Gary Higgins knew what he was walking into when he accepted the NC State women’s soccer head coaching role this past December. The program failed to make the ACC Tournament in each of the last two seasons, despite making the NCAA Tournament six times in the seven years before it. Higgins, who led East Carolina […]
Gary Higgins knew what he was walking into when he accepted the NC State women’s soccer head coaching role this past December. The program failed to make the ACC Tournament in each of the last two seasons, despite making the NCAA Tournament six times in the seven years before it.
Higgins, who led East Carolina to its first conference championship title in the program’s 30-year history last fall, felt like NC State had the pieces to find its winning ways again. He witnessed the talent firsthand as his Pirates handed the Wolfpack a 1-0 loss to open last season in Raleigh.
The pieces on the field weren’t the issue. Instead, according to Higgins, it was changing the team’s mindset to believe they could, in fact, win in the nation’s toughest women’s soccer league.
“It was very noticeable when I got here,” Higgins, a Scotland native, told TheWolfpacker.com. “I knew there was some talent on the team, they were lacking that winning mentality, for whatever reason. It’s difficult to have that. You have to have the right environment, but you also have to intentionally work at it every single day.
“It’s just like practicing kicking a soccer ball — you have to practice the mental techniques to make sure you’re in that high performance mindset every single day.”
Ever since he took over in Raleigh, everything Higgins and his staff has done has been based around that critical piece as they instill their culture. After all, it’s a similar task to what he did at ECU, leading the Pirates to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in just three seasons at the helm.
Higgins has two non-negotiables in his program: passion and intensity. Those two traits are both controlled by each player, and they’re expected to bring both at a high level every day. Whether it’s a routine training session or a game, Higgins demands the most from his team.
Why? It’s how Higgins was as a player during his four-year playing career at Division II Lenior-Rhyne, which has followed in his coaching career ever since. From his seven-year stop as his alma mater’s women’s coach, where he became the program’s all-time winningest coach (83-31-13, including a 2021 Final Four appearance) to ECU to NC State, Higgins has carried himself in the same passionate way.
“If I’m doing this the right way, my players should be an extension of how I am,” Higgins said. “I just think if you bring passion and intensity in everything you do, you’re going to have more chances at success. You care about the place more, you care about each other more, and if you’re bringing intensity to the game, then you’re making it a lot more difficult on your opponent.”
As Higgins has worked to install his philosophy at NC State, he has done so with a quality roster. He only had to bring in five transfers this offseason, including junior defender Mackenzie Smith, who began her career with the Pack before joining Higgins at ECU last fall.
Now, Smith back and has taken a leadership role alongside senior goalkeeper Olivia Pratpas and senior defender Brooklyn Holt, the latter pair has been named the Wolfpack’s first captains under Higgins. In addition to the veteran leaders, Higgins has been impressed with standout junior forward Jade Bordeleau and senior defender Alex Mohr, who is finally healthy after battling injury last season.
But as the new coaching staff has used the past eight months to get the program headed in the direction they wanted, a preseason bout at Liberty this past weekend seemed to serve as a crucial measuring stick. But instead of folding against the quality squad, NC State appeared to utilize the new mindset that Higgins brought with him.
The result was a 1-1 draw that featured an eclectic group of veterans and young faces making critical plays throughout the match to keep NC State in it. As Higgins reflected on what he saw, he felt like it was a step in the right direction.
“We were under some pressure in moments in that game, and we were able to withstand that pressure. It was kind of a bend and not break, which is really important when you’re playing away from home,” Higgins said. “There were some moments where we could have done better technically, but just the determination and work ethic and willingness to not get beat was definitely a positive.”
Now, NC State will get to see what its made of as the Wolfpack is set to open the 2025 campaign against James Madison on Thursday night at the Dail Soccer Park before traveling to ECU on Saturday.
The Dukes, like the Pirates, beat the Wolfpack a year ago. NC State has a chance to change the outcome of this year’s meeting with its new mindset against one of the top Sun Belt Conference squads. If the Pack can do that, it would be another step in the right direction.
For Higgins, the short-term goal is to stack as many wins as possible with the hopes of returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2022. His long-term vision is to compete with the top class of the ACC, looking to nab the program’s first-ever national championship.
It will take building year-to-year to reach that point, but Higgins believes that he and his staff are capable of doing so. But, for now, the Wolfpack is focused on using its new mindset to consistently win games in 2025.
“We understand that there’s teams, especially in the ACC, that are definitely ahead of us right now from a talent standpoint, but soccer is not all about talent,” Higgins said. “It’s about togetherness, organization, passion and doing things the right way together. Hopefully we can catch up to some of these teams by having the right mindset and getting after it every day.
“If we’re playing with passion and intensity, then we shouldn’t be intimidated by any teams and we should be able to compete with teams. And when you do that, you’ve always got a chance.”
Category: General Sports
