GREENSBORO, NC Michael Lahoud tallied his fifth goal of the season midway through the first half and it held up as Wake Forest edged UNC Greensboro, 1-0, Wednesday night in front of a crowd of 1,313 at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
Lahoud scored at 27:27 from eight yards out for the game's only goal. He took a feed from Wells Thompson, made a run through the box to try to shake off two UNCG defenders and then hit a blast from eight yards out into the lower left corner of the net.
Although both teams had several outstanding chances after that, neither team could score in a wide open second half.
Wake Forest hit the post twice and had a near-miss on a bicycle kick thanks to a great save by Jay Benfield in the second half.
Benfield made four saves on the night, but saw his shutout streak end at 534:39. The tally by Lahoud was the first allowed by Benfield since a golden goal back on September 27 at North Carolina.
UNCG had several chances late, as well, including a free kick sequence from 20 yards out with 34 seconds left. However, the Spartans, who have pulled out two home wins this season on goals inside of the final minute of play, didn't have another rabbit in the hat on Wednesday night as the Demon Deacons toughed it out.
UNCG, ranked as high as No. 10 by College Soccer News this week, fell to 11-4-0 with the loss, three of the losses coming by shutout against North Carolina, Connecticut and Wake Forest. The Spartans saw their winning streak halted at six matches.
The Demon Deacons, ranked as high as No. 19 by Soccer America this week, improved to 10-4-2 win the victory.
UNCG, which sits atop the Southern Conference standings, goes back into conference play on Saturday night when it travels to Wofford for a 6 pm contest.
AGATE
Wake Forest......... 1 0 - 1
UNC Greensboro...... 0 0 - 0
SCORING SUMMARY: WF Lahoud (5) (Thompson), 27:27. Shots: Wake Forest 11, UNC Greensboro 14. Saves: Wake Forest 4 (Edwards 4), UNC Greensboro 4 (Benfield 4). Corner kicks: UNC Greensboro 2, Wake Forest 2. Fouls: UNC Greensboro 19, Wake Forest 20.
UNCG
