Wake Forest men draw with Seton Hall

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Freshman Luca Gimenez’s first collegiate goal tied the game at two in the 87th minute and No. 3 Wake Forest and Seton Hall played to a 2-2 draw in the season opener on Friday night at Macpherson Stadium.

With Seton Hall leading 2-1 late in the second half, Danny Wenzel played a pass to Gimenez, who found himself 1-on-1 with the goalkeeper. Gimenez chipped the ball over the charging keeper from seven yards out to level the game.

The best chance in the overtime period came from Andy Lubahn in the second extra session. In the 103rd minute, Lubahn had a shot from eight yards out in the center of the box that required a diving save from the Seton Hall goalkeeper.

Seton Hall finished the game with a slight 13-11 edge in shots and a 9-5 edge in shots on goal. The Pirates had nine corner kicks, compared to six for the Demon Deacons.

Along with the goal from Gimenez, Anthony Arena also scored in the contest for the Demon Deacons.

Hayden Morris and Steven Rose were the goal scorers for Seton Hall, while Dritan Sela and Adriano Gabriele had the assists on the goals.

Akira Fitzgerald played the full 110 minutes in goal for Wake Forest, making seven saves and allowing two goals. Kevin Bonder started the game in net for Seton Hall and allowed a goal, while making one stop. Sean Carr entered after Bonder was injured in the 87th minute and played the rest of the game, making two saves and giving up a goal.

Wake Forest scored first off a set piece in the 12th minute. Arena’s free kick from 20 yards out in the center of the field found the left side of the net to put the Deacs in front 1-0.

Seton Hall quickly equalized, tying the game at one three minutes later. Off a pass from Sela, Morris’ shot from 16 yards out on the left side of the field was deflected by Fitzgerald into the roof of the net.

The Pirates grabbed their first lead of the game in the 40th minute. Off a free kick from the right side of the field, Gabriele found the head of Rose, who scored from inside the six-yard box to put Seton Hall on top 2-1.

Wake Forest returns home on Sunday to face No. 1 Akron at Spry Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. A live webcast of the game will be available on WakeForestSports.com. Also, live stats and a recap of the match will be available on WakeForestSports.com.