No. 16 Wake Forest, No. 20 Maryland Play To 0-0 Draw

COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- In a matchup of two of college soccer's perennial powers, the No. 16 ranked Wake Forest men's soccer team (1-0-2, 0-0-0 ACC) and No. 20 Maryland (1-1-1, 0-0-0 Big Ten) played to a 0-0 draw on Friday night at Ludwig Field.

The matchup was an intense and physical battle with little separating the two sides and neither able to find a game-deciding goal. Junior goalkeeper Trace Alphin made three saves on the night, none bigger than a 72nd-minute penalty kick stop. With the Terrapins' Stefan Coppeti at the spot, he elected to go to the bottom right of the goal where Alphin stretched out to make the save.

Wake Forest will return to Spry Stadium for a Monday night matchup with the Furman Paladins in the first meeting between the two programs since a 1-0 Demon Deacon victory on Nov. 28, 2007.

Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the match will air on ACC Network Extra.

How It Happened

After an early feeling out process from both sides, each needed to make an early 10th-minute sub as Cooper Flax entered the match.
Maryland recorded the first shot of the night in the 21st minute, but Trace Alphin did not need to move off his line as the attempt was off target.
After Babacar Niang was taken down for a free kick in the 23rd minute, Liam O'Gara took the direct kick but it was stopped by the Terrapin wall.
Wake Forest got a follow-up dropped ball, but Niang's lofted pass into the box was unable to be converted.
In the 29th minute, Roald Mitchell got a leg off a Jahlane Forbes cross, but his left-footed shot went just wide of the Maryland frame.
The two sides went into the halftime break at 0-0 with the Deacs holding a 3-2 advantage in shots.
The Deacs' first shot of the second half came in the 60th minute, but Camilo Ponce's strike did not trouble Maryland keeper Jamie Lowell.
Hosei Kijima had a great look in the 66th minute, turning three Terrapins the wrong way before his shot was blocked.
A flurry of events led to a Maryland penalty kick attempt in the 72nd minute, but Alphin saved the attempt from Stefan Copetti to keep it scoreless.
Alphin made an 89th-minute save to preserve the Demon Deacon clean sheet.

Demon Deacon Details of Note

Senior Garrison Tubbs earned his 55th career start.
Senior Chase Oliver made his 55th career appearance.
Senior Colin Thomas made his 50th career appearance in his first start of the 2023 season.
In the first regular season meeting between the two programs since the 2013 season, Wake Forest and Maryland played to a 0-0 decision as the Deacs now lead the all-time series against the Terrapins at 18-15-6.
The consecutive draws mark the first time Wake Forest has recorded back-to-back ties since the 2014 season against Clemson (1-1 on Nov. 9) and Towson (0-0 on Nov. 20).

From Coach Muuss
"I am proud of the fight and the resilience the guys showed in a very difficult environment. It was a fun and exciting college football match even with so many stoppages. We were faced with adversity and thought we handled it well. Although we had some great defensive plays – including a PK save – I thought we deserved a little bit better in the match."

Up Next
Wake Forest and Furman will meet for the 20th time in the first showdown between the Demon Deacons and Paladins in 16 years.

Kick-off will be at 7 p.m. and the match will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.

Next Event

Team Stats

Babacar Niang

Roald Mitchell

Hosei Kijima

Camilo Ponce

Players Mentioned

Trace Alphin

Cooper Flax

Jahlane Forbes

Hosei Kijima

Roald Mitchell

Babacar Niang

Liam O'Gara

Chase Oliver

Camilo Ponce

Colin Thomas

Garrison Tubbs

Wake Forest Athletics