The Demon Deacons had their largest crowd (5,070) for a men's soccer match on Saturday.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- No. 4 Wake Forest men's soccer ended No. 2 North Carolina's undefeated season and 16-game unbeaten streak on Saturday night with a 1-0 win at Spry Stadium in ACC action. The victory came in front of 5,070 fans, which is a Wake Forest soccer all-time record.
The Demon Deacons improved to 10-1-2 on the season and 4-0-2 in ACC play while the Tar Heels dropped to 11-1-1 and 5-1-0 in conference action. The victory marks the first win over North Carolina for the Demon Deacons since the 2008 season, a 4-2 win for the Deacs in Chapel Hill. With its 10th win of the year, Wake Forest earned its fourth-straight 10-win season. The defeat marks the first loss for North Carolina since falling 1-0 to Louisville in the ACC Championship on Nov. 9 last year.
Jacori Hayes scored the game-winning goal in the 17th minute as Wake Forest was picking up momentum after the Tar Heels started strong. Hayes took a pass from Jack Harrison at the top of the box and slipped his shot off the right post into the back of the net for his third goal of the season. Each of Hayes' goals have come in clutch situations this season, as each of the three have gone down as game-winners.
The Demon Deacons had numerous other chances to extend the lead throughout the contest, but good goalkeeping by James Pyle and shots that went just inches outside both posts kept the contest a 1-0 scoreline.
North Carolina had a couple chances to score both early and late. With momentum out of the locker room early in the contest, the Tar Heels pressured the Wake Forest goal and Alec Ferrell made a leaping save in the first 10 minutes to keep the Tar Heels off the board. In the 47th minute, he punched another ball over the cross bar on a header from Jonathan Campbell off a corner kick right out in front. With 30 seconds to go in the game, the Tar Heels earned a free kick from 30 yards out. Omar Holness lined up and took the shot, but his attempt went high as time wound down.
The Demon Deacons narrowly outshot North Carolina 13-12, but posted a 7-4 advantage in shots on goal. Ferrell was asked to make three saves in the contest. He now has four-straight shutouts and six on the season in just 10 games. Overall, Wake Forest has not allowed a goal in 439:38, dating back to Sept. 26 in the 1-1 tie against Clemson. The program record for most shutouts in a row is five, which was achieved twice, most recently during the 2007 national championship run.
With two games left on the ACC schedule, Wake Forest leads the Atlantic Division by one point over Clemson. The Tigers topped Syracuse 1-0 on Saturday night on a goal in the 90th minute to keep pace with the Demon Deacons in the standings.
