Sept. 23, 2005

Final Stats

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest senior All-American Justin Moose scored just 1:49 into the match and then added a second-half assist to lead the No. 17 Demon Deacons over Virginia Tech, 2-1, in ACC men's soccer action before a crowd of 2,732 at Spry Stadium Friday night. With the victory, the Deacs improve to 5-2-0 overall and 1-1-0 in the ACC, while the Hokies drop to 1-3-3 and 0-1-2 in the conference.

For the sixth consecutive game, the Demon Deacons scored the match's first goal. Wake Forest has made a habit of scoring early -- netting goals in the eighth and seventh minute in victories over South Carolina and Rutgers, respectively. The Deacs struck even sooner Friday night when Moose broke free behind the Hokie defense and slipped a shot under Virginia Tech goalkeeper Chase Harrison. Junior Ryan Solle and Moose worked a beautiful give-and-go just outside the Hokie penalty area. Solle picked up his team, ACC and nation leading ninth assist on the goal.

The score was the quickest for a Wake Forest team since Oct. 19, 2003 when former Deacon Amir Lowery scored only 1:25 into the match in a 3-2 victory at Clemson.

With the Demon Deacons holding a slim, 1-0, lead, junior Mark Ellington added a huge insurance goal at the 81:16 mark. Junior Wells Thompson spotted Moose, who split a pair of defenders with a pass that found Ellington alone deep in the Virginia Tech defensive third. Ellington raced toward goal, losing his shin guard along the way, before hammering a shot under Harrison into the far lower corner of the net.

The goal was Ellington's team-high sixth of the season. The Swansboro, N.C. native has now scored in each of the past five matches.

The 2-0 lead did not last long, just two minutes to be exact. Virginia Tech took advantage of a poor clearance inside the Wake Forest penalty area. Patrick Nyarko gained possession of a ball and calmly beat Demon Deacon goalkeeper Brian Edwards from just six yards out at 83:16. The goal was Nyarko's first of his career.

Despite the momentum shift, Wake Forest was able to hold off the Hokies in the end. Edwards made four saves on the night for the Deacs in goal.

The goal was Moose's second of the season and 11th of his career. With three points on the night, the forward moved into a tie with Kyle Bachmeier for eighth place on the all-time scoring list. Moose now has 52 career points.

With nine assists in just seven matches this season, Solle is already on the brink of tying the single-season assist record. Three other players, Gary Kingsley (1981), Vicente Bastidas (2001) and Scott Sealy (2004), share the mark with 10 assists. The midfielder is now tied with Jeremiah White (2000-03) and Brian Carroll (2000-02) for eighth place on the career assist list with 19.

Wake Forest returns to action Tuesday, Sept. 27 for a non-conference tilt with Florida Atlantic. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

NOTES
With the victory tonight Wake Forest
... improves the Demon Deacons to 5-2-0 overall and 1-1-0 in the ACC
... records a victory in its ACC home opener for the fourth time in the last five years
... improves to 8-16-2 all-time in ACC home openers, including 5-3-1 at Spry Stadium
... improves to 7-2-2 all-time against Virginia Tech and 3-2-1 in Winston-Salem
... extends its winning streak to five matches against the Hokies
... improves to 2-0 this season at Spry Stadium
... improves to 29-35-10 all-time at home in the ACC and 19-10-4 in the Vidovich era
... head coach Jay Vidovich registers his 139th career victory
... improves to 64-19-8 all-time at home and 35-7-2 at home over the past five years

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