Wake Forest University
9-0-0, 3-0-0
Clemson University
7-2-0, 1-2-0
No. 1 Wake Forest Takes Down No. 10 Clemson 6-1 For Third-Straight ACC Win
9/24/2022 10:57:00 PM | Men's Soccer
For the second-straight game, Wake Forest had six different goalscorers as the Demon Deacons downed the defending National Champions 6-1 at Historic Riggs Field.
CLEMSON, S.C. -- Behind six different goal scorers for the second time this week, the No. 1 ranked Wake Forest men's soccer team (9-0-0, 3-0-0 ACC) knocked off No. 10 Clemson (7-2-0, 1-2-0 ACC) by a final of 6-1 on Saturday night at Historic Riggs Field.
The victory was tied for the largest margin of victory (Wake Forest won 5-0 on Sept. 13, 2008) for either side in the 53 total meetings and the six goals scored were the most by either side in those matchups. Additionally, the six goals scored were the most against Clemson since the Tigers suffered a 6-4 defeat against Virginia on Oct. 9, 1994.
The Demon Deacons took a 2-0 lead into halftime, as sophomore Baba Niang and junior Hosei Kijima would beat Clemson goalkeeper Trevor Manion. Then in the second half, Wake Forest would add four more goals from freshman Vlad Walent, sophomore Leo Guarino and juniors Chase Oliver and Oscar Sears.
Sophomore goalkeeper Trace Alphin collected a season-high six saves in the performance.
Wake Forest will return to Spry Stadium for a Big Four showdown against current No. 7 Duke next Saturday. Kick-off between the Demon Deacons and Blue Devils is scheduled for 7 p.m.
How It Happened
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Sophomore Trace Alphin came up with a huge early save, diving to stop Clemson's Brandon Parrish in the fifth minute.
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Freshman Cooper Flax nearly got the Deacs on the scoreboard in the 10th minute, but the Dix Hills, N.Y., native's shot hit off the crossbar.
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Wake Forest would break open the scoring in the 17th minute, as sophomore Baba Niang blasted a set-up from fellow sophomore Roald Mitchell for his second goal of the season.
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After Mitchell placed the ball for Niang, the Dakar, Senegal, native one-timed a shot past Clemson.
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The Demon Deacons would double their lead in the 27th minute, as Flax found junior Hosei Kijima at the top of the 18-yard box for the Yokohama, Japan, native to collect his second goal of the season.
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Flax, meanwhile, tallied his fourth assist of the season, second on the team behind junior Jahlane Forbes.
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Alphin came up time and time again in the opening 45 minutes, including two spectacular saves off free kicks just outside of the Demon Deacon box.
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Mitchell would collect the first shot of the second half, but his attempt went past the side of the Tigers' frame.
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Freshman Vlad Walent would get the third Demon Deacon goal of the match in the 50th minute, as he turned the Tiger backline before putting home his second of the season.
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The Deacons would add a fourth goal in the 63rd minute, as Forbes swung in a cross that junior Chase Oliver would convert into his second goal of the season.
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The assist was Forbes' fifth of the season, which leads the Deacs.
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Wake Forest would add a fifth goal in the 77th minute, as sophomore Leo Guarino collected a cross from Sidney Paris.
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The Deacs would get their sixth and final goal in the 89th minute from junior Oscar Sears.
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Paris would collect his second assist of the night while sophomore Ryan Fessler also registered an assist on the goal.
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Paris now is tied with Flax for the second-most assists on the team this season with four.
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Clemson would strike in the 90th minute off a penalty kick.
Demon Deacon Details of Note
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With the victory, Wake Forest pushed its season record to 9-0-0 for the second time in five seasons, joining the 2018 squad that started 11-0-0.
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Wake Forest remains one of just two teams in the country that are unbeaten and untied on the season, joined by Charlotte (6-0-0).
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The victory was the 198th of head coach Bobby Muuss' career and his 124th at the helm for Wake Forest. It also marked his 46th ACC regular season win in eight seasons.
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The 124 victories since the beginning of the 2015 season extends a nationally-best mark, as Indiana (108) and Clemson (105) are the only other programs to win more than 100 total matches over the last eight years.
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Wake Forest now leads the all-time series against the Tigers 25-20-8, with nine of those victories coming on the road.
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Senior Takuma Suzuki earned his 45th career start.
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Junior Jahlane Forbes made his 40th career appearance and earned his 30th career start.
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Junior Hosei Kijima made his 45th career appearance.
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Junior Chase Oliver made his 45th career appearance.
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Sophomore Roald Mitchell made his 30th career appearance.
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Sophomore Trace Alphin made his 25th career appearance.
From Coach Muuss
"The collective performance was excellent. We discussed that we'd like to have the ball more than our opponent, but we talked and said that it really wasn't that important in this match. We wanted to deny them central passing lanes as they do such a good job of breaking it down and breaking the line centrally. And then when a ball went wide, we wanted to press and I thought we turned them over in some good areas. What can you say about the transitional moments for us, you know, to beat a transitional team with a couple of transitional goals is pretty special. But the guys were bought in. We were laser-focused even though training wasn't great this week. But you could tell they were listening and it came to fruition here with a great team performance." – Bobby Muuss
Up Next
Wake Forest and Duke will square off for the 50th time and the first appearance between the two at Spry Stadium since Sept. 29, 2018.
Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the match will air on ACC Network Extra.
Team Stats
Babacar Niang (2)
Assisted By: Roald Mitchell
GOAL by WAKE Niang, Babacar Assist by Mitchell, Roald.
16:42
Hosei Kijima (3)
Assisted By: Cooper Flax
GOAL by WAKE Kijima, Hosei Assist by Flax, Cooper.
26:47
Vlad Walent (2)
GOAL by WAKE Walent, Vlad.
49:42
Chase Oliver (2)
Assisted By: Jahlane Forbes
GOAL by WAKE Oliver, Chase Assist by Forbes, Jahlane.
62:05
Leo Guarino (3)
Assisted By: Sidney Paris
GOAL by WAKE Guarino, Leo Assist by Paris, Sidney.
76:33
Oscar Sears (3)
Assisted By: Sidney Paris , Ryan Fessler
GOAL by WAKE Sears, Oscar Assist by Paris, Sidney and Fessler, Ryan.
88:57
Brandon Parrish
CLEM Brandon Parrish PENALTY KICK GOAL.
89:24
