The Deacs looked to take care of business at Spry Stadium on Friday night as they welcomed the struggling Louisville Cardinals to town, but ultimately tied 1-1. They donned special pink Genna Wiley jerseys to be auctioned off in support of the Cancer Health Equity Patient Care fund at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist.
The Wake Forest offensive front applied constant pressure in the opening minutes, with multiple pressure-filled attacks, including a great find from midfielder Jeffrey White to defenseman Christian Escribano in front, but his shot deflected high. The Cardinals answered with their own attack, as the Deacs made some miscues in their own half, allowing for some dangerous chances, including multiple from the Cardinals’ star forward Chase Vasquez.
The remaining half for Wake Forest consisted of quick and accurate passing, leading to plenty of open opportunities. In response, the Cardinals began to play much more physically. Louisville goalkeeper Alex Svetanoff was forced to be active as he made an impressive diving save in the 21st minute, and fouls in the 22nd and 23rd minutes gave Wake free kicks.
Then, in the 26th minute, the Deacs got their best chance of the night as Harvey Sarajian found Tate Lorentz streaking towards the goal on a beautiful ball, but the junior forward couldn’t find the back of the net. After a stretch of limited action, Wake Forest loaded up for a final push at the end of the half. Lorentz and Ethan Subachan both got some open chances, but their shots were off target.
With just 24 seconds remaining, freshman midfielder Alfred Debah broke away on the rush and found himself in prime positioning to try and give the Deacs the lead. He picked his spot and found twine to the right of a diving Svetanoff for his first collegiate goal.
Louisville was on the attack to equalize at the beginning of the second half. Vasquez got multiple high-danger chances, but he was thwarted, once by Deacon goalkeeper Jonah Mednard, and once by a great combined effort from defensemen Daniel Krueger and Travis Smith Jr.
Finally, Vasquez’s aggression paid off, as he got off another shot in the 68th minute that deflected off the top left corner of the woodwork and directly to Cardinals’ freshman forward Quenton Wilson, who gave Mednard no chance as he cashed in to tie the game at one goal apiece.
Moments later, the Deacons’ Sarajian was able to break free of the Louisville defense and give himself a grade-A opportunity, as his shot beat Svetanoff, but leaked just inches wide of reinstating the Wake Forest lead. More chances came for the Deacs, including another from Sarajian, but they couldn’t find a way to finish.
Louisville made one last push for the win with a few moments to go, but stout defensive play kept them from taking advantage, including a fantastic effort by White with just under five minutes to go, as he cut off a pass to a wide-open Cardinal attacker all alone in the box. The final minutes ticked away, and despite all their opportunities, the Deacs left a point on the table with a draw.
