Men's Soccer Blanks South Carolina, 2-0, In NCAA Tournament :: Demon Deacons advance to face No. 10 seed Old Dominion Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Wake Forest junior Ryan Solle scored his first career goal and added his school record 13th assist to lead the No. 23 Demon Deacons over No. 17 South Carolina, 2-0.

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Men's Soccer Blanks South Carolina, 2-0, In NCAA Tournament

Demon Deacons advance to face No. 10 seed Old Dominion Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Nov. 18, 2005

Final Stats | Notes

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest junior Ryan Solle scored his first career goal and added his school record 13th assist to lead the No. 23 Demon Deacons over No. 17 South Carolina, 2-0, in first round action from the 2005 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament. With the victory, Wake Forest will advance to the second round and travel to No. 10 seed Old Dominion on Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m.

After the Deacons (12-7-2) and Gamecocks (12-7-2) each created outstanding scoring chances over the match's first 45-minutes, Wake Forest finally broke through a stingy South Carolina defense midway through the second-half. After Makan Hislop was issued a red card in the 53rd minute, South Carolina was forced to play a man down. The Deacons took advantage.

Freshman defender Sam Cronin played a deep crossing ball over the Gamecocks defense to an unmarked Solle on the back post. Solle settled the cross and blasted a shot past the sprawling South Carolina goalkeeper Mike Gustavson at 68:32. The goal was Solle's first career tally and was his first point since Oct. 4 against Davidson -- a span of eight matches. The assist was Cronin's third of the season.

Wake Forest continued to pressure the Gamecocks net, but Gustavson kept the match close. The netminder recorded five saves on the night, including a pair of point-blank stops.

The Deacons iced the match in the 89th minute when junior Wells Thompson buried a breakaway shot past Gustavson. The goal was Thompson's sixth of the season. Solle's through ball sent Thompson one-on-one with Gustavson and the Winston-Salem native did not miss. The assist was Solle's school record 13th of the year and moved him into a tie for the most in the NCAA this season. Solle, who now has 23 for his career, is even with Vicente Bastidas (2000-03) for fourth all-time in career assists.

South Carolina had its fair share of chances, none better than the opening few minutes. Wake Forest goaltender Brian Edwards made a brilliant save on Ryan Deter's shot from inside the six-yard box. Then, Edwards made another save on Ayo Akinsete's shot from just outside the box. Edwards ended up with four saves for the match and recorded his ninth shutout of the season. The Charlotte native has registered nine shutouts each of the past two years (WFU single-season records) and is just one shutout from breaking Mike McGinty's school record of 18.5 for a career.

The Deacons and Monarchs have faced twice in NCAA Tournament history (1989 and 2002). Wake Forest proved victorious in each meeting, but both meetings took place in Winston-Salem.