Sept. 23, 2000

Box Score

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.-- Freshman Kelvin Jones' first goal as a Demon Deacon enabled the Wake Forest men's soccer team to tie seventh-ranked South Carolina 2-2 on Saturday night at Spry Stadium. The Deacs stand at 3-3-1 on the season. The Gamecocks are now 6-1-1.

Wake Forest had numerous chances to score early in the first half, including shots by Ben Stafford and Bobby Gehring that nearly gave the Deacs an early lead. But Wake Forest found itself trailing 2-0 just over 20 minutes into the game as South Carolina scored on two of its first three shots.

USC freshman Ryan Daley drew first blood on a diving header in the box on a pass from Chris Lockwood at the 18:24 mark. Less than two minutes later, Jordan Quinn gave the Gamecocks a two goal lead.

The Deacons recovered and less than one minute before halftime, Wake Forest sophomore Andy Rosenband scored his third goal in two games on a rebound after a blast by Stafford. After 45 minutes of play, the Deacons trailed by one despite outshooting South Carolina 9-5.

In the second half, Wake Forest continued its barrage on Gamecock goalkeeper Henry Ring, unloading 14 shots in the second 45 minutes. Ring was up to the task, making eight saves in the second half, 13 on the night.

In the game's 60th minute, however, Jones tallied the equalizer. Matt Thompsonâs corner kick found Jones in the box whose header beat Ring on the far side and the Deacons tied the game at two.

Neither team could break the deadlock after another 60 minutes of play but both teams had several chances and it appeared as though Wake Forest might post another come from behind win. In the 70th minute, point blank shots by Stafford and Vicente Bastidas were stopped and a second shot by Bastidas with the keeper out of position went wide on the left side. Bastidasâ header after a Thompson corner in the 79th minute that was cleared off the line by a Gamecock defender.

We're real proud of our team. They showed a lot of character tonight,ä head coach Jay Vidovich said. ãWith all the chances we had in the first half, we could have been up 4-0. Instead we were down 2-0. Thatâs a tall mountain to climb. We had chances to win the game but Iâm proud of our team for getting in the position to win. Weâre getting healthier and weâre continuing to grow as a team.ä

The Deacs travel to Davidson on Wednesday for the teamâs third straight mid-week contest. Kickoff against the Wildcats is slated for 6:15 p.m.