It’s that time of year when goals matter just a little bit more, tensions are just a little bit higher and everyone is leaving it all on the field. The ACC tournament is here, and the Wake Forest men’s soccer team is kicking off the first round on Tuesday, Nov. 12, as they host the University of Virginia. It’s win or go home now – and the Deacs are getting ready to battle for that win. “Things change during tournament time,” senior midfielder Ross Tomaselli said. “Everything’s intensified, amplified, goals mean more, it’s harder to score and obviously it’s a bigger stage now. We all know that, and we know our concentration level has to be higher.”

Last time these two teams met on Sept. 23, the Deacs held off a late UVA comeback to win 3-2. Since then, the Cavaliers have only lost one game, going 4-3-4 in conference play to earn a sixth seed in the ACC playoffs. The Deacs picked up the third seed by going 6-1-4. Playoffs, though, have been a different story in the past; the two squads have faced off six times in the post-season since 2006, with UVA knocking Wake out five out of those six meetings. “The past two years for me, past three years for other guys, they’ve taken us out in the first round of the ACCs so we’re ready to get them back,” junior defender Sam Fink said. “This is a big one, its tournament time now and all eyes toward Germantown. We’re ready to get through to the semifinals of the ACCs.”

This match will be a tough test for the Deacs to be sure, but this match is one that they’re ready for. “We’ll have to do it collectively, do it as a team and it has to start with our defense,” Tomaselli said. “We’re working for each other and if we play collective team soccer, we’ll be pretty successful.” Kickoff is set for 7 pm at Spry Stadium. The winner of this match will go on to the ACC quarterfinals this Friday in Germantown, MD., and take on the winner of the Notre Dame vs. Duke match.