Deacons Surprise Men's Soccer With Victory

But this year a boisterous homecoming crowd welcomed the No. 21 Demon Deacons back to Winston-Salem, and Wake Forest returned the favor with a 4-2 victory against the No. 6 Tar Heels on Saturday night.

The upset marked Wake Forest's first win against UNC

(13-3, 3-2 in the ACC) since the 1996 ACC Tournament and kept its winning streak alive at seven games. For the Tar Heels, it was their first loss in 10 games.

"Sometimes these things are healthy," UNC coach Elmar Bolowich said. "The team can reflect and sit down and analyze why we weren't ready to play."

Wake Forest forward Jeremiah White, the league's top scorer, said the crowd played a big factor in the win.

"We fed off of them," White said. "We used that to help and enhance our game. We were at home, and with the alumni in attendance, it was motivation for us."

That was enough for White, who tallied the game's first goal and had two assists against UNC. His goal came in the ninth minute, as he found his way to the box and shot past Tar Heel goalie Michael Ueltschey.

In the 24th minute, White sprung open on the wing and sent a cross to a cutting Scott Sealy, who scored for a 2-0 lead.

Ueltschey had not allowed a goal in UNC's last five victories but yielded a season-high four against the Demon Deacons (11-3-1, 2-1-1 ACC).

"The first two goals were certainly not his fault," Bolowich said. "Our defense got unbalanced when White got the first goal, and then the assist on the second goal -- that was the key."

The Tar Heels fought back early in the second period on the foot of midfielder Ryan Kneipper, who scored in the 48th minute to cut the Deacons' lead to 2-1. Kneipper was UNC's lone scorer in the game and said the team's hesitant start cost them their 10th-straight victory.

"Sometimes you're not ready to go from the first minute, and that's what happened to us today," Kneipper said. "We gave it a good effort, but in order to win, we have to come out and play the entire 90 minutes, and it is something we can easily fix."

After Kneipper's second goal in the 83rd minute, UNC threatened to tie the game at three but could not convert. Two minutes later, Kneipper fed Jonathan Davis just outside of the box, but his shot missed high.

Chris Leitch got his first shot on goal in the 89th minute, but was stopped by Wake Forest goalie William Hesmer.

The game was finally put out of reach when midfielder Logan Pause rushed a kick and lost the ball. Sealy intercepted the miss before racing down the field and beating Ueltschey one-on-one for his second goal and the final 4-2 outcome.

"You either have the fourth goal scored against you or you get the third goal to force overtime," Bolowich said. "Unfortunately, it went their way."

The Sports Editor can be reached at sports@unc.edu.