The first half of play saw back-and-forth possession, with both sides sharing in attacking opportunities.

The majority of the of the midfield play was dominated by Cougars Mike Paye and Tyler Wilder.

Late in the first half, Paye scored from about 20 yards out. His shot was more than the Wakefield goalie could bear, and the Zebulon squad took the lead that would win the game in the 28th minute of play.

But games are not won on offense alone.

The first 10 minutes of the second half were controlled by Zebulon, as the team created a few more scoring chances, but never capitalized.

At that point, Wakefield seemed to get its second wind and had Zebulon defending its one-goal advantage for the remainder of the match.

In addition to stellar attacking play, Dionicio Lara cleared the tying ball off of the goal line with less than two minutes remaining to preserve the victory.

The defense, who for the fifth time in seven matches held the opposition to one goal or less, was led by Macon Watkins, Ben Hasselhuhn, Clay Walker, Ryan Dean and Bradley Williams.

Andy Shriver recorded his second in-goal shutout as Zebulon improved its record to four wins and three losses.

The team will attempt to set a new school record for victories in a season, at five wins, on Wednesday, May 7, at East Wake Middle School.