Wake Forest Athletics
Women's Soccer Travels to UNC Charlotte
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
October 6, 1998
The Wake Forest women's soccer team, ranked 21st in the country this week by the NSCAA, wraps up its 12-game road stretch this week when the Demon Deacons visit UNC Charlotte on Thursday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. The Deacs will host Duke in a pivotal Atlantic Coast Conference match on Sunday, Oct. 11 at 2 p.m. at Spry Stadium.
Due to a quirk in the schedule, the game with the 49ers will be the final regular season away game of the year while the matchup with the Blue Devils is just the first home game of the year for the Deacs. Wake Forest will conclude the regular season with six consecutive home games, including five versus ACC competition.
SCOUTING THE DEMON DEACONS: The Wake Forest women's soccer program, now in only its fifth season of competition at the varsity level, has already made a name for itself on the national level. The Demon Deacons have been ranked among the nation's top 20 teams and have earned invitations to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two seasons. Head coach Tony da Luz has a squad comprised of a number of key veterans plus a talented freshman class which he hopes will guide the Deacs to their third consecutive NCAA berth this fall.
The Wake Forest offense is led by junior Anne Shropshire, who recently moved to a forward position after seeing most of her action at midfield. Shropshire leads the squad in goals (6), assists (6) and points (18) and has set school career records in each of those three categories during the past three weeks as well.
A duo of seniors in forward Stefanie Mathews and midfielder Meghan Suddes also anchor the offensive attack. Suddes is second on the team in scoring with five goals and two assists while Mathews is responsible for three goals and four assists. Freshmen midfielders Sarah Kate Noftsinger and Emily Taggart have entrenched themselves into the starting lineup with solid play all season while sophomore Christie Melby has earned a starting job at midfield just recently.
The Wake Forest defense is anchored by senior Jessen Snyder, who owns 74 career starts, and freshman Stacy Roeck, who has scored five goals this season. In goal, the Deacs will turn to either freshman Erin Regan, 1.90 GAA in 1998, or senior Sari Rose, who recorded shutouts vs. Charleston, Davidson and LSU, to provide steady play as the starter from 1997, Beth Klein, works to recover from a knee injury suffered last fall.
WEEK FIVE RECAP: Wake Forest continued their road swing at the ACC-SEC Challenge in Clemson, SC, last weekend. The Deacons defeated Kentucky in the opening round, 3-2 in overtime, and blanked LSU, 5-0, on the second day of the tournament. Wake Forest's record now stands at 7-3-1 overall, 1-1-0 in the ACC.
On Friday the Demon Deacons dominated play throughout the game with Kentucky, outshooting the Wildcats 20-5 as Anne Shropshire scored two goals for the Deacs. However, Kentucky took advantage of their opportunities to make it a 2-2 game at the end of regulation. Freshman Stacy Roeck provided the "Golden Goal" just 6:04 into overtime to give Wake Forest a 3-2 victory.
The Deacs continued their dominating style of play on Saturday against LSU in a 5-0 victory. Wake Forest outshot the Tigers 30-1 as five different players scored goals - Shropshire, Roeck, Christie Melby, Rachel Parri and Susie Nettelbeck.
SHROPSHIRE CONTINUES ASSAULT ON RECORD BOOK: Junior midfielder Anne Shropshire continues to add her name to the Wake Forest record book this season. Most recently, Shropshire set a new career mark for goals scored when she tallied her 16th career goal last Sunday against LSU. The previous mark was held by teammate Julie Scott, who owns 15 career goals but now primarily plays in the backfield.
Earlier this season at the Irish Key Bank Classic, the Lexington, Kty., product moved into first place on Wake Forest's career scoring list. She now owns 18 points this season and 51 career points. The previous record holder was Cheryl Zimmermann who totaled 43 points in four years from 1994-97, while Shropshire accomplished the feat in just over two years.
Shropshire set yet another career mark earlier this season with her two-assist performance at Davidson. Now with six assists this year, Shropshire has raised her career total to 19 and moved into first place on Wake Forest's career list category as well. The previous record holder was Zimmermann who tallied 15 assists in her career.
Shropshire, who led the Deacons in assists last fall, is shooting to break the single season school record of seven, held by four people including herself.
DEACS EARN AWARDS AT ACC-SEC CHALLENGE: Four Demon Deacons were named to the all-tournament team at the ACC-SEC Challenge last weekend after Wake Forest posted a perfect 2-0 record. Anne Shropshire, Stacy Roeck, Stefanie Mathews and Jessen Snyder all earned the honor with their outstanding play. Shropshire led the squad with three goals and one assist in two games, while Roeck netted the game-winning goal in both contests. Mathews tallied two assists on the weekend and Snyder was the anchor of a Wake Forest defense that surrendered just two goals and limited opponents to seven shots in two games.
For her efforts, Shropshire was also tabbed as the ACC's Player of the Week.
LINEUP SHUFFLE BRINGS IMMEDIATE SUCCESS: A new look in the lineup from head coach Tony da Luz brought instant results last weekend at the ACC-SEC Challenge. Still searching for that "right combination," da Luz may have just found it with his most recent moves.
Anne Shropshire moved from the midfield to join Stefanie Mathews at the forward position, and those two combined for three goals and three assists in two games. Emily Taggart and Christie Melby moved back to midfield positions where they joined previous holdovers Sarah Kate Noftsinger and Meghan Suddes, while Rachael Lewis dropped to the backfield to team with current defenders Jessen Snyder, Stacy Roeck and Colleen Bradley.
This new look was immediately successful as Wake Forest outscored their two opponents 8-2 and outshot them 55-7.
FRESHMEN OF INFLUENCE: Midway through the 1998 season, the Wake Forest freshman class has certainly made its presence felt. The four field players - F Emily Taggart (1 goal, 2 assists), MF Sarah Kate Noftsinger (1 g, 4 a), MF Stacy Roeck (5 gs) and F Rachel Parri (2 g, 2 a) - have accounted for nine goals and eight assists so far this season.
GK Erin Regan, too, has made her mark in goal for the Deacs. After sitting out the season opener with a strained quad, she started against South Carolina and allowed just one goal in 120 minutes. She made 12 saves against No. 3 Notre Dame in the Irish Key Bank Classic and now owns a 1.90 GAA.
The five players have combined to make 39 starts this season.
SNYDER ANCHORS THE DEFENSE: With senior Jessen Snyder manning the sweeper position, head coach Tony da Luz has the comfort of knowing that his defense is in good hands (or feet). A four-year veteran of the program, Snyder has appeared in 75 games in her career and owns 74 career starts. She is quickly approaching the Wake Forest record for games started in a career (79, set by Cheryl Zimmermann).
Snyder was asked to move from her midfield position of a year ago to the backfield prior to the season. She has not only accepted her new role as a defender but has also excelled at her new position, helping the Deacs allow an average of just 1.36 goals per game - the second best mark in the ACC. Wake Forest owns two shutouts this season as well. Although her name may not show up among the team's statistical leaders, Snyder may be the most valuable player on the squad.
ALSO WORTH NOTING...: Senior Stefanie Mathews was selected to the All-Tournament team at the Irish Key Bank Classic after her performance in the two games vs. Missouri and No. 3 Notre Dame. Mathews assisted one of Anne Shropshire's two goals against the Tigers . . . Senior Andrea Pelletier suffered a broken wrist in the final minutes of the Missouri game and may be lost for the season. Pelletier had appeared in six of the first eight games as a backup at the forward position . . . After redshirting in 1997, junior Susie Nettelbeck scored her first goal since the 1996 season last weekened against LSU . . . the five goals scored against LSU were the most scored by a Tony da Luz coached Wake Forest team . . . Wake Forest is ranked #21 this week and has been listed among the nation's top 25 teams at various points in each of the last three years.
