Wake Drops Heartbreaker to UVA in Conference Opener

You could not have painted a better picture for a home season opener than what the Demon Deacons and University of Virginia had in Winston-Salem on Saturday. Both teams were eager to kick off the 2013 season and begin a new chapter under new coaching regimes. From the opening kickoff, both sides showed plenty of butterflies to be settled as simple handling errors and mindless penalties kept the flow going back and forth for the first 20 minutes of action. Then, just before halftime, Wake Forest was awarded a penalty 5 meters from their attacking try line and James Watson (Captain) was able to slip through for a try to put the Demon Deacons ahead 5-0. At the break, the competition was still equally matched up, although just after the restart, a penalty allowed the home side to inch further in front with a penalty by Johnny McMurray making it 8-0. Virginia’s persistence finally paid off when, on an attacking lineout, one of their forwards was able to slip through from 20 meters out for the first try. Continuing to build on their momentum, the Cavaliers only needed 5 minutes to break the Deacons defense and find the try zone again to move ahead for an 8-10 lead. Wake refused to let up and was able to absorb Virginia’s attack in some high-pressure situations. Unfortunately, on a very loose ball, UVA’s backs were able to round the corner and display some quality skill work which led to their final try of the day and a successful conversion which extended their lead to 8-17. During final push in the closing minutes, the Deacons were able to narrow the gap as Johnny McMurray took a quick tap from 5 meters away and dive over for the home sides second try of the match. However, the conversion narrowed the defecit to 17-15 with under 10 minutes remaining. Wake pressured the UVA line repeatedly in the last minutes of play, but were unable to get the winning points. Looking ahead, UVA will enjoy a bye week to address their season opening mistakes while Wake Forest has a quick turn around for their Friday night match at Virginia Tech on September 20th.