Wake Forest University
Duke
Wake Forest Falls at No. 21 Duke, 2-1
11/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 5, 2010
Box Score | Box Score (PDF)
| Updated Season Stats
DURHAM, N.C. - Wake Forest freshman Luca Gimenez scored his fifth goal of the season, but No. 21 Duke rallied from a one-goal deficit to defeat the Demon Deacons 2-1 on Friday night at Koskinen Stadium.
With the loss, Wake Forest ends the regular season with an 8-8-2 overall record and 4-3-1 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while Duke is now 9-4-4 on the season and 3-3-2 in the conference.
After a scoreless first half, Wake Forest grabbed the lead early in the second half on a penalty kick goal by Gimenez. The Demon Deacons were forced to play a man down in the 51st minute after a red card was issued to Ben Newnam and Duke took advantage, scoring the next two goals to claim the win. Chris Tweed-Kent scored the equalizer in the 52nd minute, while Cole Grossman had the game winner on a penalty kick in the 54th minute.
The goal by Gimenez was his fifth of the season and gave him 12 points on the season, which places him second on the team.
Grossman led the Blue Devils with three points in the game, scoring his eighth goal of the season and adding an assist. Chris Tweed-Kent found the back of the net for the second time on the season.
Akira Fitzgerald took the loss in goal to fall to 8-8-2 on the season. Fitzgerald finished the game with seven saves and allowed two goals. With the seven saves in the game, Fitzgerald now has fourth place to himself on the Wake Forest career saves list with 237 saves.
James Belshaw picked up the win for Duke, improving his record to 9-4-4. Belshaw collected three saves and surrendered one goal over the 90 minutes.
The Blue Devils finished the game with a 22-6 advantage in shots, including a 9-4 edge in shots on goal. Duke had eight corner kicks, while Wake Forest generated three corners.
Duke started the game strong, getting two shots on frame in the first five minutes. Chris Tweed-Kent had a pair of shots, but Fitzgerald was able to make the save on both attempts.
Wake Forest attempted its first shot of the contest in the 21st minute as Luke Norman had a look on goal that Belshaw saved to keep the game scoreless.
The Blue Devils continued to test Fitzgerald later in the second half as Temi Molinar had a shot on goal in the 32nd minute and Grossman put a shot on frame in the 38th minute, but Fitzgerald was up to the task each time.
The Deacs took the lead early in the first half. Wake Forest drew a penalty kick in the 48th minute and Gimenez stepped to the spot and sent his shot past Belshaw to put the Deacons in front 1-0.
The complexion of the game changed just a couple of minutes later as Newnam was issued a red card in the 51st minute to give Duke a man advantage for the rest of the game.
The Blue Devils quickly took advantage after the red card, tying the game in the 52nd minute. Grossman played a pass to Chris Tweed-Kent, who ripped a shot from 18 yards out into the top part of the net to tie the game at one.
Duke took its first lead of the game in the 54th minute as Grossman converted a penalty kick goal to put the Blue Devils in front 2-1.
Andy Lubahn had a chance to even the game in the 63rd minute but Belshaw was able to make the save. Two minutes later Norman had a shot on goal, but again Belshaw made the stop.
Danny Wenzel attempted the final Wake Forest shot of the contest in the 78th minute, but his shot went high of the goal and Duke held off the Deacs for the rest of the game to preserve a 2-1 win.
Wake Forest begins postseason play on Wednesday, November 10, at the 2010 ACC Tournament at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The Deacs earned the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament and will play the sixth seed. The opponent and game time will be announced on late Sunday night.
For all of the latest information on Wake Forest men's soccer, please log on to www.WakeForestSports.com or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account @wakemenssoccer or www.twitter.com/wakemenssoccer.
