The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/862569
66 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER G eorge Kiefer had a good situ- ation at South Florida. He had been the head coach of the Bulls for 15 seasons and piled up a 162-86-51 record, reached the NCAA Tournament 10 times, advanced past the first round in six of those appear- ances and twice reached the Elite Eight. USF once had the longest home winning streak in the country (30 games) and had an above-.500 record against ranked op- ponents (29-26-11), but it played in the Big East and American Athletic Conference. NC State is in the ACC, a league that has six preseason top-10 teams and a seventh ranked No. 13. "I had a great setup in Tampa and could have retired there," Kiefer noted. "It was a great family situation, but the lure and the challenge to come to the ACC at a state school like NC State — which I was ac- customed to at USF, UConn and Southern Connecticut — I can't wait to play all these teams." Kiefer inherits a NC State squad that has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2009. After several close calls, particularly in 2013 and 2015, the program took a step back to a 5-12 overall record and a 1-7 mark in the ACC a year ago. Twenty-five years ago, NC State was one of the top men's soccer programs in the ■ PREVIEW MEN'S SOCCER Senior midfielder Julius Duchscherer was second-team All-ACC after finishing fourth in the conference with nine goals a season ago. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS DEVELOPING A FAMILY CULTURE New Head Coach George Kiefer Begins To Install His Program At NC State ■ Key Games • Florida Atlantic, Aug. 25: The George Kiefer era be- gins with a home match against FAU. The new coach hopes to set a tone for the culture of NCSU soccer right off the bat. • No. 2 Wake Forest, Sept. 23: The Demon Deacons lost to Stanford 5-4 on penalty kicks in the national title game a year ago and should be a national title contender again this year. • No. 4 UNC, Sept. 29: With renovations at UNC's men's soccer stadium, this game has been moved to WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.