The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (6-3-4, 1-3-2 ACC) return to action at Spry tonight against the Wofford Terriers (5-8-1, 1-2 SoCon). This game is the Deacs’ final non-conference game of the season, and it could not come at a better time, as they have won only 1 conference game this season and have only 2 wins in their last 8 games. Most recently, Wake played to a 1-1 draw with the Louisville Cardinals at home this past Friday in a game that looked to be a clash of titans when the conference schedule
was drawn up, but it ended up being a clash between 2 of the ACC’s bottom 5 teams. The Terriers meanwhile come into this game on a 3-match losing streak, most recently falling to the #19 team in the nation at the time of writing, UNC Greensboro, by a 3-0 score last Saturday. The Deacs will hope for this to be a get right game as they desperately push for an NCAA Tournament spot, while the Terriers are hoping for a signature win and to pile on the misery in a season that has not gone to plan for Wake.
Opponent History
The Wofford men’s soccer program played its first season in 1975, playing at the NAIA level until 1995 when they made the jump to Division I. They were a pedestrian program during their NAIA years, appearing in 8 NAIA tournaments in their 20 years in that division, never advancing past the second round. Head coach John Blair led the Terriers into Division I in 1995 after 9 seasons and 2 tournament appearances during his time at the helm, with his best season coming the year prior, with the Terriers posting a program best 14-3 record. However, the jump proved to be too great for them. In Blair’s 7 seasons at the helm at the DI level, he posted a 25-96-5 record, stepping down after a 4-13-1 season in 2001. Matt Kern led the Terriers from 2002-2007 and did not fare much better, posting a 23-85-8 record and managing only 3 SoCon wins in his 6 years in charge. Ahead of the 2008 season, though, the Terriers hired Ralph Polson to be their next head coach, and he did yeoman’s work at the program, leading Wofford from 2008-2018 and posting an 88-101-14 record during his tenure, leading Wofford to a SoCon title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2009 and winning the SoCon regular season title in 2013. Polson posted 5 seasons of 10 wins or more in his 11 years in charge, something that no other Wofford coach had done at the DI level.
After Polson’s retirement in 2018, Joel Tyson, a former Polson assistant, was hired as head coach, and his tenure was a pedestrian one. He accumulated a 31-50-14 record from 2019-2024, although the Terriers did seem to turn the corner in his final two years in charge, with Tyson winning SoCon coach of the year after a 7-4-6 season in 2023, and he turned in an 8-6-3 season in his final year in charge in 2024, posting an undefeated 6-0-4 record in SoCon regular season games across his final two seasons in charge. After the 2024 season, though, Tyson left the Terriers, then taking on an assistant coaching role with the #6 NC State Wolfpack, which led Wofford to hire Wisconsin assistant Ryan Osborne as their new head coach. Osborne previously served as the head coach of Division II Mercyhurst from 2020-2023, where he posted a 37-5-3 record during his time in charge, so the Terriers will hope that those winning ways can follow him to Spartanburg. This will be Osborne’s second meeting with an ACC opponent in his maiden season with the Terriers, and he’ll hope it goes better than the first, as Wofford opened their season with a 6-0 loss in Raleigh against the aforementioned #6 NC State Wolfpack. The Terriers have been a frequent opponent of the Deacs in recent years, as this will be the 4th straight year they have visited Winston-Salem. The Deacs have a 5-0-1 edge in the all-time series, but their most recent matchup was a 0-0 draw last season. The Terriers have also never scored a goal against Wake across those 6 matchups.
Tactics and Breakdown
Osborne’s Terriers typically set up in a 4-3-3 formation that is very narrow and compact against the ball. In their most recent game against UNCG, they dropped a little deeper defensively, but they have been more of a high pressing side throughout the majority of this season, with their three forwards pushing up and looking to cut off the middle of the field and force the ball wide, where their outside central midfielders and fullbacks can compress the space. When their pressure is broken, all three midfielders drop very deep to cover the center of the field while their back line retains a bit of a wider shape. With the ball, this Wofford side is not dissimilar to Wake, looking to build out of the back and through the middle of the field rather than launching long balls. They still do thrive in the transition game and are not averse to playing more direct, but, even in transition, they like to play balls to feet and move the defense around with their passing. They run their play largely through their center forward, Nathan Simes (who we will talk more about later), who is heavily involved in the buildup from midfield all the way up the other end.
While this style of play has resulted in some truly beautiful soccer at times this season, the results for the Terriers have not been great. Defensively, they are one of the country’s worst teams, sitting 195th nationally out of 210 in goals against average. Their aggressive press leaves them very open in their own half when it is broken, and teams have exploited that, particularly with long balls up the flanks, as they lack pace across their back line. They often find themselves shorthanded in their own half as a result, but, even fundamentally, their marking, tackling, and commitment defensively has been lacking in several games this year. That said, the Terriers’ defense has not been helped by their goalkeeping, which sits dead last in the nation by save percentage. This has been a recipe for disaster this year, particularly of late, as Wofford have surrendered 10 goals during this 3 game losing streak. That said, they have been a pretty strong outfit on the other end, sitting 55th nationally in goals scored, having scored 2+ goals in 7 of their 14 matches this season, and only having been shut out 4 times, twice by ranked opponents. They sit 175th in the nation in shots per game, which is unbelievably low volume for a team that has had this kind of offensive output, but they are ruthlessly efficient in the opposing third, sitting 33rd nationally in shot accuracy. That said, they have really struggled to generate opportunities at points this season, particularly in their last game at UNCG, where they had 1 shot in the 90 minutes, albeit with 10 players for the last 26 minutes. Provided that Wake can get through their press, this is a Wofford team that should allow the Deacs plenty of space and time in their half of the field to create dangerous opportunities, and it may also be an opportunity for an embattled Wake backline to hold a solid scoring unit off the board.
Players to Watch
For the Terriers, their attacking success all runs through striker Nathan Simes. The senior forward from New Zealand has found a new lease on life under Ryan Osborne, as, after 6 goals in 2 seasons at Fordham and 2 goals in his first season at Wofford, Simes has exploded for 8 goals and 4 assists this season. He leads the SoCon in goals and sits 16th in the national golden boot race, and it is easy to see why. Every Wofford move seems to flow through him, with Simes showing a great ability to hold up the ball and distribute it to his teammates. He is a big and intelligent forward who is an excellent distributor. In the area, he is just so dangerous, either with his finishing or his knack for creating space for himself to get a shot away. If the Deacs are going to keep Wofford off the board, he is the player they will have to contain. The other player to watch for the Terriers in this one will be Adam Celik. The sophomore center back out of Sweden will have his hands full with a Wake attack that is going to throw a lot at him, particularly in the center forward department. In recent games, Nico Rabiu, Ethan Subachan, Ryan Belal, and Harvey Sarajian have all rotated in and out of the center forward spot, and each offers a completely different set of qualities. Celik will have to be strong and adaptable to deal with these different forwards, especially due to the absence of his freshman center back partner Gavin Lewis, who had started 5 of the last 6 games for the Terriers but will miss this game due to a red card against UNCG this past weekend.
On the Wake side, I believe sophomore forward Harvey Sarajian is the player to keep the closest eye on in this game. Sarajian seems poised for a breakout in these last few games after a player of the match performance in Berkeley a couple of weeks ago and another strong showing against Louisville last week. Sarajian will likely play both out wide and at the striker spot in this game, and, against a backline that should afford him a lot of space to operate, especially out wide where he has been most productive this season, this game will be a big opportunity for the Georgia Southern transfer to add to his ledger for the season. On the other end of the field, sophomore defender Daniel Krueger will be critical for the Deacs as well. Krueger had been a rotation player at center back earlier in the season, with Mason Sullivan starting as the left-sided central defender, but he has now started the last 5 games and helped solidify what had been a defensive unit in total freefall. He has had some pretty solid performances in recent games, but both he and Travis Smith Jr. will have their hands full with Nathan Simes and the rest of the Terrier attack this evening. If Wake is going to get the big win they need in this game, Krueger will have to play a important part in keeping things together on the back end.
Where to Watch
Kickoff is set for 7:00 PM EDT this evening at Spry, and the game will be broadcast on ACCNX/ESPN+.
