By james art Wake Forest (5-3-4, 2-1-1 ACC) made the trip to Durham, NC on Saturday, Oct. 12 to play an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) game against No. 16 Duke (2-1-2 ACC ).
“The boys battled today. There was a spirit that everyone [Demon Deacon] the fans should be proud of tonight,” head coach Bobby Moos said of the tough 0-0 tie between the Demon Deacons and Blue Devils.
It was a brutal match between two members of the Big Four. Despite earning a point against a ranked opponent, Moos was not happy after the game, saying “I’m disappointed because we need three points.”
However, he was excited by the defence, applauding “the clean sheet against a team that averages almost four goals a game”.
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It was also the fourth straight clean sheet for the Demon Deacons and they have won two and drawn two in that period. It was the second straight scoreless tie for Wake Forest, so while the defense was fantastic, the offense couldn’t find the back of the net.
Wake Forest had a huge chance to open the scoring in the first half when freshman Dylan Borso was brought down in the box, leading to a penalty kick for the Demon Deacons. Junior Cooper Flax stepped up to take the shot and with a short stutter and shot went low to the keeper’s right, but a strong arm was there to make the save and preserve the tie.
The Demon Deacons had another good chance in the 77th minute when new defender Amoni Thomas received a clever pass from Flax, but the keeper made a good save to deny it.
“I think we had some really good chances,” Moos said of his team’s offensive performance. “Their goaltender is obviously making some big saves.” Wake Forest registered 12 shots, with only five finding the target.
Wake Forest failed to score for the fourth time this season and the second time in less than a week. While not a cause for major concern, the Demon Deacons will want to be in frantic scoring form over the next few weeks heading into the ACC Tournament.
On the back line, a standout player for Wake Forest was senior goalkeeper Trace Alphin. He was called into the game four times, with three of his saves coming in the second half. Alfin received a shot from the penalty area in the 61st minute, but his quick reflex allowed him to spread his right leg to block.
In the final moments of the game, the ball found its way to a Duke forward at the top of the box and the resulting shot forced Alphin into a miraculous diving save.
Coach Moos applauded Alfin’s heroics, saying: “[Alphin] made some big saves and a big save at the end.”
Overall, it was a positive result for Wake Forest.
“I think this was an exciting game of college football and either team could have won this game,” coach Moos concluded.
Wake Forest is still behind Duke and four points back of first-place Pitt in the ACC standings. The Demon Deacons will wrap up non-conference play in Wilmington, NC on Tuesday night against the University of North Carolina Wilmington. The start is scheduled for 18:00