Wake Forest University
6-4-1, 2-2-1
University of North Carolina
6-4-1, 2-3-0
Wake Forest Earns Win Over North Carolina with Late Penalty Kick
10/8/2021 10:01:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Redshirt junior Jake Swallen buried a penalty kick in the 88th minute to give Wake Forest a 2-1 victory over North Carolina.
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Redshirt junior Jake Swallen put home a penalty kick attempt in the 88th minute, as Wake Forest (6-4-1, 2-2-1) downed North Carolina (6-4-1, 2-3-0) 2-1 on Friday night at Dorrance Field.
After neither side was able to secure a breakthrough in the first half, Wake Forest opened the scoring in the second half as senior Kyle Holcomb found the back of the net for his fifth goal of the season in the 49th minute.
North Carolina, however, responded with a goal of its own in the 54th minute before Swallen converted late on his second penalty kick attempt of the season to score the victory for the Demon Deacons.
The match marked Wake Forest's first road appearance on North Carolina's campus since the 2012 season, as the Demon Deacons' last road meeting with the Tar Heels in 2017 took place in Cary.
The Demon Deacons will return to Spry Stadium on Tuesday night for the first of three-straight home matches, facing George Washington.
How It Happened
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Senior Kyle Holcomb nearly took advantage of a Tar Heel miscue in the fourth minute, as he beat North Carolina goalkeeper Alec Smir but was unable to convert the early opportunity.
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Freshman Trace Alphin collected his first save in the ninth minute. He was then tested again one minute later, but the Raleigh, N.C., native once again made the save.
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Sophomore Colin Thomas hit the post on an attempt in the 43rd minute.
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Neither side collected a corner kick in the opening 45 minutes while Wake Forest was called for offsides six times to North Carolina's one.
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Wake Forest struck first in the match in the 54th minute, as a crossfield pass from sophomores Chase Oliver to Hosei Kijima eventually found Holcomb for the opening goal.
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The goal was the 26th of Holcomb's career, as he moved into a three-way tie with Luca Gimenez (2010-13) and John Duguid (1989-92) for the 11th-most goals in program history.
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The Tar Heels responded just five minutes later to make it a 1-1 match.
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Wake Forest nearly regained the lead in the 61st minute, but a shot from sophomore Ryan Fessler went just wide of the frame.
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One minute before Swallen's winner, Holcomb was denied a brace off a corner kick as his shot was saved by a fantastic effort from Smir.
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Alphin recorded four saves on the night.
Demon Deacon Details of Note
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Senior Holland Rula appeared in his 65th career match.
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Redshirt junior Jake Swallen appeared in his 40th career match.
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The victory was Wake Forest's 15th all-time against North Carolina and the sixth on the road against the Tar Heels.
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With the outcome, the Demon Deacons are now 16-1-3 all-time against Big Four opponents under current head coach Bobby Muuss.
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Wake Forest is now 5-1-0 against North Carolina under Muuss' guidance.
Muuss' Musings
"It's a great 90 minute performance, I mean that from start to finish. I thought we played more on the front-foot than we have in the past; on a short week with a game on Tuesday against a rested Carolina team. We were a bit unlucky at the beginning not to finish a really good chance. And maybe in past games we would have stumbled and fell off a little bit, but the guys just kept going, and even we conceded real quick after we scored, and that could be a big momentum change and we came right back and generated an opportunity, and we played to the end. You can see even in celebrations at the end how much it meant to win and just getting a road ACC win. You never take these for granted. They're extremely, extremely difficult. And you get on the bus and you enjoy the heck out of it."
Up Next
Wake Forest will host George Washington on Tuesday night at Spry Stadium.
Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. as the match will air on ACC Network Extra.
Team Stats
Kyle Holcomb (5)
Assisted By: Hosei Kijima , Chase Oliver
GOAL by WFU Holcomb, Kyle Assist by Kijima, Hosei and Oliver, Chase.
48:38
Tega Ikoba (4)
Assisted By: Tim Schels
GOAL by UNC Ikoba, Tega Assist by Schels, Tim.
53:38
Jake Swallen (2)
WFU Jake Swallen PENALTY KICK GOAL.
87:27
