So Good to Be Back: A Season In Review
12/1/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Dec. 1, 2011
The Year in Photos | Match-By-Match
| Season Statistics (.pdf)
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - One year after fielding one of the youngest rosters in the country, the Wake Forest men's soccer team again took to the pitch without a single senior on roster in 2011. Showing resilience and maturity throughout the season, the youthful Demon Deacons battled their way back to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in 11 seasons.
By the end of the year, Wake Forest had much to crow about. The Deacs boasted road results against back-to-back top-10 opponents and closed out the regular season on a 6-2-3 roll. Wake also beat a top-25 ranked Virginia side for the second straight season and secured its sixth consecutive winning season in the perennially elite ACC.
Overall, the Deacs polished off the year 8-8-5 (4-3-1 ACC) and proved they are growing up in a hurry.
Four players earned All-ACC honors from the conference office, and not one of them has hit their junior season yet. Sophomore midfielder Jared Watts collected First Team All-ACC honors after being named to the All-ACC Freshman Team a year ago, while both Teddy Mullin and Sean Okoli garnered all-rookie nods. Sophomore Luca Gimenez also became the first Deac voted to the All-ACC Tournament Team since Zach Schilawski and Andy Lubahn made the squad in 2009.
After closing out the season with a pair of draws in two of the hardest places to play in the country (at Maryland, Akron), Wake Forest was selected to the NCAA Tournament field for the 15th time in program history.
Hitting the road for the first round of the NCAA Tournament for just the second time ever to face South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., sophomore Ross Tomaselli tallied in his NCAA Tourney debut as the Deacons battled all the way to PKs. In a dramatic finish, junior goalkeeper Michael Lisch made three crucial stops as Wake advanced, 4-3, with Mullin nailing the match-clinching kick.
Head coach Jay Vidovich's side saw their tournament run came to an end with a 2-0 setback in the second round against James Madison University, but 11 different Deacs gained postseason experience for the first time - a stat that will no doubt pay dividends in seasons to come.
Early Challenges
Early in the season, Wake Forest challenged itself with back-to-back matches against teams that would eventually advance to this year's NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. On Aug. 27, South Florida came to town unranked (they are now 12th), but handed the Deacs a 2-0 defeat in front of the 10th largest crowd in Spry Stadium history (4,123). It was also the Deacs' first-ever loss in the August heat, as they fell to 13-1-1 all-time in the eighth month of the year.
In the season's second match, Wake faced off with a battle-tested Louisville side fresh off a runner-up showing in the 2010 NCAA Championship match. The Deacs battled then-No. 1 Louisville and held them off the scoreboard for 64-plus minutes before a late breakthrough cost them in a second straight 2-0 defeat.
Match three saw the Deacons go to double overtime for the first of what would be a program record six times by season's end. Taking on the Beavers for the first time in school history, junior goalkeeper Michael Lisch recorded his first career clean sheet as the Deacs ripped off 20 shots in a scoreless draw.
The Goals Arrive
Wake's offense awoke in match four, as sophomore Tolani Ibikunle scored his first career goal to end a rare four match scoreless streak for the Deacons. Junior Sean Randolph would tack on the game-winning goal in the second half to send the Demon Deacons to a 2-1 victory in their ACC opener - extending an 11 match unbeaten streak against the Tigers going back to 2002. Mullin also made an impact, recording his first career assist in the match.
With a chance to even their season record against Cleveland State - another first time opponent - the Deacons did just that in a 2-1 win. Juniors Ben Newnam and Andy Lubahn both tallied for the first time against the Vikings, helping the Deacs improve to a perfect 3-0 all-time against the Horizon League.
Sitting at 2-2-1 overall, the Deacs found themselves facing off with another team that spent time in the top spot in the NSCAA Coaches Poll during the 2011 season as UNC came to Spry. The Tar Heels escaped with a narrow 1-0 victory in a tightly contested match before the year's second biggest crowd (4,062).
Back-to-Back-to-Back
After falling at Duke, Wake would whip together three straight wins at Spry over Winthrop, Davidson and Virginia Tech.
Gimenez tallied for the first of his eventual team-high six goals versus Winthrop, nailing the game-winner in the 70th minute. The Deacons then dropped four second half goals to down Davidson on Sept. 28 as Lubahn put together his 17th career multi-point match with a goal and two assists.
Against VT, in the fourth annual Genna Wiley Memorial Match, Watts played the hero in double overtime and scored a golden goal with just 18 seconds left on the clock. It was the first goal of the sophomore's career and the latest OT goal for WFU in the current 20 minute overtime configuration. The Deacs extended their unbeaten streak to 12 against the Hokies dating back to 1997 and held VT to just three shots in a stout defensive effort.
Back-to-back road tilts followed, which saw Wake fall to then-No. 16 Boston College for the first time since 2007 and fight to a scoreless draw at College of Charleston in the Fox Soccer Channel College Game of the Week. Gimenez was named KFC Player of the Game in the Deacs' first national television appearance since the 2009 College Cup.
Finishing Strong
Returning to Spry to host No. 25 Virginia, Wake Forest exploded for four goals - the Deacons' highest-ever scoring output against the Hoos - as they defeated a ranked UVa side for the second straight year. Okoli recorded his first career point in the match, assisting on Lubahn's game-winner in the 88th minute.
After a 2-0 home loss to Elon, Okoli would catch fire for the next four matches and supplied goals in each to cap a strong rookie season.
On Oct. 22, the Deacons found the back of the net with regularity in a 5-2 road triumph over NC State, including first career tallies for both Mullin and Okoli. Gimenez also supplied two scores for his first career multi-goal match. It was Wake's most goals in a match since Oct. 9, 2009 as they beat the Wolfpack for the 18th time in their past 20 matches.
Closing out their home schedule, the Deacs came back to Spry to face William & Mary in a critical contest and squeaked out a 1-0 win on Okoli's game-winner in the 81st minute. The win improved the Deacons to 8-6-2 with two matches to go and guaranteed the Deacons a .500 record.
The Deacons would close out the regular season with two of the past three NCAA National Champions, facing No. 7 Akron on Cub Cadet Field and No. 4 Maryland at Ludwig Field - two of the hardest places to play in the country.
Wake Forest emerged from a 2-2 double overtime battle with the Zips as just the fourth team to earn a result on Akron's Cub Cadet Field since 2008 and came right back to draw, 1-1, with the Terps five days later. Okoli equalized in the 50th minute on a beautiful, long-range goal and Lisch made an ACC-high 13 saves to help the Deacons to their second result at Ludwig since 2008.
In the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals, the Deacs would face a rematch with UVa and were forced to travel to Charlottesville, Va. despite finishing in a three-way tie for third-place in the ACC and defeating the Hoos in the regular season. Wake led early, 1-0, before a three goal rally looked to all but seal the match for Virginia. Gimenez stepped up in the second half with two goals in a 1:13 span to force overtime, but UVa would eventually collect the win with just 20 seconds remaining in double OT.
