One touch of the ball can make history.
After an intense, back-and-forth match between No. 5 Wake Forest men’s soccer and the No. 2 Clemson Tigers, the Demon Deacons prevailed in penalty kicks, winning the 2024 ACC Men’s Soccer Final, 1-1 (7-6).
Clemson earned the lead early. In the 20th minute, a corner kick curled in from freshman Ransford Gyan and met the head of fellow freshman teammate Wahabu Musah, whose shot was deflected by Demon Deacon senior goalkeeper Trace Alphin. To Clemson’s benefit, the deflection found fellow Tiger Lukas Magneson at the far post, who tapped the ball in for the opening goal.
The Demon Deacons weren’t discouraged whatsoever. After many chances came over the next twenty minutes, sophomore Jeffrey White found an open space in the Tigers’ defense and laced a through ball towards redshirt sophomore winger Nico Rabiu. Rabiu made the most of the one-on-one chance with Tigers goalkeeper Patrick Donovan, and slotted the ball towards the far bottom corner for an equalizing goal.
“We know [Rabiu] has that ability, we see it every day,” Wake Forest Head Coach Bobby Muuss said. “It was a deserving equalizer.”
In the second half, possession traded often between the two teams. No shots on net were registered throughout the first 35 minutes of play of the second half, despite many opportunities for both teams.
The Tigers continued their chances in the last ten minutes, including a breakaway opportunity by graduate student Alex Meinhard along the left wing. It seemed to be a one-on-one opportunity against Alphin, but senior defender Ryan Fessler used a perfectly-timed slide tackle to block any opportunity from Meinhard.
“We don’t win this championship without [Fessler’s] block,” ACC Men’s Tournament Most Valuable Player Prince Amponsah said. “What a block by him.”
Afterwards, the rebound off of Fessler fell right into the feet of Musah, who tried to beat Alphin to the bottom right corner of the net, but Alphin made a kick save to put the chance away.
“[Alphin] always makes the big saves when we need him to,” Amponsah said.
Tension built as the second half ticked down, with goal-scoring chances for Wake Forest’s Julian Kennedy and Clemson’s Meinhard each going wide of the net. When the clock hit zero, the two teams reset for two golden-goal overtime periods.
Despite a header chance for Clemson’s Mason Jimenez and a well-placed cross from Wake Forest’s Colin Thomas, neither connected enough to score a winning goal for either team in the first overtime period.
The same can be said for the second overtime period, too, as both teams squandered goal-scoring chances. The Tigers’ Remi Okunlola crossed from the right wing towards Gyan, and the Ghanaian connected with the ball but missed just over the crossbar. Kennedy also received a through ball from fellow Demon Deacon Basit Umar, but missed wide left — one of his six shots on the day. Eventually, the clock hit zero yet again, and the two teams were destined for penalties.
After the first three penalties converted for each team, both teams found their shooters faltering, with Umar and Titus Sandy Jr. each missing their opportunities.
Each of the teams continued to convert all of their chances in the next three rounds. Wake Forest’s Jose Perez then stepped up and slotted a ball into the bottom left corner, and put pressure on Clemson’s Samir Dishnica.
Dishnica only appeared in three games the entirety of the Tigers season, and hadn’t appeared earlier on in the day. On his first touch of the game, Dishnica sent the ball skying over the crossbar, rewarding the Demon Deacons with their first ACC Tournament championship since 2017.
“I didn’t even look at the last penalty,” Muuss said of his reaction to Dishnica’s shot. “I just put my head down and listened to the crowd.”
So, after an uncharacteristic 2-2-3 start to the season, the Demon Deacons find themselves playing their best football at the most important time: the postseason.
“This [championship team] is so special,” Muuss said. “With the adversity and the resiliency, I’ve never seen a team like it.”
After clinching an automatic berth into the 2024 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament, the Demon Deacons were deemed the No. 8 seed nationally and earned a first round bye. But for players like Amponsah, the feeling of lifting the conference trophy is not enough.
“This feeling feels amazing,” Amponsah said. “But I wonder, what would the feeling of hoisting the national one feel like? That’s the goal, and that’s what we want to do right now.”
The Demon Deacons will face the winner of LIU and Maryland at Spry Stadium this coming Sunday at 6 p.m.
