#1 Wake Forest Edges Orange, 1-0

Saturday, September 21

Winston-Salem, NC

7:30 PM

Syracuse University

2-2-3, 0-1-1

Wake Forest

6-1-0, 2-0-0

Syracuse

Wake Forest

9/21/2019 10:10:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Syracuse's bid to upset No. 1 Wake Forest for the second consecutive year came up just short as the Demon Deacons defeated the Orange, 1-0, in Winston-Salem, N.C. on Saturday. Wake Forest scored the only goal of the match in the 63rd minute for the win.

"It's tough when you work so hard and get nothing out of the game, but there were a lot of positives tonight," Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre said. "It was a tough environment on Alumni Weekend against an elite ACC team. We had some pretty good moments in both halves. We worked extremely hard to disrupt a good college soccer team. Our final ball needs to be better and we need to create more chances, but if we can build off this performance, I like our chances."

HOW IT HAPPENED
An evenly matched first half ended in a 0-0 tie. The Orange (2-2-3, 0-1-1) recorded the only shot on goal in the frame and finished with six shots overall to five for Wake Forest.

The game-winning goal came in the 63rd minute. Machop Chol came down the right side and crossed the ball into the box. Syracuse junior Simon Triantafillou just missed getting a touch on the ball as it went by him to Justin McMaster on the left side of the box. McMaster put his shot in the back of the net to give Wake Forest (6-1-0, 2-0-0) a 1-0 lead.

Orange goalkeeper Christian Miesch made two saves in the final seven minutes to keep Syracuse within striking distance. He finished with three saves. Freshman Luther Archimede had the 'Cuse's final scoring chance with 1:11 remaining, but his shot went wide and Wake Forest held on for its first win against the Orange since 2015.

OF NOTE
Saturday's game marked the third consecutive year that Syracuse has played Wake Forest when it was ranked No. 1 in the United Soccer Coaches poll. The squads played to a 0-0 draw in 2017 before the Orange upset the Demon Deacons, 2-0, last season at the SU Soccer Stadium.

UP NEXT
Syracuse goes on the road to face Colgate on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 7 p.m. in Hamilton, N.Y.