Thursday, November 14
Cary, N.C.
5:30 p.m.
Wake Forest University
vs
Virginia
Photo by: Wake Forest Athletics
No. 5 Wake Forest, No. 9 Virginia Meet in ACC Tournament Semifinals
11/13/2024 9:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
The Demon Deacons will look to make their third ACC Tournament finals appearance in nine seasons.
CARY, N.C. – The No. 5 seeded Wake Forest men's soccer team will continue postseason action on Thursday evening, facing No. 9 seeded Virginia in the semifinals of the ACC Men's Soccer Championship at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
Advancing to its seventh ACC Tournament semifinal appearance in 10 seasons under head coach Bobby Muuss following Sunday's 5-4 penalty kick result against No. 4 seeded SMU, the Demon Deacons will be in search of their third ACC Tournament final appearance during that span.
Kick-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and the match will air nationally on the ACC Network.
Ticket Information
Tickets are on sale now for the semifinals and championship match at WakeMed Soccer Park and can be purchased HERE.
For the first time, a Champions Package is available for purchase for $40 and includes tickets to all six ACC Women's and Men's matches.
Single-game tickets for the semifinal matches are $10 in advance and $15 on gameday, while championship game tickets are $15 in advance and $20 on gameday.
ACC students are admitted for free with a valid school ID.
The Matchup
ACC Tournament History
Advancing to its seventh ACC Tournament semifinal appearance in 10 seasons under head coach Bobby Muuss following Sunday's 5-4 penalty kick result against No. 4 seeded SMU, the Demon Deacons will be in search of their third ACC Tournament final appearance during that span.
Kick-off is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. and the match will air nationally on the ACC Network.
Ticket Information
Tickets are on sale now for the semifinals and championship match at WakeMed Soccer Park and can be purchased HERE.
For the first time, a Champions Package is available for purchase for $40 and includes tickets to all six ACC Women's and Men's matches.
Single-game tickets for the semifinal matches are $10 in advance and $15 on gameday, while championship game tickets are $15 in advance and $20 on gameday.
ACC students are admitted for free with a valid school ID.
The Matchup
- Wake Forest and Virginia will meet for the second time this season in Thursday evening's ACC Tournament semifinals.
- In the Deacs' ACC opener against Virginia back in September, the two sides drew 1-1 as the Cavaliers jumped out to a one-goal lead in the sixth minute before junior Cooper Flax tied it up in the 70th minute.
- In the second half of that contest, Wake Forest registered a 9-0 advantage in shots.
- So far in ACC Tournament action, Wake Forest has defeated No. 12 seeded Syracuse 2-1 while advancing in penalty kicks following a 2-2 draw against No. 4 seeded SMU.
- Virginia, meanwhile, scored a 2-1 victory over No. 8 seeded NC State before taking down No. 1 seeded Pitt 2-0.
- Since the programs drew 1-1 on Sept. 13, Wake Forest is 7-2-3 in its last 12 matches while Virginia is 8-3-1.
- Facing SMU in Dallas for the second time in a 16-day span, Wake Forest strung together one of the most memorable comebacks in the program's history, wiping away a 2-0 67th-minute deficit with goals in the 78th and 81st minutes before advancing 5-4 in penalty kicks.
- The two sides went into the halftime break knotted at 0-0 before SMU scored in the 60th and 67th minutes.
- Despite the 2-0 hole, Wake Forest fought back with a pair of goals of their own.
- In the 78th minute, junior Cooper Flax logged his team-high sixth goal of the season with a spectacular direct free kick from the top of the 18-yard box.
- Then just three minutes later, an inswinging cross from senior Nicolas Mancilla created an opportunity for freshman Ryan Belal to bag his third goal of the campaign.
- With neither side scoring in overtime, Wake Forest and SMU went into penalty kicks.
- After both the Deacs and Mustangs had converted four times on their first five attempts, freshman Mason Sullivan stepped to the spot and powerfully struck right down the middle.
- Then on SMU's follow-up attempt, the Mustangs went wide of diving senior Trace Alphin to solidify Wake's advancement into the semifinals.
- The 2024 Demon Deacon squad exemplifies playing until the final whistle, as 14 of Wake Forest's 26 goals have come after the 70th minute.
- Despite going down a goal 11 times this season, Wake Forest has recorded four victories and four draws when conceding first.
- Wake Forest has logged comeback victories against Syracuse on two occasions, UNCW and the first come from behind victory when down 2-0 in 18 years with a 3-2 result against Central Arkansas.
- Additionally, the Demon Deacons logged ties when trailing against three ranked foes (No. 21 UCF, No. 14 Elon and No. 15 SMU) along with the first matchup against Virginia in the regular season.
- The 14 goals after the 70th minute are:
| Goal Scorer | Opponent | Time |
| Central Arkansas (Aug. 25) | 72:16 | |
| UCF (Aug. 30) | 76:19 | |
| Gardner-Webb (Sept. 6) | 75:04 | |
| Virginia (Sept. 13) | 69:07 | |
| Elon (Sept. 17) | 79:47 | |
| Syracuse (Sept. 27) | 77:27 | |
| Syracuse (Sept. 27) | 79:28 | |
| UNCW (Oct. 15) | 78:27 | |
| Virginia Tech (Oct. 19) | 72:59 | |
| NC State (Nov. 1) | 74:35 | |
| Syracuse (Nov. 6) | 69:23 | |
| Syracuse (Nov. 6) | 82:08 | |
| SMU (Nov. 10) | 77:22 | |
| SMU (Nov. 10) | 80:25 |
- Wake Forest will be competing in its 67th ACC Tournament match all-time on Thursday evening, as the Demon Deacons are 23-29-14 in the tournament dating back to 1987.
- This will be the fourth meeting between Wake Forest and Virginia in the ACC Tournament over the last 10 years, as the two sides have gone 1-1-1 against each other in that span.
- Wake Forest and Virginia tied in the 2017 ACC Championship, with the Demon Deacons claiming the tournament title 4-3 in penalty kicks.
- Then in 2021, the Demon Deacons scored a 3-0 first round victory over the Cavaliers at Spry.
- In the 10 seasons under head coach Bobby Muuss, the Demon Deacons are 10-7-3 in ACC Tournament matches with titles in 2016 and 2017.
- The Demon Deacons remain the most recent ACC program to win back-to-back ACC Tournament championships.
- Offensively, three Cavaliers have scored four or more goals this season, led by Nick Dang's six. In total, 15 different Virginia players have scored on the campaign.
- Defensively, Virginia has allowed just one goal per game in its 18 matches this season with six clean sheets.
- This will mark the 22nd all-time matchup between the two sides in ACC Tournament action.
- If the Demon Deacons are able to advance against the Cavaliers, Wake Forest will be making its seventh appearance in the finals of the ACC Men's Soccer Championship and third under 10th-year head coach Bobby Muuss.
- Kick-off against the team advancing in the second semifinal matchup between No. 2 seeded Clemson and No. 11 Cal is scheduled for 12 noon on Sunday at WakeMed Soccer Park.
Players Mentioned
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
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