It was a titanic battle of the top two ranked teams in the nation on Friday night as Maryland hosted Wake Forest in front of 6500 fans and a national television audience. Maryland got the dream start they had hoped for as just 50 seconds into the game Rodney Wallace crossed the ball from the left side of the 18-yard box and found Jason Herrick, who headed the ball into the net from 10 yards out.
It didn't take long for the Deacons to even the match, scoring at the 38:41 mark of the first half. Running up the middle of the field, Sam Cronin played a pass to Marcus Tracy on the right side of the box. Tracy found the top of the net to even the match at one. The goal for Tracy was his team-leading seventh of the season.
Maryland had a chance at the 18:25 point in the first half. A free kick from just past midfield took Akira Fitzgerald out of the net and to the top of the 18. Doug Rodkey sent a shot that went just right of the open net to keep the game even at one. The Terrapins retook the lead with 16:44 remaining in the half. Casey Townsend took a shot from just outside the six-yard box that beat Fitzgerald to give Maryland a 2-1 advantage.
The Deacons evened the match in the 41st minute. Off a free kick from about seven yards past the midfield line, Danny Wenzel played a ball that found Ike Opara inside the box. It looked like Omar Gonzalez of Maryland could have played the ball but instead decided to let it go back to the keeper. Opara ran behind Omar and headed the ball over the right shoulder of the goalkeeper to square the game at two going to halftime.
Wake Forest took the lead for the first time in the game in the 47th minute. Mike Lahoud played a cross to Austin da Luz from the far right side of the field. Da Luz found a streaking Zack Schilawski down the middle of the field. Schilawski fired from 10 yards out, beating the keeper and giving the Deacons a 3-2 edge.
The Deacons extended their lead to 4-2 with a goal with 31:49 remaining in the game. Marcus Tracy found da Luz on the left side of the box. Da Luz's shot from 16 yards out beat the keeper on the right side for his second goal of the season. Wake narrowly missed a scoring chance with about 23 minutes left in the game. Austin da Luz kicked the ball from near the left post. The ball bounced over the keeper and appeared to be going in the net when Omar Gonzalez cleared the ball off the line. Maryland nearly cut the lead to one with 15 minutes left. Casey Townsend sent a shot from the left side of the box toward the right post. Fitzgerald dove and got a hand on the ball, sending it off the right post and away.