With time winding down in the first half, Boston College men’s soccer goalkeeper Brennan Klein looked unbeatable between the sticks. He had already tallied five saves, good for his second most in any match this season with 45 minutes left to play.
A deflection by CJ Williams that fell right to Wake Forest’s Ryan Belal left Klein with no chance, though, and the Eagles (3–3–5, 0–3–2 Atlantic Coast) couldn’t overcome the deficit, losing to the Demon Deacons (5–3–3, 2–1–1) 2–0 in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The game started strong for the Eagles thanks to two shots from Ask Ekeland at the 13:56 and 18:14 marks, the latter being deflected into the crossbar by Wake Forest goalkeeper Trace Alphin.
The Demon Deacons quickly proved why they lead all of Division I in shot attempts per game, however, as they responded by rifling multiple shots toward the net. Nico Rabiu managed to get a shot off in the 28th minute, followed by a shot from Cooper Flax in the 30th, and then two more shots from Flax and Jeffrey White in the 34th.
The Eagles stood strong and managed five first-half shots of their own, but eventually, the Wake Forest attack found the breakthrough it was looking for.
With less than three minutes left in the half, Colin Thomas was able to control the ball for the Demon Deacons before looking up and firing a shot in the direction of the goal. Williams threw himself in front of the ball blocking its path to the net, but an unlucky deflection led to the ball bouncing to Belal for a left-footed finish into the back of the net.
The Eagles entered the half down 1–0, but in each of their last two matches, they had turned one-goal deficits into draws, so the game was not yet completely out of reach.
The half started quietly with neither team able to register a shot on goal until the 57:34 mark, when Wake Forest’s Sidney Paris sent a shot toward the top-right corner that found Klein’s gloves.
The Demon Deacons didn’t have to wait long for their next chance thanks to a mix-up in the BC defense 63 minutes into the game. Basit Umar intercepted a ball in the Eagles’ box to give himself a one-on-one opportunity, but Klein stood tall making a crucial save to keep BC in the game.
It looked like the save was the momentum the Eagles needed as they sprinted into Wake Forest’s third and forced Alphin to make a save, but a video review to check for a handball would halt BC’s momentum.
And just a few minutes later the Demon Deacons found the back of the net again to extend their lead to two. Rabiu dribbled down the right side of the field before sliding the ball right past the BC defense to Paris, who found the back of the net 66:41 into the game.
Through the final 23:19 of play, BC managed just one more shot on target thanks to a 71st-minute strike from Bryan Toro that was comfortably saved by Alphin. Wake Forest, on the other hand, looked like it was the team trying to come back from a two-goal deficit, playing with an intense press and recording shot after shot.
In the final 23:19, the Demon Deacons got off eight shots including three on net. They were all saved by Klein, however, giving him a career-high 11 saves before the clock hit triple zeros and Wake Forest earned the 2–0 win.
