Saturday, October 20
Charlottesville, Va.
1:00 PM
Wake Forest University
15-1, 6-1ACC
3
at
2
Virginia
9-2-2, 3-2-1ACC
1
2
F
Wake Forest
1
2
3
Virginia
0
2
2
No. 1 Wake Forest Clinches ACC Atlantic by Beating No. 6 UVA
10/20/2018 3:41:00 PM | Men's Soccer
The Demon Deacons sealed a fourth-straight ACC Atlantic Division crown with a thrilling 3-2 victory on the road.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- No. 1 Wake Forest locked up its fourth-straight ACC Atlantic Division crown with a thrilling 3-2 victory over No. 6 Virginia at Klockner Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
The game was a back-and-forth affair, with the Demon Deacons (15-1-0, 6-1-0 ACC) jumping out to a 1-0 lead. The Cavaliers (9-2-2, 3-2-1 ACC) responded with back-to-back goals in the second half, but Wake Forest answered with two goals in less than two minutes to regain the lead and eventually earn the trophy.
"I couldn't be more proud of the effort and resilience of this group today," head coach Bobby Muuss said. "UVA is a great team and a team which doesn't concede many goals. To come back on the road in this conference — never mind against Virginia — is an incredible accomplishment. We have so much to get better at if we want to reach our goals, but I am more than proud today."
Virginia entered the game having only allowed six goals through its first 12 games, allowing multiple goals in a game just once in a 2-0 loss to Duke.
Wake Forest struck early on a Machop Chol goal in the 14th minute. Omir Fernandez swiped the ball away from a defender and put a shot on target. UVA keeper Colin Shutler made the initial save, but Chol was there to tap in the rebound to put the Deacs on the board.
The game then settled down for the next 50 minutes of action before a flurry in which four goals were scored in less than 15 minutes.
In the 63rd minute, Irakoze Donasiyano scored the equalizer for the Cavaliers with an upper-90 far-post finish. UVA took the lead in the 74th minute, when Daniel Steedman was left open inside the 6-yard box and executed a bicycle kick off a corner kick.
Senior Logan Gdula picked an opportune time to score his first goal of the season. In the 77th minute, Aristotle Zarris found Gdula open inside the box, and Gdula chipped it over Shutler's head but under the crossbar to knot the score at 2-2.
Justin McMaster netted the game-winner less than two minutes later. He beat two Virginia defenders to a loose ball, and after his initial shot was saved, beat the keeper on the rebound for his fifth goal of 2018.
Dominic Peters made his first-career start in between the posts and made three saves to earn the victory.
Wake Forest will look to lock up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ACC Championship in the regular-season finale on Friday, when the Deacs play host to No. 10 Louisville at 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra. The Deacs have a half-game lead on North Carolina (11-2-1, 5-1-0 ACC) for the top seed, while the Tar Heels still have two ACC games remaining against Duke and Virginia. The Deacs currently hold the tiebreaker of goal differential in ACC play heading into the final week.
The game was a back-and-forth affair, with the Demon Deacons (15-1-0, 6-1-0 ACC) jumping out to a 1-0 lead. The Cavaliers (9-2-2, 3-2-1 ACC) responded with back-to-back goals in the second half, but Wake Forest answered with two goals in less than two minutes to regain the lead and eventually earn the trophy.
"I couldn't be more proud of the effort and resilience of this group today," head coach Bobby Muuss said. "UVA is a great team and a team which doesn't concede many goals. To come back on the road in this conference — never mind against Virginia — is an incredible accomplishment. We have so much to get better at if we want to reach our goals, but I am more than proud today."
Virginia entered the game having only allowed six goals through its first 12 games, allowing multiple goals in a game just once in a 2-0 loss to Duke.
Wake Forest struck early on a Machop Chol goal in the 14th minute. Omir Fernandez swiped the ball away from a defender and put a shot on target. UVA keeper Colin Shutler made the initial save, but Chol was there to tap in the rebound to put the Deacs on the board.
The game then settled down for the next 50 minutes of action before a flurry in which four goals were scored in less than 15 minutes.
In the 63rd minute, Irakoze Donasiyano scored the equalizer for the Cavaliers with an upper-90 far-post finish. UVA took the lead in the 74th minute, when Daniel Steedman was left open inside the 6-yard box and executed a bicycle kick off a corner kick.
Senior Logan Gdula picked an opportune time to score his first goal of the season. In the 77th minute, Aristotle Zarris found Gdula open inside the box, and Gdula chipped it over Shutler's head but under the crossbar to knot the score at 2-2.
Justin McMaster netted the game-winner less than two minutes later. He beat two Virginia defenders to a loose ball, and after his initial shot was saved, beat the keeper on the rebound for his fifth goal of 2018.
Dominic Peters made his first-career start in between the posts and made three saves to earn the victory.
Wake Forest will look to lock up the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ACC Championship in the regular-season finale on Friday, when the Deacs play host to No. 10 Louisville at 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra. The Deacs have a half-game lead on North Carolina (11-2-1, 5-1-0 ACC) for the top seed, while the Tar Heels still have two ACC games remaining against Duke and Virginia. The Deacs currently hold the tiebreaker of goal differential in ACC play heading into the final week.
Team Stats
WF
VA
Goals
3
2
Shots
13
12
Shots on Goal
7
5
Saves
3
4
Corners
0
3
Fouls
14
23
Scoring Plays
Machop Chol (4)
Assisted By: Omir Fernandez
GOAL by WF Machop Chol (FIRST GOAL), Assist by Omir Fernandez, goal number 4 for season.
13:31
Irakoze Donasiyano (1)
GOAL by VA Irakoze Donasiyano, goal number 1 for season.
63:18
Daniel Steedman (2)
Assisted By: Joe Bell , Cabrel Happi Kamseu
GOAL by VA Daniel Steedman, Assist by Joe Bell and Cabrel Happi Kamseu, goal number 2 for season.
72:49
Logan Gdula (1)
Assisted By: Aristotle Zarris
GOAL by WF Logan Gdula, Assist by Aristotle Zarris, goal number 1 for season.
76:04
Justin McMaster (5)
GOAL by WF Justin McMaster, goal number 5 for season.
77:41
Game Leaders
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
4
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Players Mentioned
Midfielder/Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's SoccerDefender
/ Men's SoccerMidfielder/Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's SoccerMidfielder
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