Before embarking on a four-game road trip, No. 2 Notre Dame tied 2-2 in double overtime against visiting No. 11 Wake Forest at Alumni Stadium on Saturday.
In front of more than 1,500 fans, the Irish (9-1-1, 3-1-1 ACC) recovered from a 1-0 deficit early in the first half to take a 2-1 lead in the second half. Senior forward Mark Gormley and senior defender Brandon Aubrey, who scored their second and eighth goals respectively, put Notre Dame in a position to win their fourth conference matchup, but the Demon Deacons (8-2-2, ACC 3-1-1) goal in the 67th minute left the match in a stalemate all the way through two overtime periods.
“I thought we started the game very well,” Irish head coach Bobby Clark said. “Then I thought they did well in the second half. All of their shots were from very far out, and they scored from very far out … A tie was possibly a fair result because that was a good advert for ACC soccer.”
Wake Forest’s first score was from about 20 yards out by freshman forward Ema Twumasi who caught a rebound from a Demon Deacons corner kick and fired the ball right past senior goalkeeper Chris Hubbard, who didn’t react to the shot zooming towards the left of the net. The Demon Deacons had a chance to push the advantage 2-0 in the first half when they were given a penalty kick following a foul in the box. But senior Demon Deacons midfielder Ian Harkes shot the ball out too wide left as it ricocheted off the left post back into the box where the threat was eventually cleared out.
Gormley tied the game up in the 38th minute after receiving a pass from senior midfielder Oliver Harris that set him up one-on-one against a defender. Gormley headed the ball over the defender and launched a shot about 12 yards out underneath the goalie’s diving save attempt.
The Irish wasted no time in taking the lead in the second scoring in the 48th minute. Senior captain midfielder Evan Panken lobbed a free kick with precision towards the right post from the sideline towards the Wake Forest box, and Aubrey put the Irish up 2-1 with a diving header towards the left corner of the net.
“Evan put in a great, great ball,” Aubrey said. “That was a perfect spot, and I was a little late on my run, which is why I had to dive. I really should have been walking to that. There’s not an easier header in the game than that.”
Aubrey’s eighth score of the season ranks second on the team behind junior forward Jon Gallagher’s 10 goals.
Wake Forest responded to the quick second half Irish goal with one of their own in the 68th minute of the game. Demon Deacon senior forward Jacori Hayes used his formidable quickness to split the Irish defenders and score 16 yards into the left upper corner of the net.
In the 20 total minutes played in the overtime periods, both teams had several opportunities to close the game out with a golden goal, but the defense held strong on both sides. The Irish managed to get off three shots and a corner kick in the overtime periods while the Demon Deacons took two solid shots on goal.
“I thought in the overtime we were the team that was going to win it,” Clark said. “We looked as though we really wanted to win it, but they were quite happy that they got out with a tie.”
Looking to notch a victory in a non-conference matchup, the Irish will face off against Michigan at U-M Soccer Stadium on Tuesday night.
