Tim Santoro was named the Head Coach on November 30, 2012, with NC State making a coaching change to a program that:
In 2022, NC State made its sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament in the Fall season, as is one of only six teams in the ACC to doo so over this time period. This follows a 2021 where NC State made its fifth straight NCAA Tournament foor the first time in almosot 30 years, and was 1 of 3 teams in the country to beat two Top 5 tems (a 2-1 win v #1 Duke and a 1-0 win v #4 North Carolina) and had a Strength of Schedule of #4 in the country.
NC State is 1 of 8 programs in the country and 1 of 4 in the ACC from 2016-21 to advance to at least the NCAA Second Round every year, with at least three of those being NCAA Sweet 16 appearances, and 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:
In 2018, Santoro led NC State’s consistency as a Top 25 ACC program with:
The 2017 season took the Wolfpack to new heights after the historic 2016 campaign:
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 them to their first ever NCAA Sweet Sixteen since the origin of the 64-team tournament. The program concluded the 2016 season ranked in the national polls: #23 in TopDrawerSoccer poll and #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 #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, #4 North Carolina, #15 Minnesota and #22 Pepperdine. Overall, the Pack holds seven results against teams that were ranked or receiving votes.The NCAA Tournament wins v 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 #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 17th 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-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 percent of the team’s points, while all four sophomores made a huge jump from their freshman season 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 to 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-5 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 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.
After serving as the Director of Goalkeeping for the 2017 season, Kim Kern was elevated to Director of Operations for the NC State Women's Soccer program. The 2022 campaign marked her fifth season as Director odf Operations.
Her position includes organizing in-season travel and team nutrition, as well as assisting with the organization of NC State's recruiting and helping out with summer camps and budgeting.
"Elevating Kim to our Director of Operations position gives her great stability and is a logical step for the program since she's been so entrenched in NC State. I'm thrilled we were able to keep her with us since she knows this program as well as anybody," said head coach Tim Santoro.
Kern served both as an assistant coach and Director of Operations for the program from 2012-2015 before stepping down from her position to pursue a professional career with Oulu Nice of the Finnish First Division.
The Raleigh, N.C., native graduated from NC State in May 2012 with a degree in sport management. She was a four-year starting goalkeeper, making 66 career starts in net, including 57 out of 58 games her final three seasons. Kern's 324 career saves rank third-best in school history, while her 1.29 goals-against-average and 15 shutouts rank fifth and sixth, respectively.
She was a two-time ACC All-Academic Team member and earned Academic All-District First Team honors during her junior season.
NC State women’s soccer head coach Tim Santoro announced the addition of Sebastian Vecchio to the Wolfpack coaching staff on May 26, 2023.
Vecchio, most recently head coach at Cal State Bakersfield, will serve as the Wolfpack's associate head coach.
"Bringing Seb to NC State gives us a new voice and brings energy, work ethic and recruiting ability," head coach Tim Santoro said. "There's a responsibility to keep the program progressing within the changing landscape at NC State and the NCAA, so adding more Division I head coaching experience was a priority. It's great to get Seb to Raleigh after an unsuccessful attempt during my last search.
"Since 2016, NC State is one of 11 teams in the country to make the postseason every fall and advance to the Sweet Sixteen at least three times. But despite that success, you can't be stagnant, you must continue to evolve. Seb will play a big part to help with this."
Vecchio became the fifth head coach of Cal State Bakersfield in 2018, boasting the highest winning percentage of any Roadrunners' coach at the Division I level. The program's nine wins in 2019 is the highest number of wins in a season at the Division I level.
Vecchio was an assistant coach at TCU from 2016-17. Prior to coaching at TCU, Vecchio made stops at Vanderbilt, Rice and Memphis. He brings 19 years of coaching experience to Raleigh, including five appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Vecchio played a prominent role in bringing top-25 recruiting classes to each of his assistant coaching stops.
As a player, Vecchio started for two seasons at Memphis after transferring from Mid-Continent College in Kentucky. In 2004, he allowed just 12 goals in over 1,500 minutes of action, posting a school record of 0.69 goals-against average. He was later named the 2004 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and a First Team All-Conference USA recipient. Vecchio finished his career at Memphis with a school record 1.02 goals-against average and produced 21 wins in two seasons.
Vecchio obtained a bachelor's degree in marketing from Memphis in 2005 and a bachelor's degree in sports and leisure management in 2008.
Vecchio will be joined in Raleigh with his wife, Rachel, and his two sons, Luca and Nico.
NC State women’s soccer head coach Tim Santoro announced the addition of Maddy Haro to the Wolfpack coaching staff on March 10, 2023.
Haro, who most recently served as an assistant coach at Loyola Chicago in 2022, will be named to the same role at NC State.
“I’m excited to finally get Maddy to Raleigh,” Santoro said. “The coaching and playing experience she brings to the program, combined with her energy, work ethic and recruiting connections are needed additions.
“My responsibility is to keep NC State progressing within the changing landscape of college soccer, and after looking at the entirety of the program over the last few years, Maddy brings attributes that will allow us to continue to evolve. I first got to know her during her recruiting process as a player 10 years ago, so to go full circle and connect now is ironic but fun.”
Haro, a standout player at Washington State from 2015-19, arrived for Loyola Chicago’s inaugural season in the Atlantic 10 in 2022 after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at The Texas Woman’s University.
In 2021, she helped guide the Pioneers to a 12-5-2 finish that included a 9-4-0 mark in Lone Star Conference (LSC) play. Six members of the team were named All-LSC honorees, led by two Second Team All-South Central Region selections by United Soccer Coaches.
The Corona, California native appeared in 76 games during her time at Washington State, starting in 44 contests. She dished out a single-season program-record 15 assists during her senior year en route to being named Second Team All-Pac-12 and United Soccer Coaches All-West Region selections. Haro closed her career second all-time in assists in the Cougar record book, in addition to scoring nine goals.
Following graduation in 2019, the double major in journalism and multimedia production and public relations served as an analyst for the Pac-12 Network while also coaching with her hometown club, Legends FC.
Justin Bryant was named Director of Goalkeeping for the NC State women’s soccer program by head coach Tim Santoro on July 23, 2018.
The 2022 season marked the fifth year of his second stint with the Wolfpack, as he served as Director of Goalkeeping from 2013-15 prior to spending the last year as an assistant coach at UNC Wilmington.
“Justin is as good of a goalkeeping coach as there is and it was a priority to get him back to NC State,” said Santoro upon Bryant's hiring. “He was a part of the rebuild when I got here and now he’ll be a big part of us taking the next step in the ACC and nationally. He’s immersed in the keeper position from his playing days, his coaching and his writing and media background. Our group will learn a lot from him and improve.”
Through his five seasons on staff, NC State advanced to the NCAA Tournament every fall, and reached the Sweet Sixteen in back-to-back seasons (2018 and '19).
In his first season, Bryant guided standout Sydney Wootten to a 1.17 goals-against average and 11 wins, including seven shutouts. Wootten played every minute in goal during the 2018 season and finished among the top five all-time in career saves (302, 5th), shutouts (24, T3rd) and GAA (1.27, 5th), becoming the first GK to do so since 1993. She additionally finished top eight all-time with 104 saves and her seven shutouts in the 2018 season.
In 2019, Bryant helped junior Jessica Berlin compile a .95 goals-against average in her first season of action with the Wolfpack. Her average is the seventh-lowest for a single season in program history. Berlin additionally tallied 5.5 shutouts and a .759 save percentage in goal.
In the 2021 spring season, He saw freshman Maria Echezarreta post a .63 goals-against average and five wins, including three shutouts, in nine matches. In Echezarreta's first fall season in Raleigh (2021), Bryant saw her post a 1.07 goals-against average, 5.5 shutouts and 76 saves to rank top three among all freshmen in NC State program history as well as top six among the ACC in those categories.
A 2001 graduate of Elon, Bryant also spent eight years as an assistant coach with the Phoenix from 1997-2005, helping the program capture the Big South Conference championship in 1999. He also coached goalkeepers for the North Carolina Olympic Development Program during that time.
The Melbourne, Fla., native started his coaching career at Radford, where he served as an assistant coach for the women’s team from 1991-93. He moved on to Queens College in 1994 where he worked as an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s programs.
A three-year starter in goal at Radford University, Bryant led the Highlanders to the 1986 Big South Conference Championship game, and ranks third all-time in career saves (229).
Among the first Americans to play overseas, Bryant made his debut in goal for Borehamwood FC of England's National League on March 12, 1988. He signed a professional contract with the Orlando Lions of the American Soccer League in September 1988, spent the following season with Dunfermline Athletic of the Scottish Premier Division, and rejoined Borehamwood for the 1990-91 season.
He finished his playing career by leading the Cocoa Expos to the 1995 USISL Championship game, having won all twenty-two of his starts in goal.