Wake Forest University
12-6-1, 4-3-1
Mercer University
10-8-1, 4-1-1
Wake Forest Downs Mercer in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament
11/18/2021 8:50:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Senior Kyle Holcomb netted two goals to give the Demon Deacons their 30th all-time NCAA Tournament victory on Thursday night against Mercer.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Wake Forest (12-6-1) defeated the Southern Conference tournament champions Mercer (10-8-1) 2-1 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night at Spry Stadium. The victory was the Deacs 10th home victory of the campaign.
Senior Kyle Holcomb's brace propelled the Deacs to their fourth-ever NCAA Tournament first round win. The senior is now the eighth-leading goalscorer in Wake Forest history with 32 career goals. The Demon Deacons are now 9-1-0 when Holcomb scores this season as well.
The Demon Deacons outshot the Bears (16-10) and out-possessed them 62-to-38 percent.
Redshirt junior Jake Swallen and sophomores Hosei Kijima, Prince Amponsah, and Oscar Sears all provided assists to Holcomb's two strikes.
Freshman Trace Alphin made six saves en route to his ninth win of the season.
Wake Forest will now travel to Miami for a Sunday second round matchup against FIU, with the match against the No. 13 seeded Panthers set to take at 6 p.m.
The two sides have met five times before with the first-ever matchup taking place at FIU on Sept. 23, 1994.
How It Happened
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Sophomore Garrison Tubbs recorded the first shot of the match in the third minute, but it was off-target over the crossbar.
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Mercer opened the scoring in the 11th minute through a goal from Dylan Gaither that was taken outside of the 18-yard box and hit the inside of the post before going in.
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Wake Forest came close to scoring in the 14th minute with a flurry of shots on the Mercer net. Freshman Ryan Fessler came closest, but his shot went just wide of the goal.
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The Demon Deacons found an equalizer in the 18th minute, though, courtesy of senior Kyle Holcomb. Redshirt junior Jake Swallen and sophomore Hosei Kijima connected before Kijima beat one defender and laid a pass across for Holcomb. Holcomb's strike found the bottom corner for his 10th goal of the campaign.
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The goal set a new single-season career-high for the San Marcos, Calif., native and moved him past Wake Forest Sports Hall of Famer and former MAC Hermann Trophy winner Marcus Tracy for the eighth-most goals in program history.
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Just one minute later, Holcomb nearly recorded a brace but his shot skewed just wide of the target.
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The Deacs and the Bears entered halftime deadlocked at 1-1. Wake Forest outshot Mercer 9-2 through the first 45 minutes of play. It was the sixth time the Deacs and their opponents have entered the break tied.
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Sophomore Jahlane Forbes registered the first shot of the second half in the 50th minute, but his powerful attempt hit the side of the net.
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In the 66th minute, Holcomb bagged his second goal of the night to register his first multi-goal game of the season. Sophomore Prince Amponsah and junior Oscar Sears connected and sent Holcomb through on goal. The senior's shot snuck under Mercer goalkeeper Trevor McMullin to give the Deacs a 2-1 lead.
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Mercer nearly equalized in the 75th minute, but freshman Trace Alphin made a diving save to deny the Bears.
Demon Deacon Details of Note
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Sophomore Garrison Tubbs earned his 30th career start.
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Sophomore Hosei Kijima earned his 25th career start.
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Sophomore Chase Oliver made his 35th career appearance.
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Sophomore Oscar Sears made his 30th career appearance.
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Freshman Ryan Fessler made his 25th career appearance.
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Freshman Trace Alphin made his 15th career appearance.
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Holcomb netted his 31st and 32nd career goals and moved past Wake Forest great Marcus Tracy as the eight-leading goalscorer in program history.
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Swallen and Kijima logged their sixth and fifth assists of the campaign on Holcomb's first half goal.
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Amponsah and Sears both notched their second assists of the season on Holcomb's second strike.
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Thursday's match officially marked the 25th NCAA Tournament appearance in the program's 41-year history.
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The victory marked the 10th home win of the season for Wake Forest, as the Deacs have now reached a double-digit win mark at home in six of the last seven seasons.
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The outcome marked the 30th NCAA Tournament victory for Wake Forest in Winston-Salem.
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Wake Forest is now 4-3-2 all-time in NCAA Tournament first round matches.
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The Demon Deacons are now 1-0-0 all-time against Mercer.
Muuss' Musings
"We grinded through it tonight. Obviously the feeling at the final whistle is a great feeling. To advance in the NCAA Tournament is no easy feat. Every team in the tournament is good and I'm proud of the group. Credit to Mercer; the way they play is extremely difficult, but you need to win those games and you have to find wins. The perseverance and the resilience to come back after going down a goal is important, but credit to Mercer. In the end, it was a complete team win."
Up Next
Wake Forest will look to advance to a seventh-straight Sweet Sixteen appearance when the Demon Deacons face FIU on Sunday evening at FIU Soccer Stadium.
The meeting will be the sixth all-time against the Panthers and the first in postseason action.
Team Stats
Dylan Gaither (14)
Assisted By: Nick Wanzer
GOAL by MER Gaither, Dylan Assist by Wanzer, Nick.
10:29
Kyle Holcomb (11)
Assisted By: Hosei Kijima , Jake Swallen
GOAL by WFU Holcomb, Kyle Assist by Kijima, Hosei and Swallen, Jake.
17:22
Kyle Holcomb (11)
Assisted By: Prince Amponsah , Oscar Sears
GOAL by WFU Holcomb, Kyle Assist by Amponsah, Prince and Sears, Oscar.
65:28
