Wake Forest University
12-2-2, 8-1-2
Coastal Carolina University
9-5-2, 5-1-0
Hernandez’s Brace Powers Wake Forest to Third Round of NCAA Tournament
5/2/2021 11:10:00 PM | Men's Soccer
The Deacs defeated Coastal Carolina 3-2 at Spry Stadium to make the Round 16 for the sixth-straight season.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The Wake Forest men's soccer team scored early and kept the pressure on, netting three goals to start the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship with a 3-2 second round win over Coastal Carolina on Sunday night at Spry Stadium.
Sophomore Omar Hernandez earned his second brace of the season, curling shots in the 15th minute and 49th minute off his left foot into the left corner of the goal on both finishes. He is now tied with junior Kyle Holcomb for the most goals on the team this season with six.
A Coastal Carolina own goal in the 23rd minute gave Wake Forest a 2-0 lead entering halftime.
Holcomb, sophomore Takuma Suzuki and freshman Jahlane Forbes each picked up an assist between Hernandez's two goals. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Cole McNally earned two saves in his first-ever NCAA Tournament start between the posts.
Wake Forest will now match up with Kentucky for the first time in program history, as the two schools will meet in a Round of 16 showdown on Thursday in Cary, N.C. The match is scheduled to start at 9 p.m.
How It Happened
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Hernandez struck first for the Deacs, curling a shot in the 15th minute from about five yards outside the 18-yard box.
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Wake Forest kept the pressure going in the 23rd minute, earning their second goal of the contest off the leg of Coastal Carolina's Kasper Skraep.
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Wake Forest entered halftime with a 2-0 lead.
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The Deacs outshot the Chanticleers 5-3 (2-1 on-goal) in the first half.
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Wake Forest also held a 5-3 advantage on corner kicks.
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The Deacs picked up where they left off to start the second half, with Kyle Holcomb getting behind the back line in the 46th minute and passing the ball cross-goal to Omar Hernandez, who's close range shot was pushed wide.
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Coastal Carolina struck back in the 47th minute, as Kasper Skraep corralled a failed clearance off a long free kick into the box onto his left foot and slotted it into the bottom left corner.
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Wake Forest quickly got a goal back, though, as Hernandez earned his brace in the 49th minute, using a nice dribble move to create space on the edge of the box and smashing another curled shot into the left corner of the net.
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Coastal Carolina would make the final ten minutes interesting, netting a goal in the 82nd minute when Claudio Repetto took a breakaway past the Demon Deacons for the Chanticleers' second goal of the night.
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Wake Forest, however, held on for the 3-2 victory. The Deacs held advantage on possession, keeping control of the ball 55 percent of the game. Wake Forest also matched the Chanticleers' shots on goal at 4-4.
Demon Deacon Details of Note
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With the victory, Wake Forest has advanced to the Round of 16 for the sixth-straight year under Muuss.
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Marks the program's 29th NCAA Tournament victory all-time in Winston-Salem and the second over Coastal Carolina in postseason play.
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Wake Forest has now won at least 12 matches for the sixth-straight season.
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The Demon Deacons are now unbeaten in seven-straight contests.
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Garrison Tubbs returned to the Starting XI for the first time since Wake Forest's 1-0 victory over Davidson on March 1.
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Suzuki also made his return to both the field and Starting XI for the first time since Wake Forest's 1-0 victory over Boston College on March 6.
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Hernandez scored his second brace this season after his long range strikes in the first and second half. The Dalton, Ga., native also netted two goals against Louisville on March 27.
Muuss' Musings
"I'm extremely excited. I'm proud of these guys. Everybody's heads were down a little bit with the way the game finished out. We made a little bit of a meal of it. But at the same time, our ultimate goal when we started this two weeks ago when the NCAA selections came out was to advance and play in Cary, and we did that. I told them at the very beginning of the season we cannot take wins for granted no matter what they look like, and we've had some dramatic ones this year. So I'm extremely proud. I thought the way we played in the first half, and even early in the second half was some of our better soccer of the year."
Up Next
Wake Forest faces Kentucky for the first time in program history when the two sides meet on Thursday with an Elite Eight appearance on the line.
Team Stats
Omar Hernandez (6)
Assisted By: Jahlane Forbes , Takuma Suzuki
GOAL by WFU Hernandez, Omar Assist by Forbes, Jahlane and Suzuki, Takuma.
14:56
0
GOAL by WFU TEAM.
22:00
Kasper Skraep (3)
GOAL by CCU Skraep, Kasper.
46:37
Omar Hernandez (6)
Assisted By: Kyle Holcomb
GOAL by WFU Hernandez, Omar Assist by Holcomb, Kyle.
48:24
Claudio Repetto (5)
GOAL by CCU Repetto, Claudio.
81:47
