How Taig Healy’s mental reset ahead of the postseason has powered NC State men’s soccer

After NC State’s regular season concluded with a 1-0 loss at Wake Forest, junior midfielder Taig Healy used it as a moment to reset himself. He was a key cog of the program’s turnaround from a one-win ACC team a year ago to contending for an NCAA at-large bid, but there was more he felt he could do.

It was an opportunity for the New Hampshire transfer to clear his mind to prepare for the postseason. With the Wildcats, Healy was accustomed to playing on a big stage as a routinely national-seeded squad. Now, he was in the same spot with NC State inside the top-25, though his scoring numbers took a dip after a strong start. 

Healy scored five goals in the Pack’s first nine games this fall, looking as if he was going to be the bus driver of NC State’s offense. He found success with what seemed to be ease in a new program. But when the schedule entered the gauntlet of what the ACC provides, Healy started to “get in his head” once the ball stopped finding the back of the net. 

The South Hampton, N.H., native worked on it by himself and with the Wolfpack’s coaching staff, but Healy needed to collect himself after he went nine games without a goal — though he did log a three-assist performance in the team’s 5-1 win over then-No. 12 SMU. 

Healy’s chance to recalibrate himself before the crunch time of NC State’s season appeared to have been uber beneficial. He scored for the first time in 40 days during the Pack’s 2-1 loss to Virginia in the ACC Tournament opener. While the result left the Wolfpack on the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, something clicked for Healy. 

“It was a new season, the postseason, I was just going to turn the page,” Healy told TheWolfpacker.com this week. “I feel like I’ve been playing really freely since then.

Now, two games into the NCAA Tournament — the Pack’s first appearance in the big dance since 2019 — Healy has played a key role in advancing to the third round as NC State will visit No. 13 Marshall at 2 p.m. on Saturday in Huntington, W.Va. 

Healy has assisted on three of NC State’s four goals over the last two games, all three of which have been crucial in the Wolfpack’s bid to continue to turn heads on the national stage. The Pack hadn’t won multiple games in the NCAA Tournament since 1991 and now it’s two victories away from a College Cup appearance. 

Confidence boost

The attacking midfielder’s latest performance, two assists at No. 4 Georgetown last Saturday afternoon, embodied what Healy is trying to aim for. While he took four shots — and none beat the keeper — Healy didn’t let that affect him. Instead, he found both Drew Lovelace and Donavan Phillip for a pair of goals, including a missile that doubled the Pack’s lead in the 66th minute to push the Pack through. 

Healy hasn’t changed his goal-scoring mentality to give up his chances for others, but he’s willing to do whatever it takes to help NC State find goals. 

“If I’m not scoring, it’s a lot easier for me to set my teammates up to do it,” Healy said. “And in the last couple of games, they’ve had some unreal finishes off the end of my passes. It’s nice for them to get goals, but it’s also a good confidence booster for me to get on the scoresheet, even though I haven’t had many goals recently.”

That’s what makes Healy among the best midfielders in the ACC. He was a second-team all-conference selection this season in his first year in collegiate soccer’s toughest league. He’s always looking to grow on the pitch, from finding others to staying keyed in on defense within NC State’s press. 

For Wolfpack men’s soccer coach Marc Hubbard, who arrived in Raleigh last December and brought Healy in tow from New Hampshire, his playmaker is on the cusp of becoming an unmovable force on the field. 

“His creativity on the ball, he’s always had — his vision, his ability to take good calculated risks and have the courage to try some things that others can’t see,” Hubbard said. “It’s always off the ball focus defensively and mentally. He’s been working on it and improving in that area. … When he can get to a good spot there, then he’s pretty much unstoppable.”

Healy didn’t realize he needed a move to the ACC until he arrived in Raleigh. He thrived in the America East with the Wildcats, but as Healy took a step up in competition, his numbers have as well. He has posted career-best totals with six goals and six assists, while he’s played more than 1,400 minutes within Hubbard’s system this fall. 

A drive to win

Now, not only has Healy improved his own play, but he’s appeared to help instill Hubbard’s scheme in year one at NC State. That, in turn, has led the Pack deep into the postseason for the first time in more than three decades. 

The Wolfpack has a mindset that it not only belongs at this stage of the NCAA Tournament, but it can beat any team in its path. 

“We know we can play with anyone,” Healy said. “We just showed it. We won at No. 4 in the country after playing extra time three days before, so that mentality has really helped. I think it’s something the group truly believes at this point, which will help us make a deep run in the tournament.”

Said Hubbard: “I feel confident, given our schedule and the caliber of games that we played this year, that we can go into any environment and not be afraid and continue to improve on who we are.”

That will be put to the test again with a road trip to Marshall this weekend. A win would send the Wolfpack to its first NCAA quarterfinal since 1992. And if Healy, a self-described passionate player, has any ability to influence another Pack win, that’s exactly what he will try to do. 

“I  just really want to win,” Healy said. “My day or week will be ruined if we don’t win. I do everything I can to make sure it’s possible that we do.”