Wake Forest lost 17-7 to University of North Carolina, marking the second year in a row the team lost a winnable game on the road in Chapel Hill to open the ACRL season. The Demon Deacons were inconsistent in the set piece, often looking strong in the scrum yet at other times getting pushed around by the Tar Heels. The line out was a similar story, as Wake Forest struggled in an area where they have typically been dominant. Despite these issues, Wake dominated the opening minutes of the game, hammering away with their forwards for prolonged periods in the Tar Hell half. But the backline was not able to sync up with the forwards and eventually turnovers led to UNC touching down under the posts for a 7-0 lead. Moments later the lead was extended to 12-0 when the Tar Heel scrumhalf faked taking the ball out of the scrum and as the Wake defense focused on the halfback as he ran laterally across the field, the ball actually remained in the scrum and the #8 popped it to a looping Tar Heel back who fed the wing to touch down in the corner. Wake struck back immediately, as an easily won line out allowed flanker Tim Zage to break through the midfield defense for a 60m try. Fullback Johnny McMurray nailed the conversion to bring the score to 12-7. Bolstered by the try, Wake dominated possession for the remained of the half and appeared to have the momentum entering the break.
The snow came down hard during halftime, and when the game resumed, the lines on the field were no longer visible and footing was treacherous. Wake was unable to get into its offensive pattern and UNC held the majority of possession and territory. Another try in the corner extended the UNC lead to 17-7. The snowy conditions were not conducive to clean ball-handling and the game deteriorated into a series of knock ons, scrums, and a lot of open field kicking. Wake had an opportunity to narrow the deficit when the were awarded a penalty in the UNC half, but McMurrays's attempt at goal sailed wide. With time winding down Wake pressed to find some offense, but nothing was working and the final whistle blew with UNC still holding their 10 point lead.
Wake falls to 0-1 in league play and will face an uphill battle as their next two conference games are against Navy and Maryland. Navy made a statement today in its first ever ACRL game, defeating NC State 55-0 in Annapolis, while Maryland is the two-time defending ACRL champion. Next weekend, however, Wake will have an opportunity to tighten up their play as they host the University of Pittsburgh on Sunday at noon on Poteat Field. Wake may be without the services of All-ACRL lock Christian Gutowski, who suffered a knee injury in the closing moments of the loss to the Tar Heels.
Lineup vs UNC
1. Iain Dormer, So. (Max Wohlmuth, So. @53)
2. Andrew Estes, Jr.
3. Joe Decaminada, Fr. (Cameron Hume, So. @53)
4. Christian Gutowski, So. (Drew Turchin, So. @72)
5. James Watson, Jr.
6. Tim Zage, Jr.
7. Matt McCurdy, Jr. (Jaime Drewery @53)
8. Liam McIntyre, Jr.
9. Bryce Lambert, Jr.
10. Rob Kelly, Sr.
11. Franco Cima, Jr.
12. Jack Zimmerman, Jr.
13. Tommy Kinzer, So.
14. Conor Murphy, So. (Ted McGuiggan @40)
15. Johnny McMurray, Sr.
Tries: Zage
Cons: McMurray
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