The junior and freshman combined on both of Kyle Holcomb’s goals to get past Kentucky 2-1 on Thursday night in Cary.
CARY, N.C. -- Behind the connection of Hosei Kijima and Kyle Holcomb, the Wake Forest men’s soccer team triumphed in the Round 16 of the 2020 NCAA Tournament on Thursday night, taking down Kentucky 2-1 at WakeMed Soccer Park Field #2.
Holcomb scored his team-leading seventh and eighth goals of the season, each coming deep inside the box off passes from Kijima.
The pair of assists were the freshman’s first two assists of the season. The Yokohama, Japan, native also added two shots to the Deacs’ efforts.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Cole McNally turned in a stellar performance as well in just his second NCAA Tournament start. He nabbed four saves, as the backline of freshman Garrison Tubbs and Prince Amponsah, sophomore Nico Benalcazar and junior Holland Rula withstood a full 90 minutes from a Wildcat offense that attempted 18 shots, helping the Deacs never trail in the contest.
With the win, Wake Forest makes its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in the past six seasons. The Deacs will take on ACC rival North Carolina on Monday for a spot in the College Cup.
Kick-off for the match is scheduled for 5 p.m.
How It Happened
Demon Deacon Details of Note
Muuss’ Musings
"What a gutsy performance. I just told the guys that before the season, we were the ‘Baby Deacs.’ We're the ‘Not so Baby Deacs’ right now with the experience and the grind that we've had. We've had some tough, tough battles this year. That Kentucky team is a tough team to play. Obviously you saw the directness and the big balls for the small Baby Deacs that we are, but the guys just continued to fight. I thought unbelievable individual performances from Kyle Holcomb tonight, one of our captains getting the goals when we needed them. ...I'm just really proud of this group right now. I've got to pinch myself. We're in the quarterfinals again.”
Up Next
The Demon Deacons will now match up with North Carolina in an intrastate showdown with the winner advancing to the College Cup.
The two teams have faced off once this season, with Wake Forest triumphing in overtime on October 18, 2020, by a final score of 1-0.
CARY, N.C. -- Behind the connection of Hosei Kijima and Kyle Holcomb, the Wake Forest men’s soccer team triumphed in the Round 16 of the 2020 NCAA Tournament on Thursday night, taking down Kentucky 2-1 at WakeMed Soccer Park Field #2.
Holcomb scored his team-leading seventh and eighth goals of the season, each coming deep inside the box off passes from Kijima.
The pair of assists were the freshman’s first two assists of the season. The Yokohama, Japan, native also added two shots to the Deacs’ efforts.
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Cole McNally turned in a stellar performance as well in just his second NCAA Tournament start. He nabbed four saves, as the backline of freshman Garrison Tubbs and Prince Amponsah, sophomore Nico Benalcazar and junior Holland Rula withstood a full 90 minutes from a Wildcat offense that attempted 18 shots, helping the Deacs never trail in the contest.
With the win, Wake Forest makes its fifth appearance in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in the past six seasons. The Deacs will take on ACC rival North Carolina on Monday for a spot in the College Cup.
Kick-off for the match is scheduled for 5 p.m.
How It Happened
- McNally got off to a strong start between the posts to open the game, making two saves in the first ten minutes of the match to keep the scoreline 0-0.
- Holcomb opened the scoring in the 20th minute, finishing his shot from a tight window deep within the box after a pass from Kijima. The Deacs put together a brilliant piece of build-up play, with passes from Tubbs, sophomore Omar Hernandez and Swallen leading up to the final moments between Kijima and Holcomb in the box.
- McNally kept up his superb form, stretching himself nearly 12 yards off his line to parry away a shot from Kentucky’s Daniel Evans after a through ball got on the Wake Forest defense quickly.
- Wake Forest led 1-0 at halftime.
- Wake Forest held the lead despite being outshot 9-4 (3-2 on goal).
- Holcomb and Kijima teamed up in the 62nd minute for Wake Forest’s second goal of the match. Kijima battled on the left wing, passing a perfectly weighted through ball to the onside and wide-open Holcomb, who deflected his shot off the Wildcat keeper’s legs into the net to earn the brace and give the Deacs a 2-0 lead.
- Kentucky pulled one back in the 66th minute, crossing a ball into the box on the right side for Brock Lindow, who put a shot on frame that McNally got a piece of, but could not stop as it went into the net to make the score 2-1.
- Wake Forest stood strong in the final 24 minutes to win 2-1.
- Kentucky outshot the Deacs 18-8, but managed to only put one more shot on frame than Wake Forest (5-4).
Demon Deacon Details of Note
- With the victory, Wake Forest has advanced to the quarterfinals for a fifth time in six years under head coach Bobby Muuss.
- Marks the program’s third NCAA Tournament victory all-time in Cary.
- Wake Forest has now won at least 13 matches for the sixth-straight season.
- The Demon Deacons are now unbeaten in eight-straight contests.
- The victory moves Wake Forest to 4-0-1 against ranked opponents this season.
- Junior Holland Rula made his 25th career start.
- Junior Kyle Holcomb made his 50th career appearance.
- Sophomore Omar Hernandez made his 40th career appearance.
- Sophomores Jake Swallen and David Wrona made their 30th career appearances.
- Was the program’s first-ever matchup with the Wildcats.
Muuss’ Musings
"What a gutsy performance. I just told the guys that before the season, we were the ‘Baby Deacs.’ We're the ‘Not so Baby Deacs’ right now with the experience and the grind that we've had. We've had some tough, tough battles this year. That Kentucky team is a tough team to play. Obviously you saw the directness and the big balls for the small Baby Deacs that we are, but the guys just continued to fight. I thought unbelievable individual performances from Kyle Holcomb tonight, one of our captains getting the goals when we needed them. ...I'm just really proud of this group right now. I've got to pinch myself. We're in the quarterfinals again.”
Up Next
The Demon Deacons will now match up with North Carolina in an intrastate showdown with the winner advancing to the College Cup.
The two teams have faced off once this season, with Wake Forest triumphing in overtime on October 18, 2020, by a final score of 1-0.
