Wake Forest Men’s Soccer (2-2-3, 0-0-1 ACC) had a non-conference test against No. 10 Elon (6-0-1) on Sept. 17 at Spry Stadium. It was the Demon Deacons’ toughest test so far, and just the second match of their season against a ranked opponent. The Demon Deacons were able to get a draw against then-No. 21 UCF earlier in the season, and were looking to impress again against Elon.
The match started in similar fashion to the previous match against Virginia, where the Demon Deacons came out slow and found themselves trailing after just eight minutes.
“The goal was catastrophic,” Head Coach Bobby Muuss said, commenting on Elon’s opening goal. Once again, the Demon Deacons had been caught on the counterattack early in the match and would face an uphill battle against a team that was happy to sit all eleven players behind the ball.
Despite falling behind, Wake Forest would go on to dominate the match. Junior Cooper Flax threatened the Elon goal with a freekick that required a fingertip save in the 18th minute. Senior Babacar “Baba” Niang had a good opportunity to score a few minutes later but was denied by the Elon goalkeeper courtesy of a diving save. Despite having 64% of possession and 10 shots (5 on target), Wake Forest could not find an equalizer heading into the second half.
The Demon Deacons began the second half with a flurry of corner kicks, keeping the pressure on the Elon defense. At the 72nd-minute mark, Flax was presented with a great chance to score, but he could not convert the chipped pass into a goal and forced the Elon goalkeeper into yet another impressive save.
However, the Demon Deacons would finally break down the Elon defense courtesy of Niang, finishing off a great cross from junior Basit Umar. This goal had been coming, and Wake Forest was deservedly level. The Wake Forest attack would continue to press for a winner, but saw their late-game chances gone begging.
“If you take out the goal in transition, where we turn the ball over, it was a pretty good performance,” Muuss concluded.
The Demon Deacons dominated the box score in yet another draw, outshooting Elon 29 to 9, forcing 14 saves and leading corner kicks by 11 to 1. Wake Forest also had 75% possession in the match.
Muuss expressed frustration about the lack of clinical finishing holding this team back: “We’ve got to do better in front of goal […]. We [have] got to win games.”
Regardless, a draw against a top-ten-ranked opponent is a great result, and the dominance Wake Forest showed on the pitch deserved a win. There is real momentum being built by this team, and while the results still are not exactly where they need to be, the team is improving.
“Each week we’re getting better,” Muuss added.
Next up for Wake Forest Men’s Soccer is an even tougher test. The Demon Deacons will travel to Historic Riggs Field to take on No. 4 Clemson. The match is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff, tonight.
