The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-4-6, 2-3-3 ACC) saw their ACC title defense end in the first round, finding themselves on the short end of a 5-4 shootout with the SMU Mustangs (8-4-4, 3-2-3 ACC) For the Deacs, this result will likely end their season, as they sit 47th in the RPI rankings, likely well outside of the 48-team field. They finish the regular season with a 1-2-2 record on the road and an 0-4 record vs top half teams in the ACC. After ascending to the #1 ranking on 9/16, the Deacs posted
a 3-4-4 record. The Mustangs, meanwhile, have consolidated their position on the bubble, and will likely find themselves in the field when it is selected in a week and a half. They will travel to Palo Alto for a matchup with #7 Stanford in the ACC Quarterfinals on Sunday. This was a topsy-turvy and emotional game where both teams took some punches, but the Mustangs were able to weather the storm and come out with the victory after a ton of late drama.
This was a game that was defined by set pieces. It started out white hot when, in the 4th minute, Wake forward Harvey Sarajian put a long throw into the penalty area from the right flank. SMU center back Enzo Panozzo was able to get up and head it away, but only into the path of midfielder Cooper Flax at the top of the box, who lashed one into the bottom corner at the near post for his 8th goal of the year to give the Deacs an early lead. Just moments later, though, in the 5th minute, a Panozzo long throw caused some chaos in the Wake box, with a failed bicycle kick attempt from SMU forward Stephan Soghomonian falling right to the feet of winger Jaylinn Mitchell, who lashed one towards goal. It pinballed off of his teammate Ryan Clanton-Pimentel and right back to Soghomonian at the top of the 6 yard box, who squeezed it through traffic for his 10th goal of the season to make it 1-1 with 85 minutes to go.
The excitement continued after those two goals, as, in the 10th minute, the Mustangs had a penalty shout. Jaylinn Mitchell would go one on one with Wake fullback Amoni Thomas, and, after some hand fighting with Thomas, Mitchell went down in the penalty area. The ref would send the play to VAR, but, after review, no penalty was given, as he deemed that the contact was marginal. Just 5 minutes after the review, the Deacs led again. In the 15th minute, Harvey Sarajian was brought down outside the penalty area by midfielder Charles-Emile Brunet, and Cooper Flax would step up to take the free kick. Flax put his shot goalie side and caught keeper Martin Dominguez leaning, depositing his free kick into the back of the net for his 2nd goal of the game and his 9th of the season to make it 2-1.
From there, the game was very choppy, with the Mustangs controlling possession but the Deacs taking every opportunity to slow the game down, foul opposing players, and break up SMU’s momentum for the rest of the half. There would be a couple of chances in the last half hour, though. In the 22nd minute, SMU again caused some havoc in Wake’s box via the long throw, as Enzo Panozzo put another ball into the box that the Deacs couldn’t clear at the front post, allowing it to bounce into the 6 yard box for Jaylinn Mitchell, who headed it towards goal from point-blank range. However, keeper Jonah Mednard got a big hand to it, and the rebound from Stephan Soghomonian hit the side netting. The Deacs, who were starved for possession for most of the half, had an opportunity to double their lead in the 40th minute, when Charles-Emile Brunet couldn’t control a poor pass from center back Villads Landsperg in the Mustangs’ third, allowing the Deacs to win possession up the field. Forward Chandler Young controlled it and laid it off to Cooper Flax at the top of the D, who smacked one goalwards, but Martin Dominguez was equal to it this time, parrying the ball wide for a goal kick. The half’s most controversial moment came in its final minute, when another poor giveaway in SMU’s end allowed Chandler Young to control the ball in SMU’s box. He was held up by Enzo Panozzo, who jockeyed with him before Young turned towards goal and went down under a challenge from Panozzo. It was not called a penalty on the field, and, despite Panozzo having grabbed a hold of Young’s jersey a few times during the play, the call on the field stood. Wake coach Bobby Muuss was issued a yellow card for arguing with the official over this call, but it did him no good, and, when the buzzer sounded to end the half, the score remained 2-1.
Play did not calm down after the break, with both teams getting their fair share of chances. The Mustangs started strong in the 47th minute from another long throw, with the Deacs clearing the initial ball in, but SMU corralled it and put a cross back into the box. It was pinball in the area again, and the ball fell to center back Slade Starnes at the top of the 18, but Jonah Mednard was able to save his shot through traffic. The Mustangs kept banging on the door, and nearly tied the score in the game’s 57th minute, as Jaylinn Mitchell got the better of Wake right back Copeland Berkley off the dribble and charged into the box from the left flank. He put it across to forward Milton Lopez just outside the 6, but center back Mason Sullivan, who started in place of the injured Daniel Krueger, made a huge block on Lopez’s effort. In the 62nd minute, the Deacs had their opportunity to pad the lead out through a wonderful counter attack. Winger Vlad Walent was the one to spring it, winning the ball and then receiving a pass ahead from Joel Torbic, then switching the field to Alfred Debah on the opposite wing. Debah slid the ball through to Chandler Young, who got the beating of his defender by the endline and looped a ball across to an absolutely unmarked Walent at the back post. Walent couldn’t connect with the service, though, whiffing on his volley attempt, allowing the Mustangs to clear their lines. Just a minute later, SMU made the Deacs pay for that missed opportunity. A clumsy challenge from midfielder David Ndong Nguema on SMU midfielder Daniel Escorcia gave the Mustangs a set piece opportunity on the right flank, and it was one that they took full advantage of, as Enzo Panozzo rose highest to meet a Charles-Emile Brunet cross, heading it past Mednard for his first goal of the season to tie the score at 2-2. Just 6 minutes later, the Deacs conceded a near identical goal, with another foul from Ndong Nguema on Escorcia giving Brunet an opportunity to swing a ball in from the right flank, and, this time, Slade Starnes got up to meet it for his first goal of the season, heading it into the far corner to give the Mustangs the lead.
The flurry continued for SMU, who looked to have put the game to bed in the 72nd minute when Brunet fired a shot from distance that Mednard was able to parry away, but nobody tracked Milton Lopez into the area, and he slammed home the rebound for his 7th goal of the season to make it 4-2. A moment of madness in the 76th minute from Cooper Flax looked to be the final nail for the Deacs’ season, as the senior captain pulled the hair of Charles-Emile Brunet, earning a red card and reducing Wake to 10 players for the rest of the game. Shockingly, though, the Deacs found a spark. Bobby Muuss threw everything he had at the remaining minutes of the game, and his substitutions would pay dividends. In the 86th minute, it was winger Nico Rabiu who came up big first, as, after some mazy dribbling from Harvey Sarajian from the left flank all the way across the field, Rabiu would receive a pass from the Georgia Southern transfer, take a touch to create some space for himself, and lash a shot into the far corner from outside the area for his 2nd goal of the season to pull the Deacs back within 1. 3 minutes later, the impossible seemed to happen for Wake, with Nico Rabiu playing a short corner to midfielder Jose Perez, who crossed it into the 6 yard box. Substitute forward Ryan Belal was there, and he bundled the ball across the goal line for his 2nd goal of the season to find an incredible late equalizer for the 10 men of Wake, who looked dead and buried just 4 minutes prior. However, it wasn’t to be. The Mustangs got another long throw opportunity in the game’s final minute, and, after no Wake player could get it clear at the front post, it bounced through to Landon Hickam at the back post, who jammed it in for his 1st of the year to get the win for the Mustangs after all. In the end, it would be heartbreak for the Deacs when the final whistle went, as the 5-4 loss ended their conference title hopes.
There is no other way to put it, this was a game that the Deacs absolutely had to win to give themselves any chance at an NCAA Tournament berth, and it slipped through their fingers in the game’s final minute. This game, barring a shock inclusion in the national field, will be the last competitive fixture that Wake plays until next Fall. As for this game, there are plenty of players to consider for player of the match, with Cooper Flax’s brace, Nico Rabiu’s late goal and assist, Harvey Sarajian’s long throw heroics, and Enzo Panozzo’s goal and assist on the game winning goal each being compelling cases. For me, though, it was Charles-Emile Brunet. The Central Arkansas transfer was exceptional throughout the game in possession, and he was pivotal in the attacking end, registering 3 assists to help power the Mustangs to an ACC Quarterfinal. For Wake, this will be a very tough one to swallow, and they will have a lot to think about this offseason as they try to rejoin the nation’s elite once again next season.
