The no. 6 Harvard men's soccer (6-0) travels down to Winston-Salem, North Carolina for tonight's out of conference clash with the no. 3 Demon Deacons of Wake Forest (4-1-1) in what will be the toughest test of the season for the Crimson.
A lot is at stake for the Crimson. A result down south will place the Crimson in the top five of the national rankings, which would be the highest ever ranking for the Johnnies, and could very well cement Andre Akpan's pursuit for the Hermann Trophy. The Crimson are also hoping to remain among the five teams with perfect records, and a win tonight would be the best start for a Crimson squad since the 1970 team that went 12-0. The Crimson enter the match 1-0 against ranked opponents, knocking off then ranked no. 14 Boston University at Ohiri Field.
Wake Forest also has a lot to play for. The Deacs, who are at 4-1-1, saw their one loss come at the hands of ACC Opponent Virginia, the first time Wake Forest had been defeated in 35 matches at Spry Stadium. They got back to their winning ways at home with a 2-1 victory over Elon, but one thing is for certain- the Deacs won't want to lose two of three games at home after such an impressive streak. They will also be trying to keep another impressive streak alive, as they have not fallen to a non-conference opponent in 45 straight matches, with their last non-conference loss coming in 2005 in the NCAA tournament against Cal. Wake Forest enters this game 1-1-1 against ranked opponents, drawing with then no. 12 Notre Dame and defeating then no. 7 Indiana, with the loss coming to Virginia.
Harvard and Wake Forest have never met on the pitch before. Harvard is 8-14-4 against schools from the Atlantic Coast Conference all-time, including 1-0 this year after defeating Boston College on the road. Wake Forest, playing its first game against an Ivy League opponent this season, is 1-2-0 all-time against the Ancient Eight. Their last game against the Ivy League was in last year's NCAA Tournament, where they beat Dartmouth 7-0.
Harvard Game Notes Here
Wake Forest Game Notes Here
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