The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-3-5, 1-3-2 ACC) came up short of a victory on Tuesday, playing to a 2-2 draw with the Wofford Terriers (5-8-2, 1-2 SoCon) at Spry. For the Deacs, this was a result they could ill afford, and, at this point in the season, it looks as if they will need to retain their ACC Championship in order to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, or at least make a deep run and eliminate some top opponents. This is their second draw in a row after a 1-1 tie with the Louisville Cardinals
last Friday, and it extends a poor run of form for them, as the Deacs have only 2 wins in their previous 9 games. For the Terriers, this will be a welcome result, although they did surrender the victory late, as Ryan Osborne continues to establish this Wofford program as a competitive team in this region. This draw, their second straight against the Deacs, put a stop to their 3 game losing skid, and they are now hoping to carry some newfound momentum into the back half of their conference schedule. This game seemed like it would be a sleepy midweek matchup through 45 minutes, but it exploded into life in a 4-goal second half where neither team could do quite enough to secure a win.
The first half was very uneventful, with the two teams combining for 8 total shots and only one on target, and most of those efforts came from long distance. Wake had the lion’s share of possession for the first 45 minutes, but they were sloppy with the ball and found themselves unable to break down the Terriers, who were content to drop into a deep block and soak up pressure. Wake’s best chance of the half came in the first minute of the 90 from forward Harvey Sarajian. Center back Daniel Krueger played the ball up the flank to Jeffrey White, who then found midfielder Basit Umar in an advanced position, and Umar sprung Sarajian into the penalty area for a great shooting chance, but the Georgia Southern transfer pulled his effort wide of the far post. In the 11th minute, the Terriers had their opportunity to take the lead, as a misplaced pass from center back Travis Smith Jr. went right to the feet of Wofford midfielder Kalle Rahbeck, who lined up a shot from the top of the penalty area, but keeper Jonah Mednard was able to tip it over the crossbar. The remainder of the half was largely played in Wofford’s end, but, with the Deacs unable to find their way into the Terriers’ penalty area, when the buzzer sounded, it was still 0-0.
Early in the second half, the game took on a brand new tenor. The Deacs looked much sharper on the ball, and the Terriers began to press a bit higher as they looked to unsettle the Wake defense and get something more than a draw in this game. In the 50th minute, the Deacs took their 6th corner of the night, with midfielder Cooper Flax playing it short to his midfield partner Joel Torbic, who immediately played it back to Flax so he could cross the ball into the area. Flax looped it in to forward Ethan Subachan at the back post, who nodded it back across goal to winger Tate Lorentz in center of the area. Lorentz was unable to control the ball, and it deflected back towards the top of the box, where Subachan was able to chase the ball down and lay it off to midfielder Jose Perez outside the area. Perez fired a shot from distance, and his effort took a massive deflection off of center back Niklas Hegle and went into the back of the net for his 3rd goal of the season. The deflection was not the only fortunate part of this goal for the Deacs, as, upon replay, it was clear that the ball had struck the arm of Tate Lorentz when he attempted to trap it earlier in the play, but the officials did not send the play to video review, and the goal, which should have been disallowed, stood.
Immediately following Perez’s goal, however, momentum swung the other way. Only 2 minutes after taking the lead, the Terriers equalized. A poor pass from Ethan Subachan back into the middle of the field near the halfway line allowed Wofford forward Declan Mettee to win possession and run at an off balance Wake defense. He played the ball out wide to Virginia transfer midfielder Max Talley, who put a wonderful ball into the area for Kalle Rahbeck, who flicked a header past Jonah Mednard and into the bottom corner for his 4th goal of the season. Shortly after, in the 57th minute, the Terriers would strike again. Max Talley was involved once more, as, after a rare passage of sustained possession for Wofford, he settled a wonderful crossfield ball from left back Jakob Andersson and pushed towards the Wake defense. He looked to slide the ball back across the field and into the path of winger/fullback Sam Diebold striding into the area. Wake right back Copeland Berkley looked to step up and snuff out the play, but he wasn’t able to get a touch on the ball, leaving Diebold all by himself with the Wake keeper. He would make no mistake, putting the ball between the legs of Jonah Mednard for his first goal of the season, giving Wofford their first ever lead against the Deacs.
Following their second goal, the Terriers dropped deeper again to try to preserve their advantage, and they did so effectively for most of the remainder of the game. That said, the Deacs began to play with a bit more edge and urgency in the final 20 minutes, during which time they created more shooting opportunities and looked much more dangerous in the attacking third. In the 78th minute, they came inches from an equalizer. Wofford played a long ball forward from a free kick near midfield, but that ball was met well by the head of Travis Smith Jr. His clearance would bounce right to the feet of Harvey Sarajian near the center circle, and Sarajian took a beautiful touch to turn Niklas Hegle and spring a counter attack for the Deacs. Wake found themselves 4 on 3 with the Terriers’ defense, with Sarajian driving the ball towards the middle of the field and then playing it out wide to Jeffrey White. White took the ball into the penalty area unimpeded, sizing up Pepe Hinterschuster in goal and putting a shot past him, but over the goal, hitting the top of the crossbar with his effort before the ball went out of play for a goal kick.
Only 2 minutes later, the Deacs would find their equalizer. The play would start with a Jeffrey White clearance up the field after a Wofford attack, and the ball would once again find its way to Sarajian near midfield with Hegle at his back. He let the ball bounce and spun out of the grasp of the Norwegian, settling it and playing a wonderful outside-of-the-foot pass to Nico Rabiu, who was streaking through the Wofford defense. Rabiu looked to take it around Hiniterschuster once he entered the penalty area, but center back Adam Celik was able to regroup and block Rabiu’s shot attempt. Rabiu was able to keep the ball in play at the endline, though, and he played a brilliant ball back to the top of the D for Cooper Flax, who took a touch to set up his shot and sent a daisy cutter towards goal. Hinterschuster could not get his fingertips to the ball, which nestled in the bottom corner for his 6th goal in as many games. Wake picked the ball up and placed it back in the center circle as they looked to push on for a late winner, but Flax’s goal proved to be the final one of the game, as neither team was able to generate a shot in the final 10 minutes, leaving us with a 2-2 scoreline as the final buzzer sounded.
This was another tough result for the Deacs to take in a season that has been full of them. Before Tuesday, the Terriers had never scored a goal against Wake across their 6 meetings, but, for a 5th time this season, the Deacs surrendered 2 goals to an opponent. For player of the match, there are a few players you can point to in this one. Harvey Sarajian had another excellent attacking performance despite no goals or assists to his name, Cooper Flax and Jose Perez both had great performances in addition to their goals, Wofford defender Mikey Hernandez was excellent defensively all game, and midfielder Kalle Rahbeck put in a complete performance on both ends of the field with his defensive efforts and a goal. For me, though, the player of the match was midfielder Max Talley, who was immense for the Terriers, assisting on both goals and putting in a strong defensive effort as well en route to a huge draw for their program.
The Demon Deacons will return to action on Friday, 10/24, to take on the Pittsburgh Panthers. Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM EDT at Ambrose Urbanic Field in Pittsburgh, and the game will be broadcast on ACCNX/ESPN+.
