On a Sunday night in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the Cougars challenged the #2 ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons the tournament's #2 and highest remaining seed. Wake ranked #10 in Division I in shots per game and came out shooting. In only the 3rd minute, the Deacons' top scorer passed from the end line to their #2 scorer, Bakero, who blasted the ball into the net from 9 yards in front. On the Cougars' lone corner kick of the game, both Ebbesen and his shot on goal were knocked down by the Wake keeper, but Ledbetter got to the rebound and netted it to tie the score. SIUE looked about to take the lead in the 51st minute on a Jambga breakaway, but the Deacons' keeper, Cases Mundet, stayed with the pass to Ebbesen and blocked his point-blank shot. After repeated stops and saves by the Cougar defense, in the 72nd minute, it was again Bakero who redirected a shot that Dal Santo was ready to stop and scored the game winner. Although SIUE looked to be dominated in the statistics, out-shot 24–6 and bested on corner kicks 9–1, Wake Forest knew they had been in a fight; "“I give SIUE credit." said Wake's coach Muuss. "They were blocking shots, battling." But Wake Forest's win ended the Cougars' 14-game unbeaten streak, their 2016 season, and the college careers of Ivan Gutierrez, Jason Hackett, Andrew Kendall-Moullin, and Austin Ledbetter.
