Wake Forest University
Clemson
No. 12 Wake Forest Outlasts Clemson, 2-1
9/10/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 10, 2010
Box Score | Box Score (PDF) 
| Updated Season Stats
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Playing a man down, No. 12 Wake Forest broke a 1-1 tie with a goal from Anthony Arena in the 58th minute to defeat Clemson 2-1 on Friday night in front of 3,362 fans at Spry Stadium.
The Demon Deacons improve to 1-1-1 on the year and 1-0-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play, while the Tigers are now 0-3-0 and 0-1-0 in league play.
With the game tied at one and Wake Forest playing a man down in the 58th minute, the Demon Deacons regained the lead on a goal by Arena off a corner kick. The corner, taken by Chris Duvall, was flicked on goal by Sam Redmond. Arena was able to get a touch on the ball and send it just over the leaping Clemson goalkeeper and into the net to put the Deacs on top 2-1.
Clemson had a great chance to equalize in the 86th minute, but a brilliant diving save from Akira Fitzgerald kept Wake Forest in front. Clemson's Austin Savage ripped a shot from 16 yards out on the left side of the 18 that appeared headed for the upper right corner of the goal. Fitzgerald dove to his left and made a fingertip save, pushing the ball over the goal and past the endline for a Clemson corner.
The Tigers were unable to threaten for the final four minutes of play as the Deacs held on for the thrilling one-goal win.
Andy Lubahn and Arena were the goal scorers for Wake Forest in the contest. Lubahn, who tallied 10 goals as a freshman in 2009, scored for the first time in his sophomore season. Arena put away his team-leading second goal of the campaign. Duvall, Redmond and Jared Watts each recorded their first assist of the season.
Clemson's Riley Sumpter scored the first goal of the season for the Tigers. Tommy Drake had the assist on the goal by Sumpter.
Fitzgerald earned the win in goal for Wake Forest, making two saves and allowing a goal in the 90 minutes. Cody Mizell suffered the loss for the Tigers, giving up two scores and stopping five shots.
Wake Forest held a 10-7 advantage in shots in the contest, including a 7-3 edge in shots on goal. Clemson had four corner kicks, compared to two for the Demon Deacons.
Clemson had the better of the play in the opening 20 minutes, as the Tigers took the first three shots of the game. Austin Savage had the first shot on frame in the match, an attempt in the 14th minute that was saved by Fitzgerald.
Wake Forest turned the game around in the 22nd minute as the Deacs started pushing forward on the Clemson defense. Kyle Emerson had a great chance in the 25th minute. Redmond played a short pass to Emerson inside the penalty area. Emerson's first shot was saved by the sliding Clemson goalkeeper. Emerson had another chance on the rebound, again from close range, but this attempt was blocked by a Tiger defender.
Wake Forest broke through with a goal in the 34th minute from Lubahn. Watts played a pass to Lubahn in the center of the field. From 23 yards out, Lubahn blistered a shot into the upper right 90 to put the Deacs in front 1-0, a lead they would carry into halftime.
The Deacs were forced to play a man down in the 56th minute when Watts received a red card for a hard challenge.
Clemson quickly capitalized on the man advantage, scoring just 32 seconds after the red card. Drake played a cross from the right side of the field that was collected by Sumpter on the left side of the 18-yard box. Sumpter curled a shot into the right side of the net to tie the game at one.
Wake Forest hits the road for the first time in the 2010 season on Tuesday night, when the Deacs travel to face the Charlotte 49ers. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
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.
