Photo by: Andy Mead
Deacs Set for Sixth College Cup
12/13/2019 11:57:00 AM | Men's Soccer, Les Johns
Les Johns previews the 2019 College Cup, which kicks off Friday night.
The Demon Deacons finished finals, got in one last practice, then departed for the short 100-mile journey to Cary as they get set to compete in the College Cup this weekend, just two wins away from claiming a second national championship right back at the site where they earned their first back in 2007.
"The guys are excited," Wake Forest coach Bobby Muuss said. "It's an opportunity to showcase your talents at the pinnacle of college soccer, and it's right here in North Carolina. There's a lot of excitement within our group."
First up for No. 4 seed Wake Forest (16-4-2, 6-2-0) is an 8:30 p.m. encounter Friday with No. 1 Virginia (20-1-1, 6-1-1) at the WakeMed Soccer Park.
"We're in the semifinal. It doesn't matter who you play," Muuss said. "Virginia has arguably been the best team all season long, from start-to-finish. They're deserving of their seed and deserving to be back in the college cup."
Wake lost 1-0 at Virginia a month ago in the ACC Tournament semifinals.
"We have to be better with the ball and we have to play with more confidence," Muuss said. "We have to find a rhythm and see if we can keep the ball in their half for longer periods of time. We wasted a half of soccer in that game. In the first half, we were really out of sorts. Give Virginia a ton or credit.
"They disrupted us greatly in that game. We have to match their intensity and intelligence, in the way they press. If we can do that, we've put a better foot forward than we did a month ago."
The Cavaliers have allowed just nine goals the entire season, and enter the weekend with 15 shutouts — leading the country in both of those statistics.
"The key for us is to just play our game, which is a possession style," Muuss said. "If we're able to build and go a little more direct to mix it up a little bit, we do that. There hasn't been a lot of success against them. SMU scored two goals against them and Pitt scored twice. If you think about the nine goals they've let up all year, that's nearly half of them in two games."
There's a ton of mutual respect between the two programs.
"I learned in these four years that Wake always has a good team," UVA senior Robin Afamefuna said. "It was good we beat them in the ACC semifinal and I hope we do it again. This is the first year I can say with confidence that they should fear us. We're a pretty good team this year, but you can expect a pretty good game."
One advantage for the Deacs is that it's being played in familiar territory — just a short drive east where they won a national championship a little more than a decade ago.
"We hope we can have a lot of Deacon fans," Wake Forest two-time first team All-American Bruno Lapa said. "It's an exciting moment for us to be able to play this College Cup at home and bring the title back to our campus."
Opening up play in the College Cup Friday night is No. 7 seed Stanford (14-2-5) against No. 3 seed Georgetown (18-1-3). Both games will be broadcast on ESPNU.
"It's awesome to still be playing in December, and we're excited to get going," Stanford coach Jeremy Gunn said. "[Georgetown is] a great team, and there's some similarities between the two teams. They're very organized and disciplined. It should be a straight-up matchup in a lot of ways."
The Hoyas haven't lost since a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Louisville from the ACC on Sept. 24.
"We don't want to just be here," Georgetown soccer coach Brian Wiese said. "We're here to win it."
It's a wide open College Cup, according to senior Wake Forest defender Alistair Johnston.
"I see it as just four really good teams who all have their one thing they lean on," Johnston said when asked to pick a favorite. "Stanford knows how to win big games, and they've shown that the last couple of years. Virginia has been dominant all year. Georgetown might be the hottest team in the tournament with how they have been dismantling teams. Then there's us being a local team with hopefully some good support. We're feeling confident.
"Every team is confident in their own right, and I wouldn't necessarily say there's a favorite. Everyone thinks it's a pretty even battle, I'd say."
"The guys are excited," Wake Forest coach Bobby Muuss said. "It's an opportunity to showcase your talents at the pinnacle of college soccer, and it's right here in North Carolina. There's a lot of excitement within our group."
First up for No. 4 seed Wake Forest (16-4-2, 6-2-0) is an 8:30 p.m. encounter Friday with No. 1 Virginia (20-1-1, 6-1-1) at the WakeMed Soccer Park.
"We're in the semifinal. It doesn't matter who you play," Muuss said. "Virginia has arguably been the best team all season long, from start-to-finish. They're deserving of their seed and deserving to be back in the college cup."
Wake lost 1-0 at Virginia a month ago in the ACC Tournament semifinals.
"We have to be better with the ball and we have to play with more confidence," Muuss said. "We have to find a rhythm and see if we can keep the ball in their half for longer periods of time. We wasted a half of soccer in that game. In the first half, we were really out of sorts. Give Virginia a ton or credit.
"They disrupted us greatly in that game. We have to match their intensity and intelligence, in the way they press. If we can do that, we've put a better foot forward than we did a month ago."
The Cavaliers have allowed just nine goals the entire season, and enter the weekend with 15 shutouts — leading the country in both of those statistics.
"The key for us is to just play our game, which is a possession style," Muuss said. "If we're able to build and go a little more direct to mix it up a little bit, we do that. There hasn't been a lot of success against them. SMU scored two goals against them and Pitt scored twice. If you think about the nine goals they've let up all year, that's nearly half of them in two games."
There's a ton of mutual respect between the two programs.
"I learned in these four years that Wake always has a good team," UVA senior Robin Afamefuna said. "It was good we beat them in the ACC semifinal and I hope we do it again. This is the first year I can say with confidence that they should fear us. We're a pretty good team this year, but you can expect a pretty good game."
One advantage for the Deacs is that it's being played in familiar territory — just a short drive east where they won a national championship a little more than a decade ago.
"We hope we can have a lot of Deacon fans," Wake Forest two-time first team All-American Bruno Lapa said. "It's an exciting moment for us to be able to play this College Cup at home and bring the title back to our campus."
Opening up play in the College Cup Friday night is No. 7 seed Stanford (14-2-5) against No. 3 seed Georgetown (18-1-3). Both games will be broadcast on ESPNU.
"It's awesome to still be playing in December, and we're excited to get going," Stanford coach Jeremy Gunn said. "[Georgetown is] a great team, and there's some similarities between the two teams. They're very organized and disciplined. It should be a straight-up matchup in a lot of ways."
The Hoyas haven't lost since a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Louisville from the ACC on Sept. 24.
"We don't want to just be here," Georgetown soccer coach Brian Wiese said. "We're here to win it."
It's a wide open College Cup, according to senior Wake Forest defender Alistair Johnston.
"I see it as just four really good teams who all have their one thing they lean on," Johnston said when asked to pick a favorite. "Stanford knows how to win big games, and they've shown that the last couple of years. Virginia has been dominant all year. Georgetown might be the hottest team in the tournament with how they have been dismantling teams. Then there's us being a local team with hopefully some good support. We're feeling confident.
"Every team is confident in their own right, and I wouldn't necessarily say there's a favorite. Everyone thinks it's a pretty even battle, I'd say."
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