Sunday, November 10
Dallas, TX
4 p.m.
Wake Forest University
at
SMU
No. 5 Seed Wake Forest Returns to Dallas to Face No. 4 SMU in ACC Quarterfinals
11/9/2024 10:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Wake Forest will be looking to advance to its seventh ACC semifinal appearance in 10 seasons.
DALLAS – The No. 5 seeded Wake Forest men's soccer team will continue ACC Tournament action on Sunday afternoon, facing No. 4 seed SMU for the second time in a 16-day span.
Kick-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST and the match will air nationally on the ACC Network.
If the Demon Deacons are able to advance past the Mustangs, they will be making their seventh ACC semifinal appearance over the last 10 seasons.
The Matchup
ACC Tournament History
Kick-off is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST and the match will air nationally on the ACC Network.
If the Demon Deacons are able to advance past the Mustangs, they will be making their seventh ACC semifinal appearance over the last 10 seasons.
The Matchup
- Wake Forest and SMU will meet for the second time in 2024 at the Washburne Soccer and Track Stadium in Dallas.
- On Oct. 25, the two sides met for the first time in their respective histories with SMU scoring a 3-0 victory. The Demon Deacons had two prime opportunities to tie the match early in the second half at 1-1, however, a goal from junior Basit Umar was called back due to a handball before Wake Forest had a penalty kick saved.
- The Demon Deacons and Mustangs both ended the regular season portion of ACC play with 14 points, as each went 4-2-2 in conference action.
- Since the start of October, Wake Forest is 6-1-2 while SMU has dropped only one decision (5-1 vs. NC State on Oct. 19) since mid-September.
- Wake Forest is seeking its third road victory of the campaign while SMU is 8-1-4 in matches played in Dallas.
- Matching up with Syracuse for the second time this season, Wake Forest once again downed the Orange 2-1 in comeback fashion on Wednesday evening in an ACC Tournament first round match at Spry Stadium.
- Despite the Deacs being on the front foot early, it would be Syracuse who would strike first in the 16th minute.
- Even with the deficit, Wake continued to stick to its gameplan and found late success with a pair of goals.
- First, after Syracuse was called for a handball inside the box, junior Cooper Flax stepped to the spot to bury his team-leading fifth goal in the 70th minute.
- Then in the 83rd minute, the Demon Deacons tallied the game-winning goal, as senior Julian Kennedy played a through ball to freshman Dylan Borso. The Chicago native cleverly played a chip with his back to goal to sophomore Travis Smith Jr. who notched his first career strike.
- Since 2015, the Demon Deacons are the only ACC program to reach 10 consecutive trips to the ACC Tournament quarterfinals following Wednesday's victory over Syracuse.
- From 2015-23, Wake Forest claimed an ACC-best five division titles, guaranteeing them a first round bye.
- In 2021, Wake Forest logged a 3-0 first round victory over Virginia as well.
| Program | ACC Quarterfinal Appearances Since '15 |
|
10 |
| 2. Clemson & North Carolina | 9 |
| 5. Duke & Notre Dame | 8 |
| 6. Louisville & Virginia | 7 |
- Wake Forest will be competing in its 67th ACC Tournament match all-time on Sunday, as the Demon Deacons are 24-29-13 in the tournament dating back to 1987.
- In the 10 seasons under head coach Bobby Muuss, the Demon Deacons are 10-7-2 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.
- Wake Forest has advanced to the ACC Tournament semifinals 20 times, with six of those appearances coming in the Muuss Era.
- Offensively, SMU is led by senior forward Bailey Sparks as he paces the team in shots (42), shots on goal (20), points (20), goals (7), assists (6) and game-winning goals (3). He's been perfect at penalty kick attempts for SMU, as five of his goals have come from the spot.
- Senior defender Kyran Chambron Pinho has also contributed 15 points on the season, with five goals and five assists.
- Martin Dominguez continues to be SMU's starting keeper, as he's played 1,080 minutes this season to record 39 saves with a 1.25 goals against average.
- If the Demon Deacons are able to advance against the Mustangs, Wake Forest will compete in the ACC Tournament semifinals on Thursday, Nov. 14, facing the advancing team from the matchup of No. 9 seeded Virginia vs. No. 1 seeded Pitt at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.
- The match would be at either 5:30 p.m. or 8 p.m. and air nationally on the ACC Network.
Players Mentioned
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
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