Wake Forest Secures 1-0 Victory at Bowling Green
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – Wake Forest didn’t just survive in Ohio. It dug in, absorbed a barrage, and walked out of Cochrane Stadium with exactly what it came for: a 1-0 road win and a clean sheet to carry into ACC play.
The game swung on one moment of clarity at the end of a half the Demon Deacons had largely owned.
Young strikes, finally
For 42 minutes, Wake Forest pushed and probed. Seven shots. Four corners. Territory, tempo, control. What it didn’t have was a goal.
That changed in the 43rd minute.
Mason Sullivan, ever-reliable and again on the pitch for all 90 minutes, drove a low ball forward. At the edge of the box, Marcos Miranda added the deft touch the move needed, redirecting into space for Chandler Young. One touch, one calm finish. 1-0 Wake Forest, Young’s first of the season and the breakthrough their play deserved.
The goal carried a few milestones with it. Miranda’s touch went down as his first NCAA Division I assist. For Sullivan, it was the first assist of his college career, on a night when he once again refused to come off the field, going the distance for the third straight match.
Wake Forest took that slender lead into the break with a sense they should have been up by more. Bowling Green, though, had other ideas for the second half.
Under siege after the break
The game flipped after halftime.
Bowling Green came out with urgency, throwing numbers forward and peppering the Wake Forest box. The Falcons unleashed 14 shots in the second half alone, 19 in total on the night, and turned the final 45 minutes into a test of nerve and concentration for the visitors.
At the heart of it stood redshirt junior goalkeeper Jonah Mednard.
He faced six shots on target and turned away every one of them, four of those stops coming after the interval. He denied efforts from Lucas Brinkman and Luciano Perez-Cernuda in particular, sharp, pressured saves that kept the Falcons from finding any rhythm on the scoreboard.
Behind the numbers was a defensive unit that refused to crack. The starting back line of Daniel Krueger, Sullivan, Ronnie Garcia and Travis Smith Jr. stayed organized in the chaos, attacking crosses and second balls, with second-half help from Will Kuisel, Copeland Berkley and Lorenze Currie. Wake Forest dealt with wave after wave, including a heavy dose of set pieces and long throws that turned the box into a crowd scene.
By the final whistle, Mednard had his second clean sheet in three games and the fifth solo shutout of his career, pushing his career save total to 63. It was also Wake Forest’s first shutout on the road since a 0-0 draw at Duke on Oct. 12, 2024.
The stat sheet told the story of the grind: Wake Forest finished with 12 shots, five on frame, five corners and 53 percent of the ball. Bowling Green answered with 19 shots, six on target and six corners. The home side kept coming. The Deacons kept saying no.
A response after Akron
This night in Bowling Green closed a demanding two-match swing through Ohio. On Friday, Wake Forest had gone toe-to-toe with No. 10 Akron, holding the Zips scoreless for more than 83 minutes before conceding late in a 1-0 defeat.
That kind of loss can linger.
Instead, Wake Forest used it as fuel. Four days later, it left with a road win, a clean sheet and something more valuable: proof it could bend without breaking in a hostile setting, on a difficult surface, against a direct, set-piece-heavy opponent.
The victory also snapped a long wait for a non-conference road win, the first since a 4-1 triumph at UNCW on Oct. 15, 2024.
Man of the Match – Jonah Mednard
On a night defined by resistance, Mednard stood tallest.
Six saves. Four after halftime. Command of his box as Bowling Green hurled in long throws and corners. A fifth career solo shutout and a performance that locked in his Man of the Match honors, joining captain Jeffrey White and David Nguema (twice) as Wake Forest players to earn the distinction this season.
What’s next
The road miles are done, for now. The stakes rise.
Wake Forest heads back to Spry Stadium next, hosting Duke on Saturday, Sept. 5, in its ACC opener. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., with the match streaming on ACCNX.
The clean sheet in Ohio is in the books. The question now is whether this hardened, battle-tested back line can set the tone for an entire conference campaign.
