Taig Healy continues NCAA Tournament goal-scoring streak, sends NC State to first title game appearance

CARY — Just before NC State began its tenure in the NCAA Tournament, Wolfpack coach Marc Hubbard mentioned to his team that any game could be their last this fall. After all, the team was bounced from the ACC Tournament by Syracuse in the league quarterfinals, well before its goal of winning the conference title. 

So as senior midfielder Taig Healy listened to his longtime coach, the one he followed from New Hampshire to NC State ahead of last season, a switch flipped in his brain. He’s not a player that slacks off in game as a hard-working attacking midfielder, but Healy knew he had more to give as he wanted to extend his collegiate career as long as possible.

As it turned out, Healy’s ability to bring his game to another level proved to be critical in the Wolfpack’s quest for its first national championship in program history. The veteran No. 10 used his head to score the would-be game-winning goal as NC State knocked off Saint Louis 2-1 on Friday night at WakeMed Soccer Park, in front of a crowd of 10,945 just under six miles away from the team’s home field.

Hubbard’s subtle, yet effective message seemed to resonate with Healy. He has scored four goals this entire season, but three of them have come in each of the last three games as NC State has made its deepest run in the NCAA Tournament ever. 

“I think it turned my game up another level in terms of on the ball and off the ball,” Healy said shortly after helping the Pack to the national title game against Washington. “Anytime I’m going to be rewarded for defensive work, usually a good thing will happen. I was getting into the areas all year, I just couldn’t finish them.”

Healy has uncorked 70 shots this fall, but his last 11 have been the most integral as he’s turned into a complementary scorer to junior forward Donavan Phillip, who notched his 18th goal of the season with his own head to open the scoring against the Billikens. 

Although Healy has unlocked a new aspect of his game, it’s been a long time coming in his development. A native of South Hampton, New Hampshire, he trusted Hubbard to develop him as a dual-threat midfielder in the middle of his possession-based offense that stressed Healy’s position when he committed to play for him with the in-state Wildcats. 

Healy earned America East All-Rookie honors with an average of 7.8 minutes per game in 2022 before elevating his game to score four goals with three assists in 20 appearances with nine starts at New Hampshire. It was progress and evidence that Hubbard’s system not only fit Healy and his game, but he was meant to play in the middle of the offense. 

So when Hubbard was hired at NC State ahead of the 2024 campaign, it led to a tough decision: stay in his home state or challenge himself in college soccer’s top league. After weighing his options with both his former club coaches and his family, Healy opted to follow his mentor to Raleigh to help rebuild a struggling Wolfpack program. 

Although it seemed as if it was a “leap of faith” to some on the outside in leaving a perennial top-10 program to a team that hadn’t made the NCAA Tournament in each of the last four years. But Healy trusted Hubbard and knew what he could do.

“I think the ACC was the place to be. Going with [Hubbard] and knowing the system we were going to play and the role I was going to be in gave me the confidence that it was the right thing to do,” Healy said. “I saw how he could recruit at UNH, so I knew it wouldn’t be a problem at NC State. Obviously, it was tough at first moving in the spring and leaving New Hampshire for the first time, but it helps to go with other people. Obviously, it’s paid off.”

It hasn’t just paid off, rather it’s been a smashing success. Healy has helped anchor a total 180-degree turn for the Pack program that made a run to the Sweet 16 a year ago and is now 90 minutes away from claiming a national championship in his final game of his collegiate career. 

But there’s a chance that wouldn’t have been possible without Healy’s tally against Saint Louis. He was in the right place at the right time near the six-yard box, using his head to connect on a cross from Riley Moloney that he sent into the bottom right corner to extend NC State’s lead to 2-0. 

“He’s had chances all year and he just hung in there,” Hubbard said. “He knew it was going to come. He’s been scoring big goals his whole life. He’s just that type of player and person.”

Even though Saint Louis buried a penalty eight minutes later, Healy’s header was the difference. He doesn’t seem like an aerial threat at 5-foot-7, but the midfielder provided the biggest jolt of the season for the Wolfpack. 

It left Phillip in disbelief as he ran to celebrate with his teammates near the corner flag seconds later, but it proved that Healy was more than willing to answer the call when his team needed him the most.

“It’s good to see that he turned up in the tournament. All year, he was so close to finishing, he could have had 10 [goals] by this time of the year,” Phillip said. “It just wasn’t falling for him, but it’s nice to see he’s finally getting those. I know his confidence is really high because he’s scored in [almost] every game of the tournament so far. We’re going to need him for the finals.”

Healy, an unlikely goal scorer, has been critical in the Wolfpack’s run to the title game. And he’s likely going to have a say in how the championship tilt goes Monday night in front of another raucous home environment surrounded by an even deeper sea of red in the stands.