Wake Forest University
10-1-0, 3-1-0
Jacksonville University
3-5-2, 0-2-1
No. 4 Wake Forest Reaches 10 Wins, Earns Clean Sheet in Victory Over Jacksonville
10/4/2022 9:46:00 PM | Men's Soccer
The Deacs recorded their fifth clean sheet of the season as Oscar Sears netted the game-winner.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Decided by a 56th-minute goal from junior Oscar Sears, the No. 4 ranked Wake Forest men's soccer team (10-1-0, 3-1-0 ACC) defeated Jacksonville (3-5-2, 0-2-1 ASUN) 1-0 on Tuesday night at Spry Stadium.
Despite the Deacs holding a 6-1 advantage in shots in the opening frame and the Dolphins not being able to muster a shot on goal, Wake Forest and Jacksonville went into halftime at 0-0. Sears, however, would get the match's lone goal shortly after the second half started to reach four goals on the season.
Defensively, Wake Forest held Jacksonville without a shot on goal as the Demon Deacons earned their fifth clean sheet of the season. It also marked the third time this season that Wake Forest did not allow a shot on goal (UAB and NC State).
Reaching 10 wins on the campaign, Wake Forest has now hit a double-digit win total for the 11th-straight season and the 36th time overall in the program's 42-year history.
Additionally, the Demon Deacons have now won 90 matches at Spry dating back to a 1-0 victory over Santa Clara in the 2015 season opener. The 90 home victories over the last eight seasons are most in the country and 21 more home wins than any other program.
Wake Forest will return to ACC action on Friday night, traveling to New York to face No. 7 Syracuse at SU Soccer Stadium in a showdown of the current co-leaders of the Atlantic Division.
Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the match will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
How It Happened
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Jacksonville recorded the first shot of the night in the 15th minute, but it was blocked by junior Prince Amponsah.
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Sophomore Roald Mitchell would collect Wake Forest's first shot of the night in the 19th minute, heading a cross from junior Jahlane Forbes that went wide of the frame.
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Mitchell would tally the Deacs' second attempt in the 21st minute from the top of the 18-yard box, but it was saved by Dolphins goalkeeper Jabari Gray.
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Freshman Aethan Yohannes also logged a pair of shots after entering the match in the 35th minute, but neither tested Gray.
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Wake Forest would finish the first half with a 6-1 advantage in shots as the Deacs held possession for 63 percent of the opening frame, but the two sides went into the halftime break level at 0-0.
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The Deacs would take the lead in the 56th minute, as junior Oscar Sears collected his fifth goal of the season off a pass from sophomore Baba Niang.
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Niang would find Sears, who was waiting alongside the Jacksonville backline before making a run to beat Dolphins goalkeeper Christian Sekanina.
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Sears is now second on the team in goals (four) while Niang registered his second assist of the campaign.
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Wake Forest nearly found a second goal in the 69th minute, but back-to-back shots from freshmen Nico Rabiu and Vlad Walent were blocked.
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Jacksonville was awarded a free kick in a dangerous spot in the 70th minute, but the shot off the restart skied over the Wake Forest goal.
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The Dolphins continued to push down the stretch, but Wake Forest held Jacksonville goalless at the final whistle.
Demon Deacon Details of Note
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Wake Forest is now 7-1-0 on the season at Spry Stadium while outscoring opponents 22-9.
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The victory marked the 199th career win for head coach Bobby Muuss and his 125th at the helm for Wake Forest.
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Wake Forest has now won its last 10 regular season matches against non-conference foes dating back to a 4-0 victory over William & Mary on Oct. 5, 2021.
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Over that 10-match winning streak, Wake Forest has outscored opponents 34-5.
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The Demon Deacons lead the all-time series against the Dolphins 2-0-0 as this marked the first meeting between Wake Forest and Jacksonville since the 1991 season opener.
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Both meetings have come in Winston-Salem.
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Sophomore Baba Niang earned his fifth career start in his 15th career appearance.
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Junior Garrison Tubbs made his 45th career appearance.
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Junior Oscar Sears made his 40th career appearance.
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Junior Sidney Paris made his 35th career collegiate appearance and his 11th with the Deacs.
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Sophomore Julian Kennedy made his 30th career appearance.
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Redshirt sophomore Cristian Escribano made his 25th career appearance.
From Coach Muuss
"I thought it was a decent performance coming off a tough result and a tough match on Saturday night. Let's give Jacksonville a lot of credit; they made it difficult. We had some silly turnovers – which are going to happen – that led to transitional opportunities. For the most part, I thought we did a good job. We had a couple of chances in the first half and a couple early in the second half to put the game away, and we didn't. But I'm happy. We played 22 guys and we were able to rotate some guys to keep some freshness for the weekend, because now all eyes turn towards Syracuse." – head coach Bobby Muuss
Up Next
Wake Forest and Syracuse will meet at SU Soccer Stadium for the first time since Oct. 5, 2018, on Friday night. The Orange will mark the Deacs' third-straight top-10 foe in conference action.
Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the match will air on ACC Network Extra.
Team Stats
Oscar Sears (4)
Assisted By: Babacar Niang
GOAL by WFU Sears, Oscar Assist by Niang, Babacar.
55:35
