Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons Direct - Wake Forest-VCU Gameday Blog
8/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 29, 2008
Postgame
The bus is getting ready to leave so I've only got a few minutes. Check the recap for some notes on Wake Forest in season openers and Wake against VCU. Again, Wake wins the season opener over VCU 2-1.
Final - Wake Forest 2 VCU 1
Wake Forest wins its season opener 2-1 over VCU. Marcus Tracy's goal in the 57th minute was the game winner. The Deacs had a great chance to add on another goal in the final minute, but Corben Bone's shot from seven yards out sailed over the net. I'm off to the field for postgame interviews. I'll have some postgame notes in a few minutes.
6:00 left in the second half - Wake Forest 2 VCU 1
Nearing the final stages of regulation with Wake Forest holding on to a 2-1 lead. Both teams just had good scoring opportunities. Wake Forest's Zack Schilawski played a nice ball to Corben Bone. The VCU keeper was just able to beat Bone to the ball to prevent the goal.
13:00 left in the second half - Wake Forest 2 VCU 1
Wake Forest just had a free kick from 22 yards out. Austin da Luz sent a shot well over the net, resulting in a goal kick for VCU.
20:00 left in the second half - Wake Forest 2 VCU 1
Wake Forest still is in possession of a 2-1 lead with 20 minutes remaining in the game. Neither team has had great scoring chances since the last Wake goal. The Deacs have reorganized in the back since the first part of the second half when VCU was getting several quality scoring chances.
32:44 left in the second half - Wake Forest 2 VCU 1
Wake Forest has retaken the lead. Sophomore Corben Bone played a beautiful pass from 23 yards out that found Marcus Tracy on the right side of the six yard box. Tracy headed the ball into the upper right hand part of the net for the goal.
40:09 left in the second half - Wake Forest 1 VCU 1
VCU has evened the game up at one. David Rosenbaum got the ball 20 yards out and was one-on-one with Akira Fitzgerald. Rosenbaum fired from 12 yards out to tie the game at one.
Women's Soccer Update - Wake Forest defeats Francis Marion 3-0
The Wake Forest women's soccer team defeated Francis Marion 3-0 this afternoon. A recap will be posted online soon.
Halftime - Wake Forest 1 VCU 0
The Deacons lead 1-0 at the half. Austin da Luz's goal in the 38th minute was the only score of the first half. A few halftime stats:
Shots - VCU 5 WFU 3
Corners - WFU 4 VCU 3
Saves - WFU 3 VCU 1
Fouls - VCU 4 WFU 3
About eight minutes left before the start of the second half. Wake Forest is currently in the locker room, getting some halftime instructions from Coach Vidovich.
7:25 left in the first half - Wake Forest 1 VCU 0
Wake Forest gets on the board in the 38th minute. Evan Brown played a beautiful pass into the box that Austin da Luz headed into the back of the net from five yards out. Scoring the first goal has been a good sign for the Deacs as they have posted a 46-4-2 record over the last three years when drawing first blood.
10:00 left in the first half - Wake Forest 0 VCU 0
Still no score as we head into the final 10 minutes of the first half. The Deacons have had a couple of corners and another shot, but have not been able to find the back of the net. Akira Fitzgerald has three saves for the Deacs.
20:00 left in the first half - Wake Forest 0 VCU 0
Wake Forest gets its first shot of 2008 from senior midfielder Sam Cronin with 21:00 left in the first half. Cronin launched a shot from 25 yards out and the VCU keeper was just about to make the finger tip save to send the ball over the net.
23:00 left in the first half - Wake Forest 0 VCU 0
VCU just had its best chance of the match. David Rosenbaum unleashed a shot from seven yards out and Akira Fitzgerald made a great save with his right hand. VCU wasn't able to convert off the ensuing corner.
30:00 left in the first half - Wake Forest 0 VCU 0
Still no score with about 30:00 minutes remaning in the first half. VCU has taken both shots in the contest. Wake has had a few good chances, but haven't been able to convert any crosses.
40:00 left in the first half - Wake Forest 0 VCU 0
Wake Forest got the first corner kick of the game but nothing materialized. VCU gets the first shot of the game, but it flies wide of the goal.
Pregame - 4:30 p.m.
We're about 30 minutes from kickoff in Chapel Hill. The Deacons are out on the field warming up. Here's the starting 11 for Wake Forest in the season opener.
G - Akira Fitzgerald
D - Lyle Adams
D - Ike Opara
D - Evan Brown
D - Danny Wenzel
M - Sam Cronin
M - Corben Bone
M - Jamie Franks
M - Michael Lahoud
F - Marcus Tracy
F - Cody Arnoux
A couple of notes about the season opener against VCU:
- The Deacs and the Rams have met five times previously, with Wake Forest owning a 3-0-2 advantage in the series. The two squads last met in the 2004 NCAA Tournament, with VCU claiming a win in a penalty kick shootout.
- Wake Forest has been extremely successful in season openers, posting a 25-2-1 record in season lid-lifters since 1980. The Deacons have won eight of their last 10 season openers, including a 2-1 victory over Old Dominion in the 2007 opener. Wake is 2-0-1 when opening the year on a neutral field.
Live Blog from Chapel Hill
The Wake Forest men's soccer team opens defense of its 2007 national title this afternoon against VCU in the Nike Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C. Chad Crunk of the Wake Forest Media Relations office will be providing updates throughout the game as the Deacs look to open the 2008 season with a victory.
-WakeForestSports.com-
