Greenville, S.C. -- Furman and fifth-ranked Wake Forest played to a 0-0 draw in exhibition men's soccer action Sunday evening on Seagraves Field at Stone Soccer Stadium in the first preseason outing for both schools.

After Furman started strong in the opening minutes, the Demon Deacons garnered the majority of possession through the first half, but the Paladins limited the visitors to just a single shot on goal in the opening 45 minutes.

Following the halftime break, Furman evened out the possession battle and forced Wake Forest's Andreu Cases Mundet into a pair of saves on shots from Rocky Guerra and Aigbekan Nosegbe. The Paladins' Jonathan Smith, who played all 90 minutes in goal to record the shutout, made a key save late and saw Tane Gent's volley midway through the period flash wide of the right post as the teams settled for a draw.

The Demon Deacons finished with a 12-4 edge in shots, but just a 4-2 advantage in shots on goal. Wake Forest attempted seven corner kicks, while Furman registered two. Smith finished with four saves for the Paladins.

Furman returns to action next Saturday at 7 p.m. when it concludes preseason play by hosting Spartanburg Methodist at 7 p.m. The Paladins open the regular season in the Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., versus FIU on August 26.

Live statistics for Saturday's exhibition match will be available through StatBroadcast at FurmanPaladins.com. Fans can keep access game updates on Twitter by following @FurmanSoccer.


Jordan Caskey, Furman Sports Information