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NC State’s Logan Erb Locked In for College Cup

The elite goalkeeper helped drive the Wolfpack's run through the NCAA Tournament.
Tucker Sennett|
NC State goalkeeper Logan Erb
NC State goalkeeper Logan Erb | Courtesy of NC State Athletics

RALEIGH — Without star goalkeeper Logan Erb, it's hard to envision NC State's run to the College Cup stage of the NCAA men's soccer tournament would be possible. The senior joined head coach Marc Hubbard a season ago after beginning his collegiate career at San Diego State and quietly became one of the nation's steadiest goalies.

Now, the Wolfpack needs just two wins to go in the history books as national champions. NC State leads the country in shutouts, in large part due to the efforts of Erb, but the goalkeeper knows none of that success would be possible without the players in front of him. Erb is a perfect representation of the team spirit that has driven the Pack this far.

Watch Erb and other NC State stars speak ahead of the College Cup

Inside Erb's mindset

The Pack's defense has been arguably the best in the nation for the entire season. That didn't change once the calendar shifted and the games started meaning more in the NCAA Tournament. NC State opened with shutouts in its first two games before outlasting Georgetown in a 3-2 battle in Washington, D.C. The Hoyas didn't score in the second half.

"My four backline are my best friends, my closest guys," Erb said. "As much as it stems on the field, Nikola (Markovic) and I will go to the sauna, Nikola and I will go make steaks together. The relationship that we built and I feel like not only is this just teammates, but it's a brotherhood that I plan to cherish the rest of my life."

Erb wasn't where he wanted to be after his first year in Raleigh. He allowed 14 goals in 13 games played with a save percentage of 72% in those games. In his final season, the goalkeeper believes he made major improvements. In 21 games to date, Erb allowed just nine goals, with a save percentage of 84.7%.

"I think it's come down to a mentality shift," Erb said. "Coming into the spring after the last fall... I wasn't happy with how I performed, and I knew that there was more to give, and I hold myself to an incredibly high standard... And (Hubbard) helped me get all the resources for it, and just took it from there."

Hubbard's pitch to Erb on the NC State program was simple. When the coach arrived on campus after the 2023 season after a successful tenure at New Hampshire, he knew he needed a core group of players to build around. A major piece in that rebuild was going to be Erb. The goalkeeper loved the idea of that.

"If you knew who I was, growing up, every time I've been a part of that's how it was and it was always about leaving the program in a better place," Erb said.

The coach sold him that dream and he bought in. So did the entire roster. Now, the group has an opportunity to achieve something never done in school history: win the whole thing.

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Tucker Sennett
TUCKER SENNETT

Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.

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