his goals have come during the month of October.
The Wolfpack is 2-1-3 when Aidan Payne scores.

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 one against Mercer.

Russell Berkooooo….

Sophomore forward Russell Berko has made a big impact on the Wolfpack in his first season.
From Aylesbury, England, he ranks second on the team with points (10), goals (5) and shots on goal (12).
Berko has earned a starting nod in every game this season, playing 942 minutes.
NC State is 3-1-1 when Berko scores.

O Captain, My Captain…

Senior midfielder Tyler Caton was named to the 15 player ACC Men's Soccer Preseason Watch List.
He closed out the 2025 season having played and started in 20 out of 23 games in the midfield. However, an injury kept him from competing in the College Cup.
Caton is back and has earned a starting nod in every match this season, playing the full 90 minutes in 15 out of 16 matches. He currently serves as one of the team's captains along with Caden Tolentino.
Caton has recorded two goals and two assists this season and scored the first goal of the season in game two against Queens.

Welcome to The Field…