WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. –
Josh Fawole delivered a game-tying strike with 12 seconds remaining in regulation, and Loyola University Maryland men's soccer held No. 2 Wake Forest without a single shot on goal over the final 77 minutes of game action to earn a memorable 1-1 draw on Tuesday.
Eddy Rodriguez sent the ball to Fawole inside the box in the final minute, and the senior forward came through with a perfect half-volley to direct the ball under the crossbar and into the back of the net. Loyola snaps a nine-game home winning streak for Wake Forest, and becomes the first team to get a result at Spry Stadium during the regular season since Oct. 27, 2017.
"This is the team we've been waiting to see all year," head coach
Steve Nichols said. "I couldn't be prouder of the guys for their performance tonight. We knew we could play with anybody in the country, and we showed that tonight. Now we need to maintain this level of effort for every game we play from here on out. If we can draw at Wake Forest, there's no limit to what we can accomplish moving forward."
The Demon Deacons (12-2-1) opened the scoring 5:50 into the contest, as 2018 ACC Midfielder of the Year Bruno Lapa sent a low effort into the right-hand corner. Wake Forest would go on to control play for a majority of the first half, entering the intermission with a 10-3 advantage in shots and a 4-0 edge in corner kicks.
Chase Vosvick made three saves before halftime to maintain the one-goal deficit. The last of those stops came in the 33rd minute, and that would be the final Wake Forest attempt on target for the evening.
Loyola began to control possession coming out of the break, keeping the ball in its offensive end and generating five of the game's seven shots in the second half. Fawole's equalizer was his fifth goal of the season, tying him with
Barry Sharifi and
Brian Saramago for the team lead, and he now has nine points (4 G, 1 A) in Loyola's last six games overall. Rodriguez, meanwhile, picked up his second assist in as many games.
The Greyhounds continued to push the pace in extra time, with Saramago and Sharifi managing the only shots on target for either side in the two overtime periods. Loyola outshot Wake Forest by a 4-3 margin in overtime and finished the game with a 6-4 lead in shots on goal.
Wake Forest, which has reached 17 of the last 18 Division I tournaments, had outscored opponents by a 25-4 margin in its first nine home contests this season. The Demon Deacons had also won four games in a row prior to tonight's draw, with victories over No. 20 NC State and No. 19 North Carolina during that stretch.
Loyola (7-7-1) improves to 2-3-1 against teams which qualified for the national tournament last season, and the Greyhounds are now 5-1-1 overall in October.
Now the focus returns to Patriot League play, as Loyola gets set to host Holy Cross on Homecoming weekend at Ridley Athletic Complex. Opening kickoff is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon.