WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — It took less than a minute of extra time for NC State to end two long droughts. Austin Bush scored 52 seconds into overtime Sunday afternoon, and the 11th-seeded Wolfpack knocked off third-seeded, 15th-ranked Wake Forest 1-0 in the ACC men’s soccer tournament quarterfinals.
The win sends NC State to the conference semifinals for the first time since 2009, and it was the program’s first victory over the Demon Deacons in 21 years. Russell Berko set up the winner.
Neither side scored through 90 minutes. NC State had the better of the first half, putting up seven shots to Wake Forest’s two, but Demon Deacons keeper Barnett turned away everything on target, including an attempt from Aidan Payne in the 28th minute.
Wake Forest did not register a shot until the 12th minute, when a try by Debah was blocked, and Barnett finished the half with three saves. He was busy again on the hour mark, denying Cameron Letterlough as the Wolfpack kept coming. NC State entered the tournament with a 1-3-4 league record, while Wake Forest went 5-3-0 in ACC play.
Wake Forest pushed back after halftime. Its best spell came between the 66th and 69th minutes, when Wolfpack goalkeeper Gabe Lamphere made three saves in a row on shots from Kuisel, Sullivan and Lorentz. Barnett answered with a late stop on Josh Gordon in the 84th minute to force overtime.
Lamphere finished with three saves for the shutout. NC State outshot Wake Forest 13-8 for the match and had a 6-3 edge in shots on goal.
NC State, now 7-5-6, faces seventh-seeded, 17th-ranked North Carolina in an all-Triangle semifinal Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary. Wake Forest, 11-5-3, will wait on the NCAA tournament selection show on Monday, Nov. 16.
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