The first half belonged to Ohio State. And the second half was all Wake Forest. In an intensely physical match, the Demon Deacons scored two second-half goals for a 2-1 victory in the NCAA Men's College Cup final and the first soccer championship in school history.
Marcus Tracy, who scored both goals in Wake's 2-0 victory against Virginia Tech in the national semifinal, led the Demon Deacons to victory after being kept on the bench to start the second half. He scored midway through the stanza to answer a first-half goal for the Buckeyes, then set up the national championship winner with a charging run and nifty pass with 12 minutes to play.
Ohio State created quality chances early. Finally at the 12:02 mark, they made things happen. Doug Verhoff blasted the ball toward goal, it bounced off the right post and into the box. Roger Espinoza buried a short ball for a 1-0 lead.
The Demon Deacons seemed a bit stunned and took a few minutes to regroup. Ohio State had an uncanny way of breaking up every run they made. In the first half alone, Wake Forest took three shots, while Buckeyes goalkeeper Casey Latchem was not forced to make a single save. All three shots went high or wide.
But in the second half, Wake Forest came out with a different look. This time, they were a team on a mission. It took just 21 minutes for the local favorites -- from just a couple of hours away in Winston-Salem -- to knot things up. Cody Arnoux crossed the ball to Tracy who sent it soaring into the net, tying the game at 1-1 in the 66th minute.
In the 72nd minute, Tracy again found some space and made a run. He sent a shot into an open goal, but Verhoff was there and blocked it.
A couple minutes later Wake's Zack Schilawski found the net for the game-winner. Tracy made a run and slipped the ball to Schilawski running toward the center of the box. He curled it into the net past Latchem for the 78th minute goal.
It looked as if Wake would take a 3-1 lead with just more than four minutes of play remaining. Tracy beat Latchem in a one-on-one battle as the Buckeyes pressed forward for the equalizer. But after rounding the 'keeper, Tracy's shot hit the outside left netting with the wide-open goal gaping.
Ohio State created some opportunities, but this time Wake Forest had an answer for each one -- even as starting center back Julian Valentin was forced to the sidelines for the final minutes after taking a boot to the face that left him with a bloody nose and cheek.
But despite having the same number of shots, each team with 12, Ohio State couldn't find the late tying goal and Valentin was first to grab the NCAA national championship trophy and race to the stands to share it with the Demon Deacons faithful.
Kathryn L. Knapp is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
