The UNC men’s soccer team avenged a regular-season defeat at the hands (feet?) of Wake Forest on Sunday afternoon, upsetting the No. 2 seed Demon Deacons to advance to the ACC semifinals on Wednesday. It’s Carolina’s first trip to the semifinals since 2018.

A 16th-minute goal from Ahmad Al-Qaq was all it took for Carolina, which proceeded to batten down the hatches and withstand 10 more shots from the Deacons before the match was over. UNC goalkeeper Andrew Cordes stood tall in net, tying a career-high with six saves to keep a clean sheet, his sixth of the season. Four of Cordes’ saves came in the second half, including two in the final 11 minutes. Wake Forest outshot UNC 6-1 in the second half, though Carolina’s Martin Vician threatened to double the Tar Heel advantage with a shot on goal in the 69th minute.

The second half also saw Wake Forest take five corner kicks – three in the final seven minutes – as it desperately sought an equalizer. UNC took none in the second half and only one all afternoon.

The win is Carolina’s first against the Demon Deacons since the national quarterfinals of the 2020-21 NCAA Tournament. Sunday’s win means the Tar Heels will have a chance to avenge another regular-season defeat when they visit defending national champions Syracuse in the ACC semifinals on Wednesday. A kick-off time is yet to be announced, and the match will be broadcast on ACC Network.

 

Featured image via UNC Men’s Soccer on Twitter

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