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Tim Santoro
In 2012, NC State made a coaching change to a program that:
Had an RPI of 228 out of 338 NCAA Division I teams
Had not been in the NCAA Tournament since 1996 (17 years)
Had gone 15 seasons with two wins or less in the ACC, with each of those campaigns resulting in last place or next-to-last place conference finishes
Tim Santoro was named the head coach of the NC State women's soccer program on November 30, 2012. In 2016, after a short rebuild, NC State made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 21 seasons.
In 2022, NC State made its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament in the fall season and is one of only six teams in the ACC to do so over this time period. This follows a 2021 campaign where NC State made its fifth straight NCAA Tournament for the first time in almost 30 years, and was one of three teams in the country to beat two top-five teams (a 2-1 win vs. No. 11 Duke and a 1-0 vs. No. 4 North Carolina) and had a strength of schedule of No. 4 in the country.
NC State is one of eight programs in the country and one of four in the ACC from 2016-21 to advance to at least the NCAA Second Round each year, with at least three of those being NCAA Sweet 16 appearances while also being ranked in the Top 25 of the RPI every year.
Before not competing in 2020 due the pandemic, NC State’s dominance as a Top 25 ACC program in 2019 consisted of:
Its fourth straight NCAA Tournament
Third NCAA Sweet 16 in four years with postseason wins over two conference champions (Navy, Arkansas)
10 or more wins for the fourth year in a row
NCAA RPI of No. 19 and overall Strength of Schedule of No. 2
ACC regular season finish (fifth) and ACC Tournament semifinalist
Played nine matches vs. ranked teams, 12 matches vs. Top 50 RPI teams
Earned points in eight of 10 ACC matches and had as many, or less, losses in ACC play than two teams ahead of them in the regular season conference standings
Fewest losses in ACC play in program history (2) since the league expanded in 2004
In 2018, Santoro led NC State’s consistency as a Top 25 ACC program with:
Its third straight NCAA Tournament, the first time the Wolfpack has done so since 1994-96
Second NCAA Sweet 16 in three years with postseason wins over Santa Clara and Northwestern
Five results over top-20 teams (South Carolina, Princeton, Duke, Florida State and Santa Clara)
Ranked in the NCAA RPI Top 25 for the entire season
The 2017 season took the Wolfpack to new heights after the historic 2016 campaign:
Finishing 15-5-2, most wins since 1995
7-3-1 in the ACC and finished the ACC regular season in third place, best finish since 1995
First back-to-back ACC Tournament berths since 2003-04
Advanced to the ACC Tournament semifinals for the first time since 1995 with a 4-1 home win over Notre Dame in the ACC quarterfinals.
Ranked in top 25 throughout the 2017 season, the Pack advanced to the NCAA Tournament Second Round, playing in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments for the first time since 1995-96 and hosted its first ever NCAA home game at Dail Soccer Stadium (a 4-1 win over Arkansas)
The 2016 season marked a clear breakthrough for the Wolfpack. The NSCAA Southeast Regional Coach of the Year and a finalist for NSCAA National Coach of the Year, Santoro guided the program to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 20 years and led the Pack to its first ever NCAA Sweet Sixteen since the origin of the 64-team tournament. The program concluded the 2016 season ranked in the national polls: No. 23 in the TopDrawerSoccer poll and No. 24 in the NSCAA poll. The rankings mark the first time since 1995 that NC State has closed the year ranked in the top 25. NC State also finished No. 34 in the NCAA RPI, posting a 186-spot improvement from its final 2015 RPI ranking.
The team defeated or tied three other teams ranked in the final 2016 NSCAA poll including No. 4 North Carolina, No. 15 Minnesota and No. 22 Pepperdine. Overall, the Pack holds seven results against teams that were ranked or receiving votes.The NCAA Tournament wins against Minnesota, the 2016 Big 10 regular season and tournament champions, and versus 2016 West Coast Conference champion, Pepperdine, put the Wolfpack on the cusp of an NCAA College Cup berth. In addition, Santoro led NC State to its first ACC Tournament postseason berth in 10 years by gaining points in half of its ACC matches and garnering the No. 8 seed.
NC State’s four regular season ACC wins in 2016 were the most ACC wins since 1995 and the 11 overall wins were the most total wins since 1996. The team was also ranked in several polls throughout the year, and climbed to as high as No. 17 in the national polls despite facing the hardest ACC schedule in the conference.
The team earned a signature win in its ACC opener, traveling to North Carolina and getting a 1-0 victory at Fetzer Field for the first time in program history. The win marked the biggest win over a ranked team since 2001. The Pack totaled six straight wins and held a shutout streak over 463 minutes during the winning streak from Aug. 28 to Sept. 21. The team played exceptional on the road, going 4-4-2.
The 2016 squad was one of the youngest in the country, built primarily of freshmen and sophomores. The top-20 freshmen recruiting class accounted for the team’s top three and five of the top-six point scorers. Freshmen recorded 23 goals and 19 assists for 69% of the team’s points, while all four sophomores made a huge jump from their freshman seasons and started every match for the team. The team had a strong offensive and defensive year, scoring 32 goals – more than the last two seasons combined – and lowering its goals against average to 1.10 to tie its best mark since 2011.
Prior to NC State, Santoro was the associate head coach at Wake Forest from 2008-2012, helping direct and coordinate all aspects of the program. In his five seasons, Wake Forest was one of the premier programs in NCAA Division I and in the Atlantic Coast Conference, achieving major firsts in the program's history including a NCAA College Cup, the No. 1 overall seed in the 2011 NCAA Tournament, the 2010 ACC Championship and a top-five recruiting class in 2010.
In 2011, the Demon Deacons earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the program's first-ever College Cup, in addition to making a return trip to the ACC Tournament final after first winning the conference title in 2010. In addition, they gave up only 20 goals all season, earning a 0.74 goals against average that ranked as the lowest in school history, and kept 14 shutouts, the second-highest total for a Wake Forest squad.
The 2011 squad reached No. 1 in the NCAA RPI rankings and peaked at No. 3 in the NSCAA poll, with both marks being the highest in school history. The team also set a school season record for wins (18), finishing with an 18-4-4 record.
In 2010, a so-called "rebuilding year" after graduating seven starters in 2009, Santoro helped the Demon Deacons win their first-ever ACC Championship and receive a final ranking of No. 8 in the Soccer America poll.
Santoro attended Catawba College in Salisbury, N.C., and was a four-year member of the men's soccer program before graduating in 1994. He helped guide Catawba to a pair of NAIA National Tournament appearances before the school moved to the Division II level for his final two seasons. He was named an honorable mention All-American as a senior.
Santoro, who hails from a New Jersey soccer family with his older brother, Mat, the head coach at Division I men's program University of Southern Indiana. Santoro lives in Raleigh with his wife, Pilar, and their two dogs: Nesta and Philly.
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