Austin Aviza stood inside the box with his hands on his hips and screamed.

Wake Forest forward Michael Gamble had just broken through the heart of SU’s defense, dodging Louis Cross and Kamal Miller, and beat Aviza with a low shot off the goalkeeper’s hands to his left.

The Demon Deacons had taken seven shots in a row and a game that once saw the Orange in the lead minutes after getting underway was now in Wake Forest’s hands with a two-goal lead and 10 minutes to go.

After a slow start, No. 7 Wake Forest  (6-1, 2-0 Atlantic Coast) scored three unanswered goals and beat the Orange (3-2-1, 0-1-1), 3-1, at Spry Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Saturday night. Syracuse played well to start each half, head coach Ian McIntyre said, but wasn’t able to carry the early success throughout the entire game.

“We did a poor job of making Wake predictable and they kind of grew in confidence,” McIntyre said. “… I don’t think we created enough chances through the run of play.”

Just six minutes in, midfielder Julian Buescher sent a free kick into the box from about 45 yards away. Freshman defender Miles Robinson leapt into the air and headed the ball into the net as Wake Forest goalie Alec Ferrell collided with a teammate.

Robinson swung his arms and jumped before Cross ran over to high-five him.

But the celebration was short-lived. Twelve minutes later, Gamble stopped with the ball at the top of the penalty area and slid a pass forward to Jon Bakero, who snuck behind the defense and found the back of the net.

Aviza and Miller raised their hands in the air asking for offside to be called.

“We started well,” McIntyre said. “We scored the goal. I felt that we kept that energy and intensity up … unfortunately we gave away a little bit of a soft first goal and they got back into the contest.”

Then the Demon Deacons scored again. This time Wake Forest midfielder Jack Harrison bent a shot in from the edge of the 18-yard box. Aviza dove to his right and the ball carried past his outstretched arms, squeezing just inside the post.

While in midair, Aviza turned his head to watch the ball sail in, then lay on the ground and thrust his head back into the grass.

In the second half, the Orange took control early and created offensive opportunities on set pieces but ended up with nothing to show for it. A Robinson header fluttered just wide and one by Miller was stopped by the goalie’s diving effort.

Wake Forest rebounded again, increasing pressure on SU’s defense and sending forwards behind the Orange’s back line. The chances built up and eventually Gamble netted the Demon Deacons’ third goal.

“It was a real test for us tonight,” McIntyre said of Wake Forest. “… They were deserving of the victory.”

Syracuse returns to action at 7 p.m. on Tuesday at home against Binghamton (5-2).

Published on September 19, 2015 at 10:13 pm

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