College of Charleston
Wake Forest
Wake Forest Escapes with 1-0 Victory Over Cougars in Physical Match
10/14/2009 1:45:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Wake Forest (8-2-2, 2-1-1 ACC) held a narrow 15-12 edge in shots while sophomore goalkeeper Clark Hankins made a career-high nine saves against the Demon Deacons. The Cougars registered six shots on goal, nearly slipping one by Wake Forest goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald on multiple occasions.
The first half was an aggressive battle between two teams, resulting in nine shots by College of Charleston and eight shots by Wake Forest. The Cougars started strong, striking four times during the first 10 minutes of action. The Demon Deacons mustered an answer at the 10:43 mark of the first half as forward Zack Shilawski sent the ball soaring into the hands of Hankins.
Later in the half, Wake Forest made four consecutive shots in a period of 30 seconds as Hankins deflected the ball three times and a CofC teammate had a hand in the fourth save. Neither team was able to score in the first half and Hankins and Fitzgerald entered the locker rooms with five saves apiece.
The Demon Deacons began to pull away in the second half as Shilawski drilled back-to-back shots which Hankins saved at 54:17 and 56:00, respectively. Arena's goal at 57:02 proved to be the difference for Wake Forest, who is now 4-0 against the Southern Conference this year.
Charleston (7-7-0, 1-2 SoCon) had a chance to even the score in the 81st minute when a shot by senior forward Zach Prince was deflected by Wake Forest's Fitzgerald to the feet of junior midfielder Justin Fojo. Fojo struck with a low shot that resulted in a diving save by Fitzgerald to keep CofC scoreless.
Five different Charleston players registered shots on goal as the Cougars attacked from all angles. Similarly, six different members of the Demon Deacons had shots on College of Charleston.
"They're enjoying themselves and that's important for the college experience," said head coach Ralph Lundy.
The Cougars return to their Southern Conference schedule when they travel to Statesboro, Ga. to take on the Eagles of Georgia Southern (0-9-1, 0-1 SoCon).
