It was a difficult road trip for the Demon Deacons on Friday evening, taking on a tricky team in Gardner-Webb. 

The home side took the lead after just nine minutes, scoring with the first shot of the match. Although Wake Forest would grow into the game, putting some pressure on the Runnin’ Bulldogs, Gardner-Webb added a second goal to their lead at the 65 minute mark — scoring on a slick counter attack that went against the run of play. The Demon Deacons found themselves down 2 goals  with time running out. 

But Wake Forest ramped up their attack in the second-half. Sophomore Jeffery White put in a great cross and senior Babacar Niang connected with it on a diving header, guiding it past the goalkeeper at the 76 minute mark. However, the goal back failed to ignite a comeback from the Demon Deacons, as Gardner-Webb added a third goal in the dying minutes of the match, sealing a 3-1 loss for Wake. 

The story of the match was mistakes from the Demon Deacons. 

“I’m extremely disappointed,” Head Coach Bobby Muuss said following the match. “I’m not disappointed with the overall play, but I’m disappointed with the uncharacteristic mistakes of a Wake Forest side.” 

The story of the match was mistakes from the Demon Deacons.

Although box score statistics favored the Demon Deacons, who led in total shots, corners and shots on target, the Runnin’ Bulldogs were far more clinical. They converted on all three of their shots at the goal — in other words, they had less mistakes. 

“[Gardner-Webb] had three good opportunities to score goals, and they scored [them],” Coach Muuss said. Wake Forest only scored on one of their four shots on target. 

Muuss continued:  “We were shy in front of the goal — we were a little bit reluctant to pull the trigger; it had to be perfect.” 

Gardner-Webb had two red cards late in the match, in minute 81 and minute 88. Despite the two-man advantage, the Demon Deacons could not find an equalizer. 

Wake Forest has some work to do in order to become a ranked team again. A rather slow start to the season has them at 1-2-1 overall. Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) play is set to begin on Sept. 13 against the Virginia Cavaliers. 

The Demon Deacons will first look to bounce back on Monday evening when they host Radford. This is the first meeting between these two teams in 25 years. The match is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m..