Charlotte 49ers fall to No. 1 Wake Forest in NCAA soccer tournament
No. 1 Wake Forest clawed its way through to the third round of the NCAA men’s soccer tournament by defeating Charlotte 1-0 on Sunday afternoon in Spry Stadium.
The Deacons (16-2-2) were only able to muster four shots on goal, but it was the final one from forward Jon Bakero with just 7:47 remaining that found the back of the net and decided the game.
“We survived,” said Wake Forest coach Bobby Muuss. “I just told the guys it was the first game all year where we were outshot. Probably one of the sloppiest games we have played all year, but ultimately you survive and advance.”
The first half was a back-and-forth affair that had significantly more whistles blown than chances created by either side. At halftime the two teams had combined for 20 total fouls, including 12 by the visiting 49ers.
“We knew it was going to be a physical game,” Muuss said. “Twenty fouls against us, but I think the guys for the most part, kept their heads. They could have gotten a little rattled – and I think we did at times – but we try to settle down whenever we could.”
The best scoring opportunity in the first half came from Charlotte (11-6-3) with less than five minutes remaining. Forty-niners midfielder Brandt Bronico was able to get behind the Wake Forest defense with possession of the ball, but his shot was saved and deflected out of bounds by a great effort from goalkeeper Alec Ferrell.
Ferrell was credited with seven saves and led the Demon Deacons to their 12th shutout of the season.
Early in the second half, Charlotte seemed to be the more aggressive team. The 49ers were awarded the first three corner kicks of the half and put four shots on goal in the final 45 minutes – more than Wake Forest had for the entire game.
But as the clock ticked below eight minutes remaining, Wake Forest midfielder Ian Harkes got possession of the ball near the right sideline and flicked a cross towards the middle of the 18-yard box. Standing at the other end of the cross was Bakero, who out jumped a pair of 49ers defenders and used his head to knock the ball past diving goalkeeper Austin Pack and inside the left post.
“We have been practicing crosses and just setting balls in,” Bakero said. “I just saw my chance and was lucky to get on the end of it and thanks to the ball from Harkes I was able to help the team.”
Charlotte was able to get two shots off in the final 90 seconds of the game, but the Wake Forest defense held strong and clinched the victory.
Wake Forest, who received a first-round bye for being the No. 1 seed, had not played a game since losing to Notre Dame 1-0 in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament on Nov. 11. Muuss said the long layoff, combined with the emotion of playing in their first game of the NCAA Tournament, may have caused some of the sloppiness, especially early in the contest.
“It could be we haven’t played a game in 10 days, Muuss said. “But I think there was excitement more than there were nerves. Like I have said before – and definitely not an arrogant approach to this – but we have played the best schedule in college soccer. We have been battle tested in so many ways – down goals, up goals, tied late in games – and the guys rise to each of the challenges.”
The next challenge for Wake Forest will be next weekend against No. 16 Indiana in the third round of the NCAA tournament at Spry Stadium.
This story was originally published November 22, 2015 at 7:17 PM with the headline "Charlotte 49ers fall to No. 1 Wake Forest in NCAA soccer tournament."