AKRON, Ohio – The Wake Forest men’s soccer team fought to a 2-2 tie in double overtime against No. 7 Akron on Saturday, October 29 at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Akron had given up just one goal at home all season, but the Demon Deacons put two on the Zips in the second half to force overtime. Neither team would find the back of the net during the extra 20 minutes, however, as Akron improved its home unbeaten streak to 48 straight with the result. With a late equalizer, Wake Forest became just the fourth team to get a result on Cub Cadet Field since 2008 and moved its season record to 8-6-3 overall with just one regular season match remaining.

Sophomore midfielder Jared Watts rifled the night’s first shot in the 22nd minute, which required a diving save by Akron’s David Meves, to earn a corner kick for the Deacons. The restart, however, was cleared away by the Zips.

Wake’s pressure forced three early corners, against just one for Akron, in the game’s first 30 minutes but neither team was able to find a real quality look at the net in the early stages of the match. Akron began to mount pressure as time ticked closer to the half, resulting in a corner kick by Scott Caldwell.

With 5:45 to go in the half, the rebound off the corner was collected by Thomas Schmitt, who nailed a left-footer from the top of the box. The shot came off a deflected ball and the forward beat Wake keeper Michael Lisch to the near post to give Akron a 1-0 lead.

Junior forward Andy Lubahn had a rebound shot from the top of the box blocked off a Deacon corner just nine minutes into the second stanza, and Wake followed with another header shot as they pushed for the equalizer early in the second half.

Lisch made a terrific save off a shot by Eric Stevenson to keep it a one goal match in the 56th minute.

Just eight minutes later, Okoli finished off a long run from Newnam to tie things up. Okoli’s scored was his third in as many matches, and it stood as just the second tally Akron has allowed at home this season.

The Zips would retake the lead in the 75th minute on a header goal off a corner by Reinaldo Brenes, but the Deacon attack awoke in the matches’ final 10 minutes.

Wake would have two dangerous opportunities with approximately five minutes remaining in the match, but Akron managed to get two clutch blocks by defenders.

At the 86:01 mark, however, the Zips continued to fail in clearance efforts and Wake Forest finally broke through with a header from freshman defender Sam Fink assisted by Lubahn to make it a 2-2 match. It was Fink’s second strike of the season.

In total, Akron held a 6-1 advantage in shots during the overtime periods but the Deacon defense held firm. The Zips ended the night with a 20-10 lead in shots and took 11 corners to Wake’s 10.

Nevertheless, the match could have gone either with a number of close opportunities missed by both sides. Lisch finished the night with six saves in goal, while Meves made four for Akron. The Zips are now 11-2-3.

Next up for Wake Forest will be another road match against a ranked opponent, as the Deacs travel to No. 1 Maryland to close out the regular season on Thursday, November 3. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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