Cardinals Drop 4-2 Decision to No. 2 Wake Forest

Friday, October 30

LOUISVILLE, KY

7:00 PM

University of Louisville

6-8-3, 1-4-3ACC

WAKE FOREST

14-1-2, 6-0-2ACC

Wake Forest

Louisville

Seniors Shane Campbell, Louie Berra and Ben Strong were honored prior to Friday's match.

October 30, 2015 | Men's Soccer

Box Score

Reynolds, Kubel score goals for Louisville, which opens ACC Championship Wednesday at Duke

By: Garett Wall

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Freshman Danny Reynolds and sophomore Tim Kubel scored goals as the Louisville men's soccer team closed the regular season with a 4-2 home loss to No. 2 Wake Forest Friday night at Dr. Mark and Cindy Lynn Stadium.

With Friday's result, the Cardinals (6-8-3, 1-4-3 ACC) enter the 2015 ACC Championship as the No. 9 seed and will visit No. 8 seed Duke in a first round match on Wednesday in Durham, N.C. It will be the first match between the programs since Louisville's 5-0 win at home in last season's ACC opener at Lynn Stadium. Wake Forest (14-1-2, 6-0-2 ACC) clinched the ACC Atlantic Division title on Friday and will be the No. 1 seed in the ACC Championship. The Demon Deacons will host the winner of the Louisville-Duke match in a quarterfinal contest on Sunday, Nov. 8.

In Friday's regular season finale, the Cardinals were unable to overcome a big early deficit after allowing three goals in the first 17 minutes of the match. Reynolds connected for his second goal of the season to cut into the deficit before the half. After the Demon Deacons extended the lead back to four, Kubel struck for his fourth goal of the season for the final margin.

The fast start for Wake Forest was initialized in the fifth minute when Hayden Partain scored the first of his two goals in the opening 11 minutes when he fired a right-footed strike from 30 yards away inside the right post for the 1-0 lead. A little more than six minutes later, Partain connected for his third goal of the season when he gathered a rebound following a Casey Axman save on a shot from Jon Bakero and scored inside the far right post for the 2-0 lead in the 11th minute.

The Demon Deacons pushed their advantage to 3-0 in the 17th minute when Bakero played the ball through the center of the field and across to the right, where Jacori Hayes finished inside the near post for his fourth goal of the season. The two assists on Friday gave Bakero six on the season.

Louisville slowed the Wake Forest run in the 29th minute when Reynolds connected on a header inside the left post following a corner kick by Jack Gayton to cut the deficit to 3-1. It was Reynolds' first goal since Sept. 4 against Stony Brook, while the assist for Gayton was his second of the season.

Following the halftime break, the Demon Deacons increased their lead to 4-1 in the 64th minute when Jack Harrison finished a run down the center of the field by scoring inside the right post past charging Louisville junior goalkeeper Theo Jamilloux. It was the seventh goal of the season for Harrison, while Brad Dunwell was credited with his fifth assist of the year.

The Cardinals closed the scoring in the 72nd minute when Kubel fired a free kick inside the upper left 90 from 22 yards out. It was the 11th career collegiate goal for Kubel. Wake Forest finished the night with a 12-8 advantage in shots, including a 10-6 margin on goal. The Demon Deacons also had a 4-3 edge in corner kicks.

The complete bracket with matchups and pairings for the 2015 ACC Men's Soccer Championship will be released Saturday following the completion of the final day of the regular season.

Prior to Friday's match, Louisville honored seniors Louie Berra, Shane Campbell and Ben Strong with a pregame ceremony.

Fans can follow Louisville men's soccer on Twitter (@UofLmenssoccer) at http://twitter.com/uoflmenssoccer and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/UofLmenssoccer.