No. 8 Wake Forest Travels to No. 1 Ohio State with Spot in NCAA College Cup on the Line

COLUMBUS, OHIO – The No. 8 seeded Wake Forest men's soccer team will be looking to capture the program's seventh College Cup appearance and third since 2016 when the Demon Deacons face No. 1 seeded Ohio State on Saturday evening at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.

Kick-off is scheduled for 5 p.m. and the match will be streamed on ESPN+.

The Matchup

Wake Forest (12-4-7) and Ohio State (15-1-4) will meet in a clash of the ACC Champions against the Big Ten Champions on Saturday evening in Columbus.
The Demon Deacons are currently riding a seven-match unbeaten streak following back-to-back 2-1 victories over Maryland and No. 9 seeded Clemson to start NCAA Tournament action.
Ohio State, meanwhile, is unbeaten in eight-straight matches and recorded a 2-1 comeback victory over Western Michigan in the Round of 32 before advancing in penalty kicks, 4-2, last Sunday against No. 16 seeded Stanford.
Since Sept. 27, Wake Forest is 10-1-4 in its last 15 appearances including victories over two ranked opponents in then-No. 12 NC State and No. 7 Clemson.
Wake Forest (17.57) and Ohio State (17.05) rank Nos. 2-3 nationally in shots per game and Nos. 1 and 3 (Wake Forest 168, Ohio State 147) in total shots on goal.
This will be the seventh all-time meeting between Wake Forest and Ohio State, as the Demon Deacons lead the all-time series 5-1-0.
Wake Forest defeated Ohio State 2-1 in the 2007 NCAA National Championship while the Buckeyes took a first round meeting between the two programs on Nov. 17, 2022.

Last Time Out

Facing the defending National Champion for the second time in a two-week span, Wake Forest downed Clemson 2-1 in the Deacs' final appearance at Spry Stadium this season.
Despite going down a goal in the 21st minute, Wake Forest responded to Clemson in the 43rd minute when freshman Ryan Belal scored his fourth goal of the season and second in postseason play.
This marked Belal's third 43rd-minute goal of the year, also scoring at that mark in victories against Radford and Boston College during the regular season.
Wake Forest has now recorded five victories and five draws when opponents have scored first this season.
While both sides had their chances in the second half, they once again went to overtime. However, unlike the ACC Tournament final in which Wake Forest claimed the conference championship in penalty kicks, the Demon Deacons struck just 67 seconds into overtime when freshman Dylan Borso unloaded a long distance strike to eliminate the Tigers.
Prior to the match, Clemson was 156-13-14 when scoring first under 15th-year head coach Mike Noonan.

Deacs In The NCAA Tournament

The Demon Deacons are making their 14th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, as Wake Forest has the nation's second-longest streak and is one of only two programs nationally with a double-digit streak alongside Indiana.
The 14-straight appearances are also eight more than any ACC program, as the conference earned a national-best nine berths in this year's NCAA Tournament.
This marks the 12th straight season in which the ACC placed the most teams in the tournament and the 24th consecutive season that at least five league teams earned a bid.
In total, Wake Forest has made 28 NCAA Tournament appearances in the program's 44-year existence and 23 times over the last 24 seasons.
Including five appearances under current head coach Bobby Muuss, the Demon Deacons have made 10 appearances in the Round of 8.
Additionally, Wake Forest has earned six trips to the College Cup: 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016 and 2019.
Along with winning the 2007 NCAA Championship in a 2-1 comeback victory over Ohio State, the Demon Deacons also made the College Cup Final in 2016.
Overall, Wake Forest is 39-23-10 in NCAA Tournament action and 18-9-0 under Muuss.

ACC Champions For The Fourth Time

For the fourth time in program history, the Wake Forest men's soccer team has been crowned ACC Champions, as the No. 5 seeded Demon Deacons completed a thrilling run to the title with a 1-1 (7-6 PKs) victory against No. 2 seeded Clemson.
The 2024 squad joins the 1989, 2016 and 2017 teams in claiming ACC Championships, as the last three have come under the direction of 10th-year head coach Bobby Muuss.
Since Muuss' hiring prior to the start of the 2015 season, the Demon Deacons have claimed a conference-best three ACC titles and won a league-high five divisional titles (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2023) under the previous scheduling format.
Additionally, Wake Forest over the last decade leads the country in total wins (151), home wins (110) and ACC regular season victories (56).

ACC Championships Since 2015

Team	ACC Championships	Years Winning ACC
Wake Forest	3	2016, 2017, 2024
Clemson	2	2020, 2023
Syracuse	1	2015
Louisville	1	2018
Virginia	1	2019
Notre Dame	1	2021
Syracuse	1	2022

The Captain Comes Up Clutch

Down the stretch for the Demon Deacons, junior captain Cooper Flax has been at his best.
The Dix Hills, N.Y., native currently leads Wake Forest in points (19), goals (nine), shots (62) and shots on goal (26) while ranking second on the team in game-winning goals (two).
Over Wake Forest's last nine matches in which the Deacs are 6-1-2, Flax has scored six goals including a pair of second half game-winning tallies against Virginia Tech and Maryland.
Additionally, Wake Forest is 7-0-2 this season when Flax records either a goal or an assist.

Freshmen Ready For The Moment

One of the highlights of Wake Forest's current seven-match unbeaten stretch has been the play of the Deacs' freshman class.
Offensively, seven of the Deacs' 15 goals over this seven-match span have either been scored by a freshman or logged the assist.
In Wake Forest's 2-1 victory over Clemson in the Sweet 16, the Deacs' two goals were scored by freshmen in Ryan Belal and Dylan Borso.
Defensively, Amoni Thomas has played 487 minutes during this stretch and helped content the potent offenses that Maryland and Clemson utilize to their advantage.
Additionally, when Wake claimed its fourth ACC Championship in program history in PKs against Clemson, four of the Deacs' seven converted attempts were by freshmen (Borso, Belal, Pariss Mitchell and Mason Sullivan).

Scouting the Buckeyes

Offensively, Ohio State has been led by Big Ten Midfielder of the Year Michael Adedokun, as he's registered team highs in points (29), goals (9), assists (11), shots (77) and shots on goal (27).
In total, six Buckeyes have scored more than five goals on the season including Wake Forest graduate David Wrona ('22) (five goals, four assists).
Max Trejo has started all 11 of his appearances in goal this season, recording 29 saves and a 9-0-2 record. His clean sheet against Stanford in the Round of 16 was his sixth shutout.

Looking Ahead

If the Demon Deacons are able to advance over the Buckeyes, Wake Forest would return to WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., for the NCAA College Cup.
Wake Forest would face either No. 13 Marshall or No. 12 SMU in the semifinals, which are set to take place at either 5 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 13.

No. 8 Wake Forest Travels to No. 1 Ohio State with Spot in NCAA College Cup on the Line

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ryan Belal

Dylan Borso

Cooper Flax

Pariss Mitchell

Mason Sullivan

Amoni Thomas

Wake Forest Athletics

No. 8 Wake Forest Travels to No. 1 Ohio State with Spot in NCAA College Cup on the Line

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Ryan Belal

Dylan Borso

Cooper Flax

Pariss Mitchell

Mason Sullivan

Amoni Thomas

Related Videos