WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – A furious second half charge couldn’t stop the Wake Forest men’s soccer team from defeating a ranked Virginia side for a second straight season, as the Demon Deacons rode three first half tallies to an eventual white-knuckling win, 4-3, over the No. 25 Cavaliers on Friday, October 14 at Spry Stadium.

To secure the result, the Deacs survived a hat trick by Virginia’s preseason All-American, Will Bates, and used an offensive outburst that matched a season-high with four goals – the four tallies was also the most a Wake Forest side has mustered in 48 all-time meetings with the Cavs.

Sophomore midfielder Ross Tomaselli and freshman center back Sam Fink each delivered their first career goals in the match, as redshirt junior Danny Wenzel nailed his second penalty kick of the season and classmate Andy Lubahn slipped in the game-winner in the 88th minute.

Freshman Teddy Mullin also played a key role, assisting on both Tomaselli and Fink’s strikes, and moving into the team lead with his fourth and fifth helpers of the season. First year striker Sean Okoli notched his first career point with an assist on Lubahn’s third goal of the season.

The 2,998 fans on hand were treated to two scores before the break, the first of which came on a penalty kick by redshirt junior Danny Wenzel when Lubahn’s 32ndminute run to the left flank set up a snappy cross shot, finding Sean Okoli before the freshman striker was brought down in the box to create a penalty kick opportunity.

Wenzel emerged from the pack to line up the close-range chance and fired a rocket past UVa’s Spencer LaCivita to give Wake a 1-0 advantage with just over 13 minutes to go in the opening half. It was the defender’s second penalty kick score of the fall.

Galvanized by a first goal, the Deacs mounted more pressure on the Cavs and were penalized four consecutive times by offside calls on breakaway opportunities.

With less than a minute remaining, it seemed the match would remain a one goal affair at the half. But with a final sequence, Mullin found the ball with 12 seconds left and chipped over a host of Cavalier defenders to find a wide open Tomaselli on the left side of the field. The sophomore settled the ball before firing off a quick, low-lining boot to the near post for his first career tally.

Six minutes into the second stanza, freshman Sam Fink joined Tomaselli with his first-ever score as a Deac to make it a 3-0 lead off a set piece. A Virginia foul led to a Mullin free kick in the 52nd minute, which Fink received and placed into the net with a flying header.

With a three goal cushion, the Deacs held Virginia scoreless until a 67th minute header by Bates off a corner kick from senior defender Hunter Jumper. 29 seconds later, a Cav was determined to be fouled in the box and Bates buried the resulting penalty kick to rapidly bring his side back into the match.

The Deacs would weather the Virginia attack, however, as Lubahn’s 88th minute tally came on a long run, fed by Okoli from the midline, to put the Deacs back up by two. The junior striker powered his way past a Virginia defender and deftly placed his ball to the near post, sliding it by a diving LaCivita.

Bates connected again with just six seconds left in the match, but it merely meant a hat trick for the forward and a 4-3 win for the Deacs, which lifted the squad to 6-5-4 on the season and 3-3 in ACC play.

For the night, Virginia outshot the Deacs 16-8 and took three more corners than Wake, 5-2, but the Deacs made their opportunities count to take a 5-4-2 lead in the series since 2006. Graduating redshirt junior keeper Doug Ryan was recognized by the program on Senior Night prior to kickoff and entered for the final 2:31 of the match to cheerful applause.  

The Deacs will remain home next for a 7:00 p.m. encounter with Elon on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 7:00 p.m. at Spry Stadium. 

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