A tendency for many freshmen coming to college is to look for familiar faces while acclimating to the new culture and freedom that being a student at a university provides. Similarly, athletes must adjust to the different playing styles of new teammates and increased speed at the college level. However, Four local soccer products made that transition smoothly, and brought nearly ten years of experience playing together to the Pack when they enrolled at N.C. State.    Redshirt junior goalkeeper Will Mackvick, junior forward Watt Williams, senior defenders Tyler Lassiter and Lucas Carpenter know each other well, to say the least.  The four of them have learned from each other since playing on the 1988 CASL Elite squad.   “Playing with [Williams, Carpenter, and Mackvick] is something that I’ve done for so long now,” Lassiter said.  ”I know exactly what they’re going to do, and they know what I’m going to do.  We know each others tendencies and it helps us playing together when we really understand each other as well as we do.”   Each player has his own style, but they have learned from one another over the years and know how to win.  The four teammates helped lead the ’88 CASL Elite to USYSA National Championship in 2003 as well as multiple state and regional championships. Macvick and Williams were also high school teammates at local Broughton High School, where they won the 2006 NCHSAA 4-A state championship together.    This winning attitude is something that they have tried to infuse into the current Pack team.   “I feel like we have all contributed to the team,” Lassiter said.  ”We all know what we believe the team should play like because we have all played together and won together on different levels.  We all try to work together to get the team to where everyone wants to be.”   Carpenter has been a leader on the defensive side for much of the year, as he was named a captain at the beginning of the year.  However, an injury to his leg, which required surgery, has sidelined him for a number of games.  Therefore, other seniors, such as Lassiter, have stepped up to help the Pack.   “Whenever you lose a senior like Lucas [Carpenter] everyone has to step up,” senior forward Chris Zuerner said.  ”But the senior leadership that Tyler [Lassiter] exhibits has really helped the team. His offensive and defensive presence has really helped us get to where we are.”   With Mackvick, Lassiter, and Carpenter playing mostly on the defensive side of the ball, they have a sense of playing for each other.  Lassiter and Carpenter try to make life easier for friend and goalkeeper Mackvick.   “Will [Mackvick] being my goalie makes me want to work harder,” Lassiter said.  ”He’s not just my keeper, he’s like a brother to me.  I’ve known him my whole life so I don’t want the ball getting past me and getting to him.”   However, after the Pack was limited offensively in several games, coach George Tarantini moved Lassiter into more of an attacking role.  When this happened, he was able to learn from one of his longtime friends about what aspects of his game needed improvement.   “We all learn from each other,” Lassiter said.  ”For example, Watt [Williams] really helped me out when I made the change to offense.  He really knows the game well and helped me out when I made the switch.  Playing together everyday before coming to State has helped us all to play the game better.”   Not only have the four players shared memories on the soccer field, but they know each other on a personal level from the many years playing together. While each one of the players is used to each other’s tendencies and abilities, Lassiter realizes that playing together for this long is rare and something he cherishes.   “Not a lot of kids get the chance to play with their teammates all the way through college,” Lassiter said.  ”I feel like it’s something really special.  We all have the same memories of hours in hotels playing video games with each other and having some good times even when we weren’t playing soccer.”