#22 UVA men’s soccer loses at home to Wake Forest, 2-1

The No. 22 UVA men’s soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision to Wake Forest in front of 3,146 fans Friday on Senior Night at Klöckner Stadium. The Cavaliers (9-5-1, 3-3-1 ACC) played with 10 men for the final 61 minutes after defender Wesley Suggs (R-Fr., Bowie, Md.) was sent off with a red card.

Despite being down a goal and a man for most of the match, Virginia scored the equalizer on a Patrick Foss (So., South Riding, Va.) goal in the 81st minute, but Wake Forest (9-6, 4-3) countered just under two minutes later on Jon Bakero’s game-winning goal.

“To be down a goal and down a man early is tough,” Virginia head coach George Gelnovatch said. “We’ve got to be more disciplined there. You can’t play down a man for that long, especially against a good opponent. The other guys did an unbelievable job the rest of the game and did a great job to get the equalizer, but it was a shame to give up another goal that soon after.”

Virginia out-shot Wake Forest, 12-11. The Demon Deacons held a 6-5 edge in shots on goal. UVa took a pair of corner kicks, while Wake Forest earned one corner. In a chippy match, the Cavaliers were called for 18 fouls, while Wake was whistled for 14.

Wake goalkeeper Alec Ferrell made four saves, while UVa keeper Calle Brown (R-Sr., Leesburg, Va.) was credited with three saves.

The Demon Deacons struck early for the game’s first score on a Philip Parker strike in the eighth minute. Michael Gamble sent a cross into the box that UVa was unable to clear and Parker fired it back into the lower right corner for his first goal of the year.

The defining point of the match came in the 29th minute when Suggs took down Bakero on a potential breakaway and was sent off with a red card.

After playing down a man for over 50 minutes, UVa tied the game in the 81st minute. Jake Rozhansky (Fr., Takoma Park, Md.) picked up a loose ball just outside the top of the box and quickly sent it to his left to find Foss, who had entered the game as a substitution five minutes earlier. Foss ripped a low, angled, left-footed strike which bounded off the far post and in for his first goal of 2014.

Wake Forest came right back, scoring a minute, 55 seconds later in transition as Ricky Greensfelder played a cross to the left side of the box to Bakero, who calmly struck a low shot inside the right post for the eventual winning score.

Virginia concludes the regular season next Saturday (Nov. 1) with a 7 p.m. match at No. 9 North Carolina. ESPN3 will provide the online broadcast.