Wake Forest Men’s Soccer (2-2-2, 0-0-1 ACC) opened Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play against the Virginia Cavaliers (2-2-2, 0-0-1 ACC) this past Friday evening. After a mediocre start to their season, it was important for the Demon Deacons to come out ready to play against a conference opponent.
The match began with Virginia on the front foot, having two shots blocked before converting the third effort and taking the lead in just the sixth minute.
“Really disappointed to go down a goal when we did,” Head Coach Bobby Muuss said after the game. “[I] give Virginia a lot of credit. I think they came out and wanted it more than us.”
Virginia would continue to press the Wake Forest defense and was awarded a penalty kick in the 34th minute. Luckily for Wake Forest, senior goalkeeper Trace Alpin dove to his right and saved the shot, keeping the Cavaliers’ lead at just a goal.
“I think that [save] was a big momentum boost,” Coach Muuss added. “[Alpin] also made an incredible save late in the first half that I thought kept us alive.”
Despite being on the back foot for much of the opening 45 minutes, the Demon Deacons began to grow into the game. The Wake Forest attack created a couple of good chances to score at the end of the first half, including a shot from inside the box, courtesy of senior Colin Thomas, that sailed over the crossbar.
To start the second half, Wake Forest picked up right where they left off. Sophomore Jeff White had his shot saved by the Virginia goalkeeper Joey Batrouni, as did Junior Cooper Flax minutes later.
Coach Muuss had high praise for Batrouni leading Virginia’s defense, explaining he “[gives] their goalkeeper credit — he had six saves. He made a big time save, and it took a really good goal to tie the game.”
That tying goal was scored by Flax, who powered a direct freekick onto the post and into the back of the net. With 20 minutes left, Wake Forest pressed on for a winning goal, but was unable to find it. The draw earned the Demon Deacons a point for the ACC standings, which is a positive result against a strong Virginia team.
“I thought it was a really good college soccer game,” Coach Muuss concluded. “Both teams worked hard and tried to set up what they wanted to do in the match.”
Muuss celebrated his team’s effort after the match: “Obviously we’re disappointed we didn’t get three points, but I’m proud of the way the guys responded … and I’m really proud of the brand of football I think that we showcased here tonight.”
