Stanford back in quarterfinals, top-seeded Wake Forest falls in NCAA Tournament

For the first time in three years, Wake Forest will not stand in the way of a Stanford national championship after the top-ranked Demon Deacons fell 1-0 to Akron on Sunday night and the Cardinal advanced on penalties following a scoreless draw with St. Mary’s.

Wake Forest was looking at a potential fourth straight postseason match against Stanford heading into the night, but Marcel Zajec’s goal right after halftime was enough for the Zips to get a rematch of their own against a team that dropped them in last year’s College Cup semifinal en route to a third straight national championship.

Philadelphia Union Academy grad Justin McMaster, who played 45 minutes off the bench, recorded one of five shots on goal for the Demon Deacons against Akron. Fellow academy grad Joey DeZart started and played 59 minutes in the match while Morgan Hackworth started and played 78 minutes for Akron. Former Reading United goalkeeper Ben Lundt made five saves for the Zips in the match to record his seventh clean sheet of the season and the 27th of his career.

Andrew Aprahamian, a Union Academy grad who redshirted last season during his first year at Stanford, played 110 minutes on the back line for the Cardinal, which earned their 12th clean sheet of the season and have still conceded only 11 times in 20 matches. PA Classics alum Ryan Ludwick, of York, Pa., started and played 94 minutes on the back line.

Another of this weekend’s quarterfinals will feature in-state rivals Notre Dame and Indiana after the Irish edged Virginia in overtime and the Hoosiers knocked out Air Force with a 2-0 win on Sunday afternoon. Union Academy grad Pat Berneski and Continental FC alum Senan Farrelly paired at center back on the back line for Notre Dame while West Chester native Aiden McFadden started and played 57 minutes. Jack Lynn scored the golden goal for the Irish in the 100th minute.

Union Academy grads will be on both sides of another quarterfinal contest after sophomore forward Kalil ElMedkhar and Kentucky beat Lipscomb 2-1 and senior forward Sebastian Elney and Maryland were able to get by fellow Union Academy grads Issa Rayyan and Seth Kuhn and the Duke Blue Devils. Kentucky is seeking the program’s first College Cup berth while the Terps are looking for a trip to the school’s 14th.

Michigan State will take on James Madison in the most improbable of the next weekend’s match-ups ahead of the College Cup semifinals and final slated for December 7 and 9. The Spartans upended Mountville, Pa. native Sean O’Hearn and the Georgetown Hoyas on Sunday afternoon and James Madison dropped three goals on Virginia Tech to win 3-0 over the Hokies. James Madison knocked off fifth-seeded North Carolina a week prior after opening with a 3-0 win over High Point in round 1.

Union Academy alum Olu Ogunwale did not feature in Michigan State’s game. Haddonfield, N.J. native Jack Dugan hasn’t played this season as a freshman at James Madison.

Indiana and Notre Dame will play Friday at 7 p.m. in Bloomington while Stanford hosts Akron at 9 p.m. James Madison and Michigan State will kick off at 5 p.m. in East Lansing on Saturday followed by the Kentucky vs Maryland game in Lexington at 6 p.m.