HOUSTON, Texas -- Ian Harkes netted a breakaway goal in the 103rd minute to lift second-ranked Wake Forest men's soccer to a 2-1, double overtime victory over sixth-seeded Denver on Friday night at BBVA Compass Stadium to move on to the national championship game on Sunday.
Knotted at 1-1 for 73 minutes of regulation after both teams scored in the first 17 minutes of game action, Harkes found a gap on a counterattack and took a feed from Jon Bakero in which he slotted low inside the left post for the golden goal to advance Wake Forest to its second College Cup final in program history.
The victory moved Wake Forest to 19-2-3 on the season. Now with 19 wins on the season, the 2016 team stands alone third all-time in program history for the most wins in a season. The loss is Denver's first of the season, and its season ends with a record of 20-1-3. The appearance in the national title game gives Wake Forest at least one team in the national title game nine of the now last 12 seasons.
Wake Forest advances to the national championship for the second time in program history. It beat Ohio State in the 2007 national championship in Cary, N.C., by the score of 2-1 as the No. 2 seed. The Demon Deacons take on the winner of fifth-seeded Stanford and ninth-seeded North Carolina. Last season, Wake Forest defeated North Carolina 1-0 in the regular season and fell 2-1 in overtime in the Elite Eight to eventual national-champion Stanford. First kick on ESPNU is set for 2 p.m. EST.
Wake Forest got on the board first when Bakero stole a ball after a bad pass by a Denver defender. Bakero controlled the ball and fired his shot from 25 yards out past the goalkeeper for the game's first goal. The tally marked his third in three games after scoring both Wake Forest goals in the Sweet 16 against SIUE. He now stands alone in second on the team with seven goals on the year.
The Pioneers knotted the game at 1-1 in the 17th minute when Andre Shinyashiki put home a rebound after he fired a shot that was stopped by goalkeeper Alec Ferrell. The rebound bounced right back to him, though, and he beat Ferrell for the goal.
In the second half, Wake Forest had numerous chances to break the 1-1 tie when Bakero hit the crossbar in the 68th minute, Ema Twumasi hit a heavy shot the sailed just high of the top-right corner in the 81st minute and a Ricky Greensfelder shot in the 88th minute that beat the goalkeeper but was cleared off the line by a defender. Though unable to break the tie, Wake Forest outshot Denver 10-2 in the second half and went on to take four shots to Denver's zero in overtime.
Ferrell, making his first start since the ACC Final on Nov. 13, made three saves in the game while Nick Gardner made one. The Deacs outshot the Pioneers 18-7 in the game, but both teams had just four shots on target.
With the overtime win, Wake Forest is now 3-0-3 in games that have gone into extra time this season with wins over then-No. 13 Virginia, then-No. 7 Louisville and No. 6 Denver. In scoring the first goal of the game, Wake Forest is 18-0-2 when notching the first goal of a game.
Riding a 13-game unbeaten streak now with the last loss coming Sept. 30 at then-No. 5 Clemson, the streak is the fifth-best in program history. The streak breaks a tie with last year's team that went 12 games between defeats. The fourth-longest streak in Deacon history is 16 games, set in 1999 while the longest is 24, which included Wake Forest's national championship victory in 2007.
Knotted at 1-1 for 73 minutes of regulation after both teams scored in the first 17 minutes of game action, Harkes found a gap on a counterattack and took a feed from Jon Bakero in which he slotted low inside the left post for the golden goal to advance Wake Forest to its second College Cup final in program history.
The victory moved Wake Forest to 19-2-3 on the season. Now with 19 wins on the season, the 2016 team stands alone third all-time in program history for the most wins in a season. The loss is Denver's first of the season, and its season ends with a record of 20-1-3. The appearance in the national title game gives Wake Forest at least one team in the national title game nine of the now last 12 seasons.
Wake Forest advances to the national championship for the second time in program history. It beat Ohio State in the 2007 national championship in Cary, N.C., by the score of 2-1 as the No. 2 seed. The Demon Deacons take on the winner of fifth-seeded Stanford and ninth-seeded North Carolina. Last season, Wake Forest defeated North Carolina 1-0 in the regular season and fell 2-1 in overtime in the Elite Eight to eventual national-champion Stanford. First kick on ESPNU is set for 2 p.m. EST.
Wake Forest got on the board first when Bakero stole a ball after a bad pass by a Denver defender. Bakero controlled the ball and fired his shot from 25 yards out past the goalkeeper for the game's first goal. The tally marked his third in three games after scoring both Wake Forest goals in the Sweet 16 against SIUE. He now stands alone in second on the team with seven goals on the year.
The Pioneers knotted the game at 1-1 in the 17th minute when Andre Shinyashiki put home a rebound after he fired a shot that was stopped by goalkeeper Alec Ferrell. The rebound bounced right back to him, though, and he beat Ferrell for the goal.
In the second half, Wake Forest had numerous chances to break the 1-1 tie when Bakero hit the crossbar in the 68th minute, Ema Twumasi hit a heavy shot the sailed just high of the top-right corner in the 81st minute and a Ricky Greensfelder shot in the 88th minute that beat the goalkeeper but was cleared off the line by a defender. Though unable to break the tie, Wake Forest outshot Denver 10-2 in the second half and went on to take four shots to Denver's zero in overtime.
Ferrell, making his first start since the ACC Final on Nov. 13, made three saves in the game while Nick Gardner made one. The Deacs outshot the Pioneers 18-7 in the game, but both teams had just four shots on target.
With the overtime win, Wake Forest is now 3-0-3 in games that have gone into extra time this season with wins over then-No. 13 Virginia, then-No. 7 Louisville and No. 6 Denver. In scoring the first goal of the game, Wake Forest is 18-0-2 when notching the first goal of a game.
Riding a 13-game unbeaten streak now with the last loss coming Sept. 30 at then-No. 5 Clemson, the streak is the fifth-best in program history. The streak breaks a tie with last year's team that went 12 games between defeats. The fourth-longest streak in Deacon history is 16 games, set in 1999 while the longest is 24, which included Wake Forest's national championship victory in 2007.
