Isn't UVA and Stanford our nemesis in soccer?
Weakest I’m not so sure. Based on skill and size, possibly. But they’re gritty. They grounded out that win. I can’t hate on a team that finds a way to win and defend the lead like that. Maybe not the prettiest, but our prettiest had missed out on the Final 4 before.
I’d argue that this is clearly the least talented team of the Muuss era, which shouldn’t be a knock against them.
This is the worst defense of that time period other than maybe 2015, but a lot of those D’s were anchored by Politz, Raben, Gdula, and Ferrell/Mundet, which is ridiculous talent to consistently expect. Deshields has been fantastic this year, and Pannenberg is solid, but the rest of the D is unspectacular and the goals against shows that.
The midfield has similar talent as previous years with Parente and Lapa, but I think we miss Dunwell a lot. He was a guy we could always lean on to control possession from the back, which he excelled at. Dezart is a capable CDM for sure, but Dunwell just gave us so much stability.
The attacking this year is interesting. I think it’s deeper than we’ve ever been, but doesn’t have that one stud goalscorer. It was Fernandez last year, Bakero before him, and Gamble/Harrison before that. The depth is nice, but I think the lack of one surefire goalscorer leads to Lapa trying to do too much alone.
I definitely hope I’m wrong, but I’m not optimistic about the Final Four game against UVA after watching our game against them in the ACC tourney. Also, I don’t want to sound like I’m talking negatively about this year’s team, because this is a hell of a college soccer team, but Muuss’ previous squads have set the bar incredibly high regarding level of play regardless of the lack of national championships.
Has the defense been that bad this year?.
No, it hasn’t. This is an exceptional soccer team and defense. Me saying its one of the worst of the Muuss era is not meant as a knock on them. But from the eye test it seems as though we are a bit shakier on defense, and giving up more opportunities at goal for opponents. Michigan game would support that.
Statswise we have a goals against average of 0.71 this year, which is very good, but up from previous years somewhat. This is a good team that I’m very excited to watch this weekend, and I only said what I did comparing to previous teams for discussion purposes. It really doesn’t mean this team can or can’t win a championship, because they aren’t playing against the previous Wake teams I’m talking about.
Wanna watch UNC-CH lose ?
I don't know anything about soccer except that you score points by putting the ball in the goal. I know the College Cup is equivalent to the Final Four so this is a very successful season regardless of the teams strengths and weaknesses. I do know that Virginia and Stanford have both been a persistent nemesis over the years and that the Deacs will likely need to beat both to win the National Championship. At present this is one of the six best teams in the history of Wake soccer. One more win and they become one of the three best teams in Wake history. Two more wins and this will be the best team to represent Wake Forest since 2007, probably the best considering the opponents they must defeat. Go Deacs!
UVA has played 22 games (20-1-1), and they have 15 shutouts, including 1-0 over WF in the ACC Tourney. That said, in the NCAA quarters, SMU scored twice on UVA and took the Hoos to OT.