page_title: 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game
section_title: Wake Forest
hierarchical_section_title: 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game / Road to the final / Wake Forest
caption_attribution_description: English: Saint Louis University Men's soccer game against Duquesne, November 2, 2008
context_page_description: The 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship Game was the final game of the 2016 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, determining the national champion for the 2016 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The match was played on December 11, 2016 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas, a soccer-specific stadium that is home to Major League Soccer club, Houston Dynamo. Stanford of the Pac-12 Conference won the match, and successfully defended their national championship. Stanford defeated Wake Forest of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The crowd of 6,315 saw the match decided on penalty kicks, where Stanford prevailed on a 5–4 scoreline, following a 0–0 draw in regulation and overtime. The title was Stanford's second ever title, in their fourth-ever appearance. It was Wake Forest's second appearance in the final.
  Both teams were seeded in the NCAA Tournament, meaning they bypassed the first round of the tournament, and entered into the second round of play. Wake Forest was seeded second in the tournament, while Stanford was seeded fifth. Wake Forest and Stanford entered the tournament as their respective conference champions.
context_section_description: The Wake Forest Demon Deacons entered the NCAA Tournament as the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season champions, the Atlantic Division divisional champions as well as the conference tournament champions. The Demon Deacons amassed a conference record of five wins, one loss and two draws (5–1–2), and an overall regular season record of twelve wins, two losses and three draws (12–2–3). The Deacons began the season ranked fifth nationally, but suffered a shock 1–0 home loss to the unranked Saint Louis Billikens in their season opener. The loss caused the Demon Deacons to fall from fifth in the national polls to 21st.  However, following the home loss to the Billikens, Wake Forest went on a four-match winning streak, and a nine-match undefeated streak. During this run, Wake Forest picked up notable victories against the 17th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers and two major road victories at Duke and Davidson.
  During this win streak, the Deacons ascended from number 21 in the nation, to reach number 10 in the nation.   Their nine-match undefeated streak ended with a 1–0 away loss at number five, Clemson. The Deacons rebounded from the loss by picking up a critical away point by tying the top-ranked Notre Dame, 2–2. Despite failing to beat either Clemson or Notre Dame, Wake Forest jumped in the NSCAA polls from eleventh to seventh.  Following the loss at Clemson and the draw at Notre Dame, the Deacons would go on to win their next four matches. This included a home win against the then-second ranked, Louisville, a major non-conference away win at number 21, South Carolina, as well as an ACC conference-play win at home against then-number 18, Boston College. The Deacons concluded the regular season with a 1–1 road draw at the sixth-ranked Syracuse on October 28.
  Wake Forest qualified for the 2016 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament as the number two seed. The Deacons earned a bye to the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament where they hosted Notre Dame on November 6. A 74th-minute goal from Wake Forest midfielder, Jacori Hayes, proved to be the difference in the match, giving the Deacons a 1–0 win over the Irish. In the semifinals, Wake Forest hosted the three-seed, Louisville. Wake Forest struck first in the match, with Hayden Partain netting the opening goal of the contest in the 29th minute. Louisville's Tim Kübel scored on the near side of the Wake Forest defense with 50 seconds remaining in regulation, in order to force sudden death overtime. Ninety seconds into the first overtime period, Wake Forest's Jon Bakero lead a counterattack and fed a pass to striker, Ema Twumasi, who scored the golden goal to allow the Deacons to advance to the ACC Championship.
  Wake Forest played against Clemson in the 2016 ACC Men's Soccer Championship Game. The match was held at the neutral site, MUSC Health Stadium in Charleston, South Carolina. The soccer-specific stadium serves regularly as the home ground for United Soccer League side, Charleston Battery. In the match, the Deacons roared out to a quick start, scoring three goals in the first half. Deacons captain, Ian Harkes, the son of former U.S. international, John Harkes, scored the opening goal in 24th minute. Nine minutes later, Partain netted a second goal to give the Deacons a 2–0 lead. Shortly before halftime, Steven Echvarria scored a third goal for Wake Forest to give the Deacons a 3–0 lead going into halftime. In the second half Clemson defender, Tanner Dieterich, scored a consolation goal to prevent a shutout, but the 3–1 scoreline proved to be the final result. It was Wake Forest's first ACC championship since 1989.
  The ACC title gave the Deacons an automatic berth in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. The Deacons earned the number two overall seed in the tournament, and thus, earned a bye to the second round of the competition. Wake Forest played Coastal Carolina in the second round, where they advanced by winning 2–0 over the Chanticleers. Luis Argudo and Hayden Partain scored the Deacons' two goals of the match. Wake Forest hosted SIU Edwardsville in the Sweet Sixteen of the tournament, where the 
caption: Wake Forest lost their home opener to Saint Louis (Saint Louis soccer pictured).
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