Wake Forest University
11-5-1, 4-3-1
University of Virginia
6-9-3, 2-5-1
Wake Forest Advances to ACC Tournament Quarterfinals with 3-0 Win Over Virginia
11/3/2021 10:55:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Three different Demon Deacons scored as Wake Forest collected a second-straight shutout and advanced to the quarterfinals of the ACC Men’s Soccer Championship.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The No. 6 seeded Wake Forest men's soccer (11-5-1) team pieced together a strong performance in the first round of the 2021 ACC Men's Soccer Championship, as the Demon Deacons defeated the No. 11 seeded Virginia Cavaliers 3-0 at Spry Stadium on Wednesday night.
Getting goals from junior Omar Hernandez (21'), senior Kyle Holcomb (42') and freshman Leo Guarino (69'), the Demon Deacons held a 17-6 shots advantage on the night and collected 13 shots on goal in the contest to Virginia's one.
Freshman goalkeeper Trace Alphin, meanwhile, logged his second-straight clean sheet against an ACC opponent.
Wake Forest will now prepare for a quarterfinals matchup with the No. 3 seeded Duke Blue Devils (11-3-1) on Sunday afternoon at Koskinen Stadium.
How It Happened
-
The Deacs came close to a goal in the eighth minute when junior Omar Hernandez fed a ball to senior Kyle Holcomb. However, Holcomb's headed effort was saved by the Virginia goalkeeper.
-
Holcomb recorded three shots through the first 20 minutes of the game, each one was met by the Virginia goalkeeper.
-
In the 21st minute, Hernandez opened the scoring for the Deacs with his fifth strike of the season. The junior latched onto a deflected pass and found the bottom corner to give the Deacs their ninth halftime lead of the season.
-
Freshman Julian Kennedy won a penalty kick in the 42nd minute when he was fouled inside the penalty box. Redshirt junior Jake Swallen stepped up but his spot kick was denied.
-
The Deacs doubled their advantage on the resulting corner kick. Swallen's cross found the foot of Holcomb. His shot found its way across the line of the goal before a Virginia player could clear the attempt.
-
Swallen's assist was his fourth of the campaign.
-
Wake Forest completed the first half with a 10-2 advantage in shots and had all nine shots on goal in the opening 45 minutes.
-
In the 69th minute, freshman Leo Guarino bagged his first career goal for the Demon Deacons. Sophomore Garrison Tubbs shook off one Virginia defender before playing a driven ball onto the foot of Guarino to give the Deacs a three goal advantage.
-
Freshman goalkeeper Trace Alphin had to wait until the 88th minute to make his first save of the match. Alphin also recorded his second shutout in as many games and his third this season.
Demon Deacon Details of Note
-
Junior Nico Benalcazar made his 50th career appearance and 45th career start.
-
Junior Omar Hernandez earned his 30th career start.
-
Sophomores Prince Amponsah and Garrison Tubbs made their 30th career appearances.
-
Sophomore Chase Oliver earned his fifth career start.
-
Freshmen Bo Cummins and Tareq Shihab made their 10th career appearances.
-
Freshman Leo Guarino scored his first career goal.
-
Senior Kyle Holcomb grabbed his 30th career goal.
-
The contest was the 61st ACC Tournament match for Wake Forest dating back to the 1987 season.
-
Holcomb's goal was the 30th of his career, matching Wake Forest Sports Hall of Famer Marcus Tracy for the eighth-most in program history.
-
Holcomb moves into 13th spot in the Wake Forest all-time points tally with 66 career points.
-
Holcomb's strike in the 42nd minute marked the third-straight season in which he has reached nine goals.
-
Holcomb is now the 16th active NCAA Division I player with 30 career goals.
-
Wake Forest is 8-1-0 when Holcomb scores a goal this season.
-
It was the second time the Demon Deacons have faced an 11 seed in the ACC Tournament with the other time coming against Virginia Tech on Nov. 10, 2019.
-
It marked the second time in program history Wake Forest has played an opponent three-straight times in ACC Tournament action since facing the Cavaliers five-straight ACC Tournaments from 2009-13.
-
The victory is the 14th all-time against the Cavaliers and the third under current head coach Bobby Muuss.
-
The Demon Deacons are now 8-4-2 in the ACC Tournament under Muuss.
-
Wake Forest is now 2-0-0 all-time in first round action of the ACC Tournament. The other victory came against No. 9 Boston College in a 4-0 decision on Nov. 8, 2005.
-
With the outcome Wake Forest is now 9-7-2 in ACC Tournament matches played in Winston-Salem.
Muuss' Musings
"Whenever you can win an ACC Tournament game 3-0 you have to be happy. We were up against it a little bit, you know this week with a different lineup. Some of the young guys really stepped up today, especially in the second half. Leo got his first career goal and Julian Kennedy was alive. We are starting to see him come out of his shell a little bit here. I thought it was a pretty good team performance. The game was a little bit loose defensively, but if you can beat a historic program like Virginia in the ACC Tournament and in the style that we did, we are extremely happy."
Up Next
Wake Forest will now face Duke in an ACC Tournament quarterfinals match on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. from Koskinen Stadium.
The match will air nationally on ACC Network.
Team Stats
Omar Hernandez (5)
Assisted By: Garrison Tubbs
GOAL by WFU Hernandez, Omar Assist by Tubbs, Garrison.
20:37
Kyle Holcomb (9)
Assisted By: Jake Swallen
GOAL by WFU Holcomb, Kyle Assist by Swallen, Jake.
41:23
Leo Guarino (1)
Assisted By: Garrison Tubbs , David Wrona
GOAL by WFU Guarino, Leo Assist by Tubbs, Garrison and Wrona, David.
68:07
