BOX SCORE

The High Point University women's soccer team struck first against No. 22 Wake Forest but could not hold the lead, falling to the Demon Deacons, 2-1, Friday night at Vert Stadium. Junior Katie Taber scored her third goal in the last two games to give HPU the 1-0 lead.

“I was proud of the team's effort and the way that they played tonight,” head coach Marty Beall said. “We possessed the ball well and defended extremely well. Wake Forest has two of the best freshmen in the country on their front line and they showed that tonight. This entire team is supporting each other, doing their role and really playing as the tight knit unit that we are.”

After a scoreless opening 45, the Panthers came out and controlled play early in the second half. In the 49th minute freshmen Kelli Joline and Sammy Vercellino ran a give-and-go on the right side freeing Vercellino to send a cross into the box from near the end line. Taber out jumped her defender in the box to head the cross into the net for the first score of the game.

Wake Forest began to take control of the game after the goal by Taber and battled back to take a 2-1 lead on goals by freshmen Rachel Nuzzolese and Katie Stengel. Nuzzolese would score first on a free kick from 25-yards out in the 68th minute and Stengel put the Demon Deacons ahead with a hard shot from just outside the box in the 78th.

High Point pressed forward in the final 10 minutes looking for a tying score, earning several free kicks in the offensive third, but headers by Taber and senior Sara Rager were both sent just wide.

In the first half, High Point came out on the offensive early in the contest and had several quality scoring chances in the first 20 minutes of the game. In the 15th minute the Panthers had two quality chances as Rager had a shot from 18-yards blocked but the ball bounced to Joline who hit her shot off the left post.

Two minutes later, Taber was taken down 30-yards out to earn a free kick. Taber took the kick and lofted it to the top left corner but it hit off the crossbar and back into play. High Point finished the half with a slim 7-6 lead in shots including a 3-0 edge in shots on goal.

One year after managing just one shot in a 5-0 loss against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., HPU finished with 12 shots against the Demon Deacons on Friday.

High Point returns to the road for its next contest, travelling to Cullowhee, N.C., to take on Western Carolina. Kick-off for the game is set for 7 p.m.