CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina men's soccer program will open the 2021 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship against the fifth-ranked and No. 5 overall national seed Wake Forest Demon Deacons out of the ACC. The match is set for Sunday, May 2 at 8 p.m. ET and will be played at Spry Stadium, Wake Forest's home stadium in Winston-Salem, N.C.
The Chanticleers (9-4-2) received the Sun Belt's automatic berth into the tournament by winning the 2020 Sun Belt Conference Championship last fall. It is CCU's 17th overall NCAA Tournament appearance and 10th since the 2010 season. It is also the first time the Chanticleers have received a bye into the second round in the NCAA postseason event.
Since 2011 the Chants have won their first round NCAA Tournament games eight consecutive times, and on three occasions they have followed those first-round victories with wins in the second round to move into the round of 16.
Wake Forest (11-2-2) enters the tournament as the fifth seed in the championship. They have the country's longest streak in the top-25 of the United Soccer Coaches (USC) poll at 84 consecutive weeks while also remaining in the top-10 for the past 64 polls.
This is not the first time these two teams have met in the NCAA Championship. CCU defeated the Demon Deacons 2-1 in overtime in a 2012 second-round match. The two teams met again in the second round during the 2016 championship with Wake Forest winning 2-0. Both of those matches were played at Spry Stadium.
Overall, the two teams have met seven times on the pitch with Wake Forest holding a 5-2 lead in the series. Both of the Chants' wins have come at Wake Forest.
The Chants defense will have to defend against one of the top-scoring offenses in the nation. The Demon Deacons are No. 12 in the nation in total points (81), No. 11 in total goals (27), No. 14 in total assists (27), and No. 15 in goal differential (15).
Wake's three top scorers are Kyle Holcomb with 13 points, while Calvin Harris and Omar Hernandez have scored 10 points each. In all, the well-rounded offense has 16 players that have scored.
The Chants will counter with a strong defense led by goalie
Tor Saunders. The 2021 Nashville FC draftee is among the top goalkeepers in the nation. His .806 save percentage is No. 29 nationally. He also ranks in the top 10 nationally in goals against average (fourth, .818), shutouts (fifth, 6), minutes played (fifth, 1320), and in saves (eighth, 50).
Offensively,
Marcelo Lage and
Marcello Jones lead the Chants in scoring with 11 points each. Jones is one of the top assist men in the nation, as he leads the Sun Belt and ranks sixth nationally with seven helpers. Lage has scored his points on a team-leading five goals and has added one assist.
The match can be seen live on ESPN3 with live stats available at
www.GoCCUSports.com.
For complete coverage of CCU men's soccer, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalMSoccer (Twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com.
