Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Athletic Communications
Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Athletic Communications

Soccer: Deacons rally past Irish

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons continued their domination and showcased why they’re ranked No. 2 in the nation Oct. 23 against No. 4 Notre Dame with a 2-1 win.

Also during this week, the men’s soccer team faced off against Davidson in a confident 4-0 victory. These two games were the last two regular season home games, and Wake Forest is 13-1-2 with one game left to play in the season.

Against Notre Dame, just shy of four thousand fans came out to Spry Stadium on a warm fall night.

The game was a hotly contested one from the start, and in the 14th minute, Notre Dame got the upper hand.

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The Demon Deacons lost a battle, but not the war and their mental veracity shone during the rest of the first half as they peppered Notre Dame goalkeeper with seven shots, but only forced him to make one save.

Five minutes into the second half, Wake Forest turned the tide on Notre Dame with Jack Harrison’s fifth goal of the season, assisted by Steven Echevarria.

The boys in black didn’t stop at that, though, and continued to pressure Notre Dame.

The Demon Deacons couldn’t break through the Notre Dame defense again until the 87th minute, when a low cross right across goal from Ricky Greensfelder fell to Jon Bakero, who slotted it home in an inspiring fashion as the crowd erupted.

The Demon Deacons held on to that lead, and Spry Stadium erupted with cheer.

The Wake Forest men continued their form against Davidson by scoring fast and scoring early.

Although there was a small crowd on the cold and rainy Tuesday night, 749 people still found their way into the stands.

The first goal came in the fourth minute as Jack Harrison played Jon Bakero through the defense, who calmly slotted it home. The second goal came from a save off of Jack Harrison’s shot, when the ball fell to the feet of Hayden Partain during the 13th minute.

The highlight of the game was Jack Harrison’s goal in the 20th minute when he cut inside, fooling two Davidson defenders during the process, and curled a left footed shot into the far upper 90.

Wake Forest began resting legs at this point in anticipation for the Friday game against University of Louisville and many younger players came out and impressed.

In the 65th minute, Tane Gent scored from a low cross by Ricky Greensfelder who was also assisted by Jon Bakero. The last home game of the season ended 4-0, and the Demon Deacons were very pleased.

The Demon Deacons will head into the ACC playoffs with a very strong team, with deep coverage in all positions, which will be crucial due to the high number of potential games in the coming month.

With the ability to win the ACC regular season or to fall as far as third, the ACC faceoff Friday night versus Louisville, on the road, will be one of the toughest of the season.

Tune in and support the Deacons as they continue their spectacular season.

The game will be televised on ESPN3 (Online) on Oct. 30, at 7 p.m.

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