Demon Deacons’ 2020-21 Season Ends in the Elite Eight
5/10/2021 8:32:00 PM | Men's Soccer
A second half set piece proved to be the difference in a 2-1 loss to North Carolina.
CARY, N.C. -- Wake Forest's men soccer (13-3-2) saw its 2020-21 season come to an end on Monday night, as the Demon Deacons fell to North Carolina (9-4-4) by a final of 2-1 at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Junior Kyle Holcomb scored the game's opening goal in the 10th minute, converting a chance created by the play of freshman Hosei Kijima on the left wing by putting a rebound into the net. North Carolina struck back with a goal of their own, however, one minute later to tie the game at 1-1.
The score would remain tied through a 38th-minute lightning delay and into halftime. Wake Forest held the ball most of the second half, but a set piece from North Carolina in the 68th minute resulted in an open shot on goal for the Tar Heels, which was converted.
The Demon Deacons will look ahead to the fall, as the entire roster will return to Winston-Salem while Wake Forest currently has TopDrawerSoccer's No. 1 incoming recruiting class.
How It Happened
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In the 10th minute, Wake Forest broke through with the opening goal, as Kijima cut in from the left wing, beating the Tar Heel right back to pass the ball cross goal to Holcomb, who put a rebound into the net to give Wake Forest a 1-0 lead.
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It was the junior's team-leading ninth goal of the season.
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Less than a minute later, North Carolina struck back with a goal of their own from Giovanni Montesdeoca in the 11th minute.
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Redshirt freshman Cole McNally made his second save in the 37th minute, stopping a shot from Alex Rose before a UNC handball in the Demon Deacon box turned the ball over.
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The game went into a lightning delay in the 38th minute.
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The teams entered halftime tied 1-1.
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North Carolina led Wake Forest in both shots (8-2) and shots on goal (3-2)
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North Carolina took the lead on just their third shot of the half, with Santiago Herrera converting a chance on a free kick deflection off the wall in the 68th minute.
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Wake Forest went a man up for the final five minutes when the Tar Heels' Akeim Clarke was sent off for a challenge from behind on sophomore Omar Hernandez.
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The game ended with North Carolina winning 2-1.
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The Tar Heels held a 11-6 shot advantage (4-2 on goal), but the Deacs outshot North Carolina 4-3 in the second half.
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Demon Deacon Details of Note
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Sophomore Nico Benalcazar made his 30th career start.
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Sophomore Takuma Suzuki appeared in his 25th career match.
Muuss' Musings
"Obviously it's disappointing. I just told the guys there's two different ways seasons end after losses: you can get really upset and in a bad mood, or you can be emotional and leave everything out there, and they're all emotional now because the group left it out there. That's what I'm most proud of. This group has been through more adversity than I've ever seen in a group. ...I'm extremely proud of this group. They were first-class in the way they handled themselves both on and off the field this entire season, and I look forward to the future."
2020-21 Season Recap
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Wake Forest finished the year with a double-digit win total (13) for the ninth-straight season and the 33rd time in the program's 40-year history.
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Ranked No. 1 in the country for the first four weeks of the season, Wake Forest has extended the country's longest run in the top-25 of the United Soccer Coaches poll to 85-straight weeks.
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The Demon Deacons have also been ranked in the top-10 of that poll for the last 65 installments.
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Wake Forest went 4-2-1 against opponents ranked in the top-three including victories over North Carolina (Oct. 18) and Clemson (Oct. 30).
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During regular season play, Wake Forest was 8-0-1 at Spry Stadium.
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In the spring, Wake Forest heavily relied on freshman production. All 10 freshmen logged significant game action including seven starting against No. 1 Clemson in a 0-0 draw on April 2.
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Wake Forest was the only ACC program to score at least one point in every conference game it played in during the spring portion of the season.
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During the split season, Wake Forest played an ACC-high 28 players.
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Wake Forest had six members of the fall roster join the professional ranks including five who are currently on MLS rosters.
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Calvin Harris (No. 2 to FC Cincinnati) and Michael DeShields (No. 5 to DC United) both went in the top-five of the 2021 MLS SuperDraft. It marked the first time in program history that Wake Forest had two-five picks in the same draft.
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Machop Chol (Atlanta United) and Isaiah Parente (Columbus Crew) signed Homegrown Contracts while Justin McMaster (Minnesota United) was also a first-round pick.
