Wake Forest University
9-4-1, 3-2-1
Loyola University Maryland
6-6-2, 4-2-0
Wake Forest Pushes Winning Streak to Five Matches In 7-0 Victory Over Loyola
10/19/2021 9:46:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Freshman Julian Kennedy collected Wake Forest’s first hat trick since 2012 as the Demon Deacons defeated the Greyhounds 7-0.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Wake Forest men's soccer (9-4-1) extended its winning streak to five-straight matches on Tuesday night, as the Demon Deacons downed Loyola (6-7-2) 7-0 at Spry Stadium in the team's final non-conference contest of the regular season.
The Demon Deacons took a 2-0 lead into the halftime break as freshmen Roald Mitchell and Julian Kennedy logged goals before junior Omar Hernandez and sophomores Colin Thomas and Oscar Sears added to the tally in the second half.
Kennedy also added two more goals in the second half to secure his hat trick and the first three-goal haul for the Deacs since Sean Okoli on Oct. 19, 2012.
Goalkeepers Trace Alphin and Cole McNally combined for the shutout. McNally recorded the only save of the match for the Demon Deacons in the second half.
The victory is the first time the Deacs have put seven past an opponent since they beat Longwood 8-0 back on Oct. 10, 2017. The last time Wake Forest won by a 7-0 scoreline was in 2014 when they took down VMI.
With the victory, Wake Forest has now won five-straight matches for the first time since opening the 2019 season 5-0-0. During the current winning streak, Wake Forest has defeated then-No. 5 Virginia Tech, North Carolina, William & Mary, George Washington and Loyola and outscored those teams 19-2.
Wake Forest returns to Atlantic Coast Conference play on Saturday night against Boston College at the Newton Soccer Complex.
How It Happened
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Freshman Roald Mitchell, who was making his first career start, opened the scoring in the 12th minute for his fourth goal in Wake Forest's last five matches. After taking a pass from senior Holland Rula, the Montclair, N.J., native turned the defender at the top of the box before putting home the goal.
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The assist was the fourth of Rula's career and the first of his senior season.
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Just before halftime, freshman Julian Kennedy found the net for his first collegiate goal. Sophomore Oscar Sears recorded his first career assist as he fed a ball onto the foot of Kennedy. Kennedy took the ball in stride and dispatched his first Wake Forest goal.
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Freshman Nicholas Mancilla was also credited with his first collegiate assist on Kennedy's goal.
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The Deacs recorded two goals off four shots in the first 45 minutes of play.
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Kennedy's goal marked the first time since Oct. 15, 2019, that two true freshmen have scored in the same match. The previous occurrence came when Nico Benalcazar and Calvin Harris both found the net in a 5-0 win over William & Mary.
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Wake Forest furthered its lead in the 48th minute, as junior Omar Hernandez buried his fourth goal of the season with sophomore Colin Thomas logging the assist.
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The assist was the second of Thomas' career and the first of his sophomore campaign.
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Thomas added a goal of his own in the 60th minute, the first of his collegiate career. Freshman Bo Cummins and sophomore Takuma Suzuki provided the assists. Cummins' contribution was his first collegiate assist.
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Kennedy found the net for a second time of the night and Thomas found his second assist when the two combined to put the Deacs up five.
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Just 90 seconds later, Kennedy struck for a third time. His calm finish meant he recorded his first career hat trick.
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The final goal of the night came courtesy of Sears. The Sweden native, recorded his first goal and first assist of his collegiate career on the night.
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The Deacs recorded 16 shots and found the net seven times on the night.
Demon Deacon Details of Note
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Redshirt junior Jake Swallen earned his 30th career start.
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Junior Omar Hernandez appeared in his 55th career match.
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Sophomore Hosei Kijima made his 20th career start.
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Freshman Roald Mitchell earned his first career start.
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Freshman Ryan Fessler appeared in his 20th career match.
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Freshman Trace Alphin appeared in his 10th career match.
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With the outcome, Wake Forest now leads the all-time series against Loyola at 1-0-1.
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During the current five-match winning/unbeaten streak, Wake Forest is outsourcing opponents 19-2.
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Wake Forest is now 7-3-0 at Spry Stadium this season and 6-2-0 against non-conference opponents overall.
Muuss' Musings
"It was a great team performance. Midweek games are hard and we just came off a really difficult game against Virginia Tech. We came out on the front foot and scored a goal. Then the young guys took over the game and it was great to see every healthy player play tonight. From start to finish, the guys wanted it and they really pushed for it. Loyola has the ability to be in the NCAA Tournament. They are second in their league right now and I think they control their own destiny as they move forward. We played this game as an NCAA Tournament game. I did not think the result would be the way it is, but I couldn't be happier with it."
Up Next
Wake Forest will travel to Chestnut Hill, Mass., to face Boston College on Saturday night in a key late season ACC clash. Heading into the contest, the Demon Deacons remain in a tight race with Clemson and Louisville for first place in the Atlantic Division.
Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the match will air live on ACC Network Extra.
Team Stats
Roald Mitchell (4)
Assisted By: Holland Rula
GOAL by WFU Mitchell, Roald Assist by Rula, Holland.
11:08
Julian Kennedy (3)
Assisted By: Oscar Sears , Nicolas Mancilla
GOAL by WFU Kennedy, Julian Assist by Sears, Oscar and Mancilla, Nicolas.
42:41
Omar Hernandez (4)
Assisted By: Colin Thomas
GOAL by WFU Hernandez, Omar Assist by Thomas, Colin.
47:58
Colin Thomas (1)
Assisted By: Takuma Suzuki , Bo Cummins
GOAL by WFU Thomas, Colin Assist by Suzuki, Takuma and Cummins, Bo.
59:20
Julian Kennedy (3)
Assisted By: Colin Thomas
GOAL by WFU Kennedy, Julian Assist by Thomas, Colin.
66:07
Julian Kennedy (3)
Assisted By: Hosei Kijima , Nico Benalcazar
GOAL by WFU Kennedy, Julian Assist by Kijima, Hosei and Benalcazar, Nico.
67:37
Oscar Sears (1)
Assisted By: Jahlane Forbes
GOAL by WFU Sears, Oscar Assist by Forbes, Jahlane.
84:28
