Sunday, December 1
Winston-Salem, N.C.
5:00 PM
Wake Forest University
vs
Michigan
Photo by: Brian Westerholt/Sports On Film
No. 4 Deacs Ready for Challenge Against No. 13 Michigan
12/1/2019 9:09:00 AM | Men's Soccer, Les Johns
Wake Forest takes on the Wolverines on Sunday evening at 5 p.m.
It's become a yearly tradition for Wake Forest soccer — advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and then spend Thanksgiving together as a team. They've done it now for five straight seasons.
The Deacs knocked off one stingy team last week to advance, defeating Maryland 3-0 at Spry Stadium in the second round.
The No. 4 seeded Demon Deacons (14-4-2) will now host No. 13 seed Michigan (11-4-6) at 5 p.m. tonight at Spry Stadium, with the winner advancing to the Elite Eight, just one win away from the College Cup.
The Wolverines haven't allowed a goal in each of their last three games, with the second round advancement over Wright State being decided by penalty kicks.
"They have a wealth of experience," Wake Forest coach Bobby Muuss said. "They have a very talented front four, with the wings and the two forwards. Then they are more than capable and stingy with the back four. They defend well and get forward well. They have a pretty balanced team.
"They're bought in and experienced. They play extremely hard, which is something we're going to have to replicate with our ball movement and movement without the ball. We're going to have to see if we can get them off balance and get behind them."
Perhaps the three-goal performance in the second round win over Maryland bodes well for the Deacs. The Terrapins had 11 shutouts on the season, and had a seven-shutout NCAA streak before allowing a trio of Demon Deacon goals.
"It was a good, collective performance," Muuss said. "I felt there was good energy and we learned a lot. I feel like the guys trained hard for the 10 days leading into that game. We tried to challenge them and tried to make training really difficult, so that the game becomes easier than training.
"I think they were prepared, knew what to expect and executed. I hope that carries over to our preparation this week. We have just a few sessions to get ready to Michigan and want to make the most of it."
Wake has lost 80 games this season from starters or likely starters, recently losing both Justin McMaster and Aristotle Zarris to injury.
"These are not easy things to overcome, but the guys keep grinding away," Muuss said. "We just roll with it. It's next man up. We've had a lot of adversity in terms of injuries this season. It's incredible to be where we are at this time of the season.
"We're getting better. We were excited about the result and the performance over long periods of time against Maryland. The guys are working hard, they're hungry and humble. They want to get better and want to do things together. I know we're capable of playing even better than we did against Maryland, and if we can do that then we'd definitely be hitting our stride at the right time."
A top-four seed for the Deacs was critical, as it gave them the advantage of playing every early-round game at Spry Stadium on their way to a potential College Cup appearance. On top of that, the College Cup takes place in nearby Cary, N.C., at WakeMed Soccer Park on Dec. 13-15.
"It's everything to us," Muuss said about hosting tournament games at Spry. "We were very disappointed with the result against Virginia, knowing our top-four seed could be at risk. We felt good about five-through-seven, which still would have put us here for this round. But we knew the four (seed) would give us the best opportunity to play at Spry for the entirety."
The Deacon Walk will take place at 3:50 p.m., with the "I'm A Fan" Zone opening on the practice fields next to Spry at 4 p.m. Team introductions begin at 4:50, with the match starting at 5 p.m.
"That's our home field advantage and our 12th man," Muuss said. "To not have to travel and be here for the holiday and keep a little bit of tradition that we've been able to have, playing in our fifth-straight Sweet 16 is special. The way the community normally comes out for this game has been incredible, and hopefully they do that again."
The Deacs knocked off one stingy team last week to advance, defeating Maryland 3-0 at Spry Stadium in the second round.
The No. 4 seeded Demon Deacons (14-4-2) will now host No. 13 seed Michigan (11-4-6) at 5 p.m. tonight at Spry Stadium, with the winner advancing to the Elite Eight, just one win away from the College Cup.
The Wolverines haven't allowed a goal in each of their last three games, with the second round advancement over Wright State being decided by penalty kicks.
"They have a wealth of experience," Wake Forest coach Bobby Muuss said. "They have a very talented front four, with the wings and the two forwards. Then they are more than capable and stingy with the back four. They defend well and get forward well. They have a pretty balanced team.
"They're bought in and experienced. They play extremely hard, which is something we're going to have to replicate with our ball movement and movement without the ball. We're going to have to see if we can get them off balance and get behind them."
Perhaps the three-goal performance in the second round win over Maryland bodes well for the Deacs. The Terrapins had 11 shutouts on the season, and had a seven-shutout NCAA streak before allowing a trio of Demon Deacon goals.
"It was a good, collective performance," Muuss said. "I felt there was good energy and we learned a lot. I feel like the guys trained hard for the 10 days leading into that game. We tried to challenge them and tried to make training really difficult, so that the game becomes easier than training.
"I think they were prepared, knew what to expect and executed. I hope that carries over to our preparation this week. We have just a few sessions to get ready to Michigan and want to make the most of it."
Wake has lost 80 games this season from starters or likely starters, recently losing both Justin McMaster and Aristotle Zarris to injury.
"These are not easy things to overcome, but the guys keep grinding away," Muuss said. "We just roll with it. It's next man up. We've had a lot of adversity in terms of injuries this season. It's incredible to be where we are at this time of the season.
"We're getting better. We were excited about the result and the performance over long periods of time against Maryland. The guys are working hard, they're hungry and humble. They want to get better and want to do things together. I know we're capable of playing even better than we did against Maryland, and if we can do that then we'd definitely be hitting our stride at the right time."
A top-four seed for the Deacs was critical, as it gave them the advantage of playing every early-round game at Spry Stadium on their way to a potential College Cup appearance. On top of that, the College Cup takes place in nearby Cary, N.C., at WakeMed Soccer Park on Dec. 13-15.
"It's everything to us," Muuss said about hosting tournament games at Spry. "We were very disappointed with the result against Virginia, knowing our top-four seed could be at risk. We felt good about five-through-seven, which still would have put us here for this round. But we knew the four (seed) would give us the best opportunity to play at Spry for the entirety."
The Deacon Walk will take place at 3:50 p.m., with the "I'm A Fan" Zone opening on the practice fields next to Spry at 4 p.m. Team introductions begin at 4:50, with the match starting at 5 p.m.
"That's our home field advantage and our 12th man," Muuss said. "To not have to travel and be here for the holiday and keep a little bit of tradition that we've been able to have, playing in our fifth-straight Sweet 16 is special. The way the community normally comes out for this game has been incredible, and hopefully they do that again."
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