WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Cornell men's soccer found an equalizer late in the second half, but it wasn't enough as No. 18-ranked Wake Forest needed 101 minutes to defeat the Big Red in its season opener on Saturday night at Spry Stadium. A goal just 21 seconds into the second overtime period sunk Cornell, who fell 2-1 in its first ever meeting with the Demon Deacons.
The Big Red struggled early with transition defense before settling in late in the first half. After a 658 day layoff one could've questioned Cornell's level of fitness heading into the match, but the Big Red's physical style of play prevented the Demon Deacons from playing their typical game offensively. Wake Forest entered Saturday nights contest averaging 18 shots per game, but were limited to just eight shots with six on goal.
Wake Forest's Chase Oliver found the first goal of the evening in the 9th minute of action when he beat his defender to the outside and found the far netting.
Fifth-year forward Charles Touche's shot on goal in the 13th minute was the closest Cornell got to scoring in the first half, narrowly missing his first tally of the season. Falling away from the goal, Touche ricocheted a ball off the near post.
After Wake Forest dominated possession of the ball early, the Big Red started to pick things up offensively following Touche's shot in the 13th. Sophomore midfielder Wilson Eisner had his shot from outside the 18 saved in the 16th minute in what was a trickier save than it appeared due to a hop the ball took prior to reaching the goal.
Cornell added to its number of near-misses early in the second half when sophomore defender Henry Hylbert hit the underside of the crossbar on the receiving end of a fifth-year midfielder Tyler Bagley corner kick in the 57th minute.
The Demon Deacons would have advanced their position to 2-0 in the 77th minute if not for a great defensive play by sophomore defender Mateo Rodriguez. Wake Forest's David Wrona crossed the ball in to Nicolas Mancilla whose shot was blocked by Rodriguez.
It was senior forward Emeka Eneli that ultimately found the equalizer for the Big Red in the 81st minute. A costly turnover by the Demon Deacons in the midfield found the foot of Eneli who led the break before swinging the ball out right to Touche. Touche cut the ball back to Eneli on the left who slotted the ball into the bottom right corner of the net.
Cornell and Wake Forest played to a draw through 90 minutes, but a pair of red cards saw the Big Red play the overtime periods down two players in Touche and Hylbert.
After a scoreless first overtime period, Wake Forest needed just 21 seconds to find the game-winning goal when an Oliver cross found the head of Kyle Holcomb on the left side of the net.
Up Next: The Cornell men's soccer program will remain in North Carolina through Labor Day weekend prior to meeting High Point (1-2-0) at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, September 7. High Point is coming off a 2-0 loss to University of Virginia on Thursday.
Assistant director of athletic communications Austin Overmann is in his 3rd year as his office's primary contact for the team. He can be reached at ao437@cornell.edu.
Starting XI:
GK: Brady McSwain
D: Connor Drought
D: Mateo Rodriguez
D: Henry Hylbert
D: Jonah Kagen
M: Tyler Bagley
M: Lalo Serrano
M: Wilson Eisner
M: Harry Fuller
F: Charles Touche
F: Emeka Eneli
