Wake Forest University

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Competing in its 12th-straight NCAA Tournament, the Wake Forest men's soccer team (14-6-0, 5-3-0 ACC) saw its 2022 season come to an end on Thursday night, falling to Ohio State (11-3-5, 4-2-2 Big Ten) by a final score of 3-0 at Spry Stadium.

The Demon Deacons finished the 2022 season with 14 wins including the first nine of the campaign. That nine-match winning streak was highlighted by two 6-1 victories over George Mason and then-No. 10 Clemson. Additionally, the victory over George Mason set a new program record for consecutive home wins at 13.

Wake Forest completed the regular season with a winning record in ACC play for the 17th-straight year and advanced to the semifinals of the ACC Tournament, hosting two matches in the process.

How It Happened

Ohio State jumped out of the gate with an early 1-0 lead, scoring in the second minute off of a corner kick.
The Buckeyes continued their early pressure on the Demon Deacons, with five shots in the first 12 minutes of action.
Ohio State doubled its lead in the 16th minute, as a rebound off of a free kick just outside of the box was collected by Xavier Green to extend the Buckeye lead.
Sophomore Trace Alphin recorded two saves in the first half.
Sophomore Roald Mitchell recorded Wake Forest's first shot of the night in the 35th minute, but his attempt was blocked by the Buckeyes inside the box.
The Demon Deacons recorded back-to-back corner kicks in the 38th and 39th minutes, with the best chance coming off a header from sophomore Ryan Fessler that was saved.
Wake Forest created the first two chances of the second half, as Mitchell and Fessler each tested Ohio State goalkeeper Keagan McLaughlin in the 47th minute.
The Buckeyes, however, took a 3-0 lead in the 53rd minute.
With a series of activity inside the box, Mitchell once again got an attempt off in the 57th minute that was cleared off the line by Ohio State.
Junior Garrison Tubbs got a head on a 73rd minute cross that was saved by McLaughlin.
Senior David Wrona put his first shot of the night on-frame in the 81st minute that was saved.
In total, 21 Demon Deacons appeared in the match.

Demon Deacon Details of Note

The match marked the first meeting between the two programs since the 2007 National Championship Game, which Wake Forest won 2-1.
Senior Omar Hernandez earned his first start of the season, as the Dalton, Ga., native made his first appearance in the Starting XI since Nov. 7, 2021.
Sophomore Trace Alphin earned his 35th career start.
Sophomore Roald Mitchell earned his 20th career start.
Senior David Wrona made his 65th career appearance.
Freshman Vlad Walent made his 20th career appearance.

From Coach Muuss
"You can't start an NCAA game down by a goal in less than two minutes, and off of a restart. They had two good finishes in a short period of time. I give Ohio State a lot of credit. They managed the game from the start to the end very well, but I give our guys a lot of credit in the second half. We came out and they're keeper made a couple of good saves; they cleared one off the line too. I just felt like we needed to break that seal and just get the first one and I thought everything would fall into place. I'm extremely proud of the way the guys played to the end. I feel bad for the seniors to go out this way. First round exits are not in the Wake Forest DNA and we don't want it in our DNA. We have to learn from it."- Bobby Muuss

2022 Season Recap

Wake Forest earned a 12th-straight NCAA Tournament appearance, longest such streak in the ACC and eight more years than any other conference member.
The Demon Deacons also finished in the top-four in the ACC during the regular season and advanced to the ACC Tournament semifinals. Wake Forest hosted a pair of ACC Tournament matches at Spry Stadium.
With 11 home wins this season, Wake Forest has now won 94 matches at Spry Stadium since the beginning of the 2015 season. That is 21 more home victories than any other NCAA Division I men's soccer program during that span.
With 14 victories this season, Wake Forest has won 129 matches since the start of the 2015 season. That is 14 more victories than any other NCAA Division I men's soccer program during that span.
In a 6-1 victory over George Mason on Sept. 20, Wake Forest set a new program record for consecutive home wins at 13-straight.
In a 6-1 victory over then-No. 10 Clemson on Sept. 24, Wake Forest secured its largest ACC victory since a 5-0 outcome against Boston College on Oct. 2, 2015. Additionally, it was the largest margin of victory for either side in the all-time series with Clemson which dates back to Wake Forest's inaugural season in 1980.
Seven Demon Deacons earned All-ACC honors following the regular season: Garrison Tubbs and Roald Mitchell were All-ACC second-team selections, Jahlane Forbes, Prince Amponsah and Baba Niang were All-ACC third-team selections and Cooper Flax and Vlad Walent were named to the ACC All-Freshman Team.
- With Flax and Walent's selections, Wake Forest had multiple ACC All-Freshman Team selections for the first time since Omir Fernandez and Brandon Servania were both named to the team during the 2017 season
Four Demon Deacons earned weekly ACC honors: Roald Mitchell (ACC Offensive Player of the Week, Sept. 13), Prince Amponsah (ACC Defensive Player of the Week, Sept. 6), Garrison Tubbs (ACC Defensive Player of the Week, Sept. 13) and Takuma Suzuki (ACC Defensive Player of the Week, Nov. 1).
Prince Amponsah and Takuma Suzuki were named to the ACC All-Tournament Team.
The senior class of Omar Hernandez, David Wrona, Sebastian Scrivner, Cole McNally and Takuma Suzuki complete their Wake Forest careers earning 56 victories, four NCAA Tournament appearances and a trip to the 2019 College Cup.
In a 3-1 victory over Boston College, Bobby Muuss earned his 200th career victory as a head coach.
With a 2-0 victory over NC State on Sept. 10, Wake Forest extended its unbeaten streak against the Wolfpack to 21-straight matches. The Demon Deacons are 14-0-2 all-time against their Big Four rivals at Spry Stadium.
Wake Forest finished the regular season ranking in the top-25 nationally in assists per game (4th), points per game (9th), shots per game (T-14th), goal differential (T-16th), scoring offense (19th), win-loss percentage (19th) and shots on goal per game (25th).
The Demon Deacons appeared in all three national polls throughout the season and were ranked No. 1 by the United Soccer Coaches consecutive weeks on Sept. 20 and Sept. 27.
Five different players started every match this year: Jahlane Forbes, Garrison Tubbs, Cristian Escribano, Takuma Suzuki and Roald Mitchell.
Wake Forest earned a winning ACC record for the 17th consecutive season for the 25th time in the program's 42-year existence.

Demon Deacons’ 2022 Season Comes to an End in the NCAA Tournament