Wake Forest University
Duke
Deacons Drop 4-3 Heartbreaker To Duke At Spry Stadium
9/8/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 8, 2006
Crazy things often happen under a full moon. It was a night full of twists and turns at Spry Stadium as sixth-ranked Duke defeated fifth-ranked Wake Forest 4-3 in the ACC opener for both teams.
The Demon Deacons (4-1, 0-1 ACC) and Blue Devils (5-0, 1-0 ACC) combined for four goals in the game's final 15 minutes. The match featured three ties and four lead changes.
Playing in front of a record crowd of 4,323, the Deacons led 2-1 in the 69th when sophomore forward Marcus Tracy was sent off after a second yellow card. That put Wake Forest down a man for the remainder of the match. On a ball in the air in the attacking third of the foul, Tracy leapt and came down hard on the Duke challenger. The referee booked Tracy with a yellow for a second time as a result of the hard foul. Duke took advantage less than seven minutes later, when Mike Grella scored the equalizer.
Playing with only 10 men in a tie game against a top-10 team, the Deacons continued to attack. Their resilience paid off about three minutes later when freshman Austin da Luz linked up with Lyle Adams inside the Duke penalty area. Adams was hauled down by a Blue Devil defender. Deacon captain Ryan Solle nailed the penalty kick for his first goal of the season and more importantly, gave Wake Forest a 3-2 lead.
The lead was short-lived, however. Exactly 100 seconds later, the Blue Devils tied the game again as Michael Videira headed a Zach Pope corner kick into the back corner of the net with less than 10 minutes to go in regulation.
In the 84th minute, Grella, who earlier tied the game at two, put the Blue Devils in front for good. His shot from the top of the box bounced off the crossbar and into the goal for the game-winner. Wake Forest had one last golden opportunity to force overtime with 90 seconds left in regulation. Wells Thompson's shot from a sharp angle slammed off the near post and out of danger.
The announced crowd of 4,323 was the largest to see a regular season match at Spry Stadium since the facility opened 10 years ago. The assembly was the fourth-largest overall and the most since the 2000 ACC Tournament game between Wake Forest and North Carolina.
In the first half, senior Steven Curfman notched fifth assist of the season which ties for the NCAA lead. His assist came on Zack Schilawski's goal in the 38th minute which gave Wake Forest a 2-1 lead at the time.
Duke got on the board first in the 22nd minute on goal from Spencer Wadsworth. The assist came from Joe Germanese, the first of two for him on the night.
Wake Forest evened the score in the 32nd minute on Tracy's first goal of the season. He received a long pass up the right flank from Jamie Franks, held off two defenders and buried a shot to make it 1-1.
Wake Forest will return to action on Wednesday night at Elon. The Deacons will be without Tracy who will serve a one-game red card suspension against the Phoenix. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m.
Duke hosts Virginia Tech Tuesday night in Durham.
