April 23, 2004

Box Score
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest men's soccer team controlled play the entire 90-minutes, but was not able to overcome a couple of defensive miscues as the United States Under-17 Men's National Team held off the late-charging Demon Deacons, 2-1, Friday night in front of 2,913 at Spry Stadium.

The Deacs nearly jumped out to an early 1-0 lead just seconds into the first-half. Rising sophomore Steven Curfman blasted a shot from some 20-yards out that appeared headed to the right far corner, but United States Under-17 goalkeeper Marcus Rein made a sprawling save to keep the match square.

Wake Forest continued to assault the United States Under-17 penalty area, but was unable to grab the early lead. With the Demon Deacons pushing deep into the attack, the United States Under-17 squad was able to counter. After Dax McCarty stole possession from Ryan Solle near midfield, McCarty streaked down the middle of the field. McCarty laid off a pass to an on-running Rodrigo Hidalgo, who slotted the ball past a charging Brian Edwards at 29:04.

Despite the early deficit, the Deacs continued to penetrate the United States Under-17 defense. Senior Tomy Szczypiorski had a number of tremendous scoring chances, including a header with 8:38 left in the opening half that went just wide.

Wake Forest nearly equalized again just moments into the second-half. Senior Scott Sealy found junior Justin Moose all alone inside the six-yard box, but Moose's header missed wide.

The United States Under-17 increased its lead at the 67:27 mark of the second-half. After McCarty drew a foul near the top of the penalty area, Hidalgo blasted his free kick into the Wake Forest wall. The shot attempt took an awkward deflection off the wall and ricocheted into the far corner.

Despite the two-goal deficit, the Deacs kept the pressure on and were finally awarded with a goal at the 87:37 mark. Moose got behind the United States Under-17 defense and his blast from six-yards was saved by Rein, but Sealy was in the right place at the right time to bring the Demon Deacons within a goal.

Wake Forest mounted a couple more late scoring opportunities, but Rein was equal to the task. On the night, the Deacs outshot the United States Under-17 squad, 25-6, but Rein recorded 13 saves -- five or six of the spectacular variety.

The United States Under-17 squad will continue its tour of the Triad tomorrow as they take on the Greensboro U-17 Green Squad on Saturday at McPherson Stadium at Bryan Park. Kickoff is slated for 6 pm.