Syracuse men’s soccer takes down Wake Forest in ACC battle

What was a heavyweight battle between two ACC teams ranked in the Top 10 nationally is a classic case of the unstoppable force versus the immovable object. Wake Forest’s high-powered offense, led by ACC goals leader Roald Mitchell, came into the game with the 6th highest goals-per-game average, coming in at 2.82 a game. However, SU has been even stingier in their denial of opposing goals, surrendering a mere 0.45 goals allowed per game, suitable for 4th best in the country. One of these facts was going to have to give, and on a cold, windy, and wet late Friday night in Syracuse, the Orange’s strength was able to wear down the Demon Deacons’.

Early in the match, Wake Forest seemed poised to pressure SU defenders with attack opportunities constantly. Goalkeeper Russell Shealy, the reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Week, showed early on why he earned that distinction with two great saves (including a header!) in the first five minutes of play. However, after their early offense chances were thwarted, Wake Forest struggled to find consistency on offense all night, not having the proper spacing and generally looking out of sync with their passing and angles. SU’s defense did them no favors, coming out and applying high pressure all night, and that, combined with the rain and wind, made it a miserable night for Wake Forest attackers and middies.

 Shealy booked his 7th clean sheet of the year and has turned into a star for this SU soccer team after coming into the year, not even as the sure-fire starter.  In the 13th minute, junior midfielder Jeorgio Kocevski, a local product from Liverpool, converted on a penalty kick after Levonte Johnson worked his way into the box and got roughed up by some Demon Deacon defenders. Shortly after that, in the 24th minute, Wake’s Prince Amponsah headed a hot corner kick into his own goal to give the Orange a 2-0 lead, which the score stayed until the final buzzer.