Wake Forest University
2-1-0, 1-0-0
Cornell University
0-1-0, 0-1-0
Double Overtime Winner from Holcomb Scores Victory
9/4/2021 10:26:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Kyle Holcomb’s 23rd career goal was the difference as Wake Forest defeated Cornell in double overtime.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- The No. 18 ranked Wake Forest (2-0-1) men's soccer team earned its second-straight home victory in a double overtime thriller against Cornell (0-1-0) by a final score of 2-1 on Saturday night at Spry Stadium.
Sophomore Chase Oliver opened his Wake Forest account in the 10th minute, as the Kennesaw, Ga., native blasted a low-driven shot into the far corner of the net to put the Demon Deacons into the lead. Junior Omar Hernandez recorded his first assist of the season with a brilliant ball that hit Oliver in stride.
With just ten minutes remaining in the second half, though, the Big Red found an equalizer after Emeka Eneli collected a pass from Charles Touche to even the contest at one apiece.
After Cornell was served two red cards in the final eight minutes of regulation, Wake Forest finally broke through with a winner in the first minute of double overtime.
Senior Kyle Holcomb provided the game-winning goal when he rose highest to head home Oliver's cross.
The goal drew Holcomb level with former teammate Bruno Lapa for the 16th-most career goals in program history with 23.
How It Happened
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Wake Forest pressured Cornell's backline early and often before breaking through in the 10th minute, as the connection of Holcomb, Hernandez and Oliver created enough space for the sophomore to break through and score.
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The Demon Deacons, however, would concede six shots in the first half although only two were on goal.
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Redshirt sophomore Cole McNally made three saves before coming out of the match with an injury in the second half. Freshman Trace Alphin made his collegiate debut for the Demon Deacons in place of McNally.
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The Big Red added an equalizer through Emeka Eneli with nine minutes remaining in the match.
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Cornell went down a man in the 83rd minute when Charles Touche was shown a red card.
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Even further trouble ensued for the Big Red when they lost Henry Hylbert to a red card in the 90th minute. Cornell were only left with nine men on the field for the remainder of the contest.
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With the game locked at one goal a piece, the match headed to overtime.
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In the second half of overtime, Holcomb closed out the match with his second goal of the season.
Demon Deacon Details of Note
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Redshirt junior Jake Swallen earned his 20th career start.
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Sophomore Garrison Tubbs earned his 15th career start.
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Sophomore Jahlane Forbes earned his 10th career start.
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Sophomore Colin Thomas made his season debut in the 32nd minute.
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With his assist on the Deacs' first goal, Holcomb reached 50 career points, becoming the 25th player in program history to reach that mark and the first since two-time first-team All-American Bruno Lapa (61).
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It was Oliver's first-career goal in regular season play, as he had previously scored three goals in exhibition play including one against Furman earlier this year.
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Oliver made his first start of the season and also logged his first career assist.
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Alphin made his first collegiate appearance in goal, replacing an injured Cole McNally in the 65th minute.
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In the second period of overtime, Holcomb connected with an Oliver cross to put the game to bed.
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Holcomb tied former teammate and two-time first-team All-American Bruno Lapa for 16th in program history in career goals with 23.
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Marked the team's first matchup with an Ivy League school since a 3-1 victory over Dartmouth on Sept. 6, 2019.
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Wake Forest is now 3-0-0 against Ivy League opponents under head coach Bobby Muuss.
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As a program, Wake Forest is now 6-2-0 all-time against Ivy League institutions.
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The last time the Deacs played in overtime was on April 2, 2021 against Clemson in a 0-0 tie.
Muuss' Musings
"First of all, hats off to Cornell. I think they're a good team. I've said it to you and I've said it to a couple of people. I think they should be the favorites to win the Ivy League, just with the maturity that they have. Coach Smith has done a really good job bringing in two really good recruiting classes and we saw that here tonight. With our guys, we were up against it a little bit personnel-wise tonight with some injuries that we picked up last week and this week in training. I thought the guys fought, it was not Wake Forest football at all. But, sometimes just got to roll up the sleeves, you've got to grind, you got to fight."
Up Next
Wake Forest will hit the road for the first time during the regular season to face Louisville next Friday for the program's ACC opener. The Demon Deacons will look to win their ninth-straight conference opener in the matchup.
Kick-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the match will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
Team Stats
Chase Oliver (1)
Assisted By: Omar Hernandez , Kyle Holcomb
GOAL by WFU Oliver, Chase Assist by Hernandez, Omar and Holcomb, Kyle.
09:33
Emeka Eneli (1)
Assisted By: Charles Touche
GOAL by COR Eneli, Emeka Assist by Touche, Charles.
81:07
Kyle Holcomb (2)
Assisted By: Chase Oliver , Jahlane Forbes
GOAL by WFU Holcomb, Kyle Assist by Oliver, Chase and Forbes, Jahlane.
100:21
