Wake Forest scored an 85^th-minute goal, which stood up as the only tally of the match, in a 1-0 win over UIC in the 2021 season opener.

Coach Nikolic's Summary

"The effort we got from our team was exactly what we asked for.  They gave it everything they had.  Their will, their determination, their resilience and continuing to fight reflect the values of our program.  That's why we play these types of games – they'll make us better, and they'll make us stronger."

 
Turning Points

• Shayla Smart took a pass in the top center of the box, and after settling the ball to her right foot, ripped a shot inside the right post to give Wake Forest a 1-0 lead with just five and a half minutes to play.
• The Demon Deacons finished the game with a dominating 22-1 advantage in shots.  Ten of their attempts went on goal, where Lena Kurz stopped nine of them to keep the Flames in the game until the very end.

Match Details

For almost 85 minutes, it seemed as if the Flames' season opener would continue into overtime, scoreless.  Although Wake Forest had the lion's share of possession, timely plays by UIC's defense and a couple of lucky bounces kept the match deadlocked.

Brielle Gomez, Grace Haines, and Yulexi Diaz each made winning plays in the first half to intercept passes or break up threats in the final third.  As the game progressed, Kurz took center stage.  In the 75^th minute, she went low to make a save on a shot that crossed toward the center of the net.  Three minutes later, she leapt to pluck the ball out of midair between two Deacons.

"The three in the back plus Lena did some great stuff, but the people in front were organized as well, which made their attack work much harder to break us down," Nikolic said.  "Brielle, Kaitlyn [Montague], Grace Setter, Leah Senese all got people in the right spot."

Kurz made nine saves on the night, and got help from the woodwork on two additional occasions.  A free kick awarded in the semicircle made it over UIC's wall and hit the right corner.  Wake Forest took a subsequent free kick outside the right edge of the box, and hit the crossbar.  Those set pieces represented the two best chances by either side to dent the scoreboard until Smart's goal.  "We defended well; our game plan in the shape was right," Nikolic stated.  "We forced a lot of errors, it took them a long time to break us down, but the times they broke us down we couldn't get to the spots we needed to."

The Demon Deacons totaled 22 shots, the most by a Flames opponent since September 9, 2018, when Eastern Michigan blasted 28 attempts.  Scoring chances were few and far between for the Flames.  A 25^th minute volley by Nia Harley was played by the keeper in front of the goal, and a throw-in one minute later went into the box where Grace Setter headed it toward the target, but neither play was credited with a shot.  The lone official shot came in the second half when Kaitlyn Montague sent in a long-distance try.

"Credit to Wake Forest, they have quality players, and they were organized well," Nikolic observed.  "We didn't take advantage of our opportunities.  We had a corner kick, Makena [Shaw] got in behind them, but it didn't work.  You have to make the most of your opportunities in games like this."

Freshman Yulexi Diaz got the start, and classmates Nia Harley, Quinn Ruiz, and Natalie Montini all saw their first action as Flames.  Nikolic substituted liberally, going seven players deep into his bench and playing each of them for 10 to 51 minutes.

Rain began to fall in the 30^th minute, and continued the rest of the match.  Footing was not an issue, but a slick ball was evident on a few passes that did not connect.

Another Power 5 opponent awaits the Flames on Sunday, when they will travel to Minnesota.

"We're going to get ready for the next one, take the lessons we learned and put them into the game.  We'll fly back, do some recovery, watch video and isolate some moments that we can use as an educational piece.  Minnesota beat Baylor tonight so we're going to see what they're going to bring at us," said Nikolic.