Wake Forest University
2-0-0, 0-0-0
Air Force
0-2-0, 0-0-0
Wake Forest Wraps Up Opening Weekend with 2-1 Win Over Air Force
8/28/2022 9:59:00 PM | Men's Soccer
The Demon Deacons tallied two first half goals including a stunning strike from junior Oscar Sears just before halftime.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Wake Forest's No. 15 ranked men's soccer team (2-0-0, 0-0-0 ACC) closed out the opening weekend of the 2022 season with a hard fought 2-1 victory over Air Force (0-2-0, 0-0-0 WAC) on Sunday night at Spry Stadium.
The Demon Deacons were fueled by two first half goals, first from freshman Vlad Walent in the 17th minute before junior Oscar Sears delivered a beauty in the 43rd minute. While Air Force would cut Wake Forest's lead in half in the 49th minute, the Demon Deacons held strong until the final whistle to secure the team's second victory of the young campaign.
Wake Forest will make its road debut next Saturday as the Demon Deacons face UAB at PNC Field in Birmingham, Ala. The Blazers won both of their opening weekend matches, defeating the College of Charleston on Thursday 2-0 before knocking off Queens 3-0 on Sunday.
Kick-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. EST and the match will air on ESPN+.
How It Happened
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Wake Forest conceded a fifth-minute free kick outside of the 18-yard box, but the pass off the restart went untouched before a Demon Deacon goal kick. A second Falcon free kick was taken in the 10th minute, but sophomore Trace Alphin corralled the attempt into his possession for his first save of the night.
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It was the first of three saves on the night for the Raleigh, N.C., native.
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The Deacs had a strong chance off a 14th-minute corner kick, as junior Jahlane Forbes found the head of sophomore Roald Mitchell, but his attempt went left of the frame.
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Wake Forest would take a 1-0 lead in the 17th minute, as freshman Vlad Walent rocketed a shot into the back of the net following a set-up pass from fellow freshman Cooper Flax.
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It was the first career goal for Walent and the first career assist for Flax. It also marked the fourth career assist for junior Prince Amponsah who started the scoring play on Wake Forest's side of the pitch.
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The Demon Deacons would take a two-goal lead into the break thanks to an unreal strike from distance from junior Oscar Sears.
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After freshman Aethan Yohannes forced Air Force to turn over possession, senior David Wrona would secure the ball before passing it back to Yohannes who found Sears who stunned Air Force with his goal.
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The goal was the second of Sears' career while Yohannes logged his first-ever assist. It was career assist No. 3 for Wrona.
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Air Force cut into the Wake Forest lead in the 49th minute, as Thaddeus Dewing delivered for the second time this season for the Falcons off a Demon Deacon turnover.
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Mitchell nearly struck for the first time this season in the 71st minute, but his shot inside the box was off-target.
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The Deacs wouldn't surrender their first corner kick of the match until the 74th minute, but the Falcons were unable to break Wake Forest down.
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Late in the contest sophomore Julian Kennedy nearly logged a third Wake Forest goal, but both of his 86th-minute attempts were stopped.
Demon Deacon Details of Note
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With the victory, Wake Forest has now won nine-straight matches at Spry Stadium dating back to a 4-0 victory over William & Mary on Oct. 5, 2021.
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The Demon Deacons have outscored opponents 27-3 over the team's last nine home appearances.
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Wake Forest now has won 85 home matches since the start of the 2015 season, 19 more than any other NCAA Division I program during that span.
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The Demon Deacons now lead the all-time series against the Falcons 2-0-0.
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The victory was the 191st of head coach Bobby Muuss' career.
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Wake Forest utilized the same Starting XI from the team's 1-0 victory over UCF on Thursday night.
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Redshirt sophomore Cristian Escribano earned the 15th start of his career.
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Senior David Wrona made his 50th career appearance.
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Senior Takuma Suzuki made his 45th career appearance in the start.
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Freshman Alec Kenison made his collegiate debut, entering the contest in the 33rd minute.
From Coach Muuss
"Scrappy, not pretty, but in the end though we're 2-0, and I think that obviously when you start the weekend you want to be 1-0 and when you're 1-0 you want to be 2-0 and we got the job done, but it certainly wasn't pretty. I'm proud of the way the guys fought. We had the game under control at halftime. Maybe not the best football that we've played –or can play – we expect more and that was really what we were talking about at halftime. We pick up the pieces for each other and I think that's what we did tonight." - Bobby Muuss
Up Next
Wake Forest will appear in its first road contest of the 2022 season next Saturday as the Demon Deacons will travel to Alabama to face UAB.
Kick-off will be at 8 p.m. EST and the match will air on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Vlad Walent (1)
Assisted By: Cooper Flax , Prince Amponsah
GOAL by WFU Walent, Vlad Assist by Flax, Cooper and Amponsah, Prince.
16:56
Oscar Sears (1)
Assisted By: David Wrona , Aethan Yohannes
GOAL by WFU Sears, Oscar Assist by Wrona, David and Yohannes, Aethan.
42:49
Thaddaeus Dewing (2)
GOAL by AFA Dewing, Thaddaeus.
48:54
