MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – A goal from freshman defender Anthony Arena and a pair of outstanding diving saves from senior goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald lifted No. 5 Wake Forest to a 1-0 victory against College of Charleston on Tuesday night.

With the win, Wake Forest improves to 8-2-2 on the season, while College of Charleston drops to 7-7-0.

After a scoreless first half, Wake Forest applied continuous pressure on the Cougars for most of the second half. The Deacs were able to turn the attack into one goal, scoring on a corner kick from Austin da Luz to Arena in the 58th minute. The Cougars had a couple of quality chances in the match, but were thwarted by Fitzgerald on each attempt.

Arena netted the second goal of his rookie season. Both of his scores have come off corner kicks.

Da Luz recorded his ACC-leading eighth assist of the season. Da Luz now has 32 assists in his career.

Zack Schilawski led Wake Forest with seven shots in the match, including three on frame. Corben Bone, da Luz and Andy Lubahn each attempted two shots.

Fitzgerald made six saves in goal for Wake Forest en route to recording his third shutout of the season. Fitzgerald now has 17 shutouts in his career.

Wake Forest held a 15-12 advantage in shots in the match. After getting outshot 9-8 in the first half, the Deacs controlled the shot count in the second half, holding a 7-3 advantage. Wake had 11 shots on goal, compared to six for the College of Charleston.

Zach Prince had the first shot attempt of the game, taking an attempt in the fourth minute that was saved by Fitzgerald.

The Cougars continued to apply pressure as Matt Morris attempted a shot in the eighth minute that required Fitzgerald to make another save.

Wake Forest had its best scoring chance of the first half in the 20th minute. Bone attempted a shot from 30 yards out that was saved by the College of Charleston goalkeeper. The rebound off the keeper went to Lubahn, who had his shot blocked. The ball then found da Luz inside the 18-yard box and his shot was cleared off the line by a Cougar defender to keep the game scoreless.

College of Charleston had a chance to take a 1-0 lead in the 37th minute. Francis Twohig played an attempt from 20 yards out on the right side of the field. Fitzgerald made a diving save to keep the Cougars off the scoreboard.

Wake Forest was able to assert itself at the start of the second half, getting several good looks at goal. Schilawski had a pair of shots in the 55th and 57th minutes, but each shot was saved by the Cougar goalkeeper.

The Deacs broke through in the 58th minute on Arena’s goal. Da Luz played a corner kick to the far post that found the head of Arena. Arena tucked the ball inside the left post to put Wake Forest up 1-0.

Wake Forest nearly doubled its lead in the 80th minute on another corner kick. Da Luz again sent the ball to the far post and found Jesse Sokolow. Sokolow’s header was saved by Clark Hankins to keep the score at 1-0.

College of Charleston had its best chance of the second half in the 82nd minute. Justin Fojo played a shot from the top of the 18, but Fitzgerald was able to get a hand on the ball to send it away. Wake was able to clear without any additional shot attempts from the Cougars.

The Deacs would not give up another shot in the final seven minutes as the Demon Deacons held on for the 1-0 win.

Hankins, the Charleston keeper, was kept busy in net, making nine saves and allowing just one goal.

Zack Prince led the Cougars offensively with three shot attempts, while Morris, Fojo and Lundy each had two shots.

Wake Forest resumes Atlantic Coast Conference play on Saturday, traveling to Raleigh to face No. 14 NC State. Start time is set for 7 p.m.