Wake Forest Athletics
Women's Soccer Heads To Clemson To Tangle With Tigers
10/16/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 16, 2000
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Wake Forest (7-6-1, 2-2) travels south to the Palmetto State to take on ACC rival Clemson (14-1, 4-1) Tuesday night. The Demon Deacons are looking to settle a score with the fifth ranked Tigers, after losing to Clemson on penalty kicks in the NCAA Tournament last season.
Last Time Out
The Demon Deacons (7-6-1) snapped a three-game losing skid and a five-game winless streak Wednesday with a come from behind 2-1 upset victory at home over then-ranked 14th Virginia. Emily Taggart beat the Cavalier's goalkeeper to a ball, got past her and scored on the empty net, unassisted in the second half for the equalizer. With under four minutes remaining in regulation, Gabi Lieb cashed in the game winner, assisted by A.B. Robbins and Melissa Murray-Hobbs.
Clemson Tigers
Clemson, ranked as high as third by Soccer Buzz, as low as seventh by Soccer America and fifth by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), is coming off a 1-0 win at home versus Maryland last Friday. The Tigers, coached by Ray Leone, are led by freshman forward Lindsay Browne (9 goals, 10 assists) and junior goalkeeper Katie Carson (0.50 GAA, 7 SHO).
Clemson leads the series 6-2-1 with Wake Forest. The two teams met twice last season. The Tigers lost at Wake Forest 1-2 on Sept. 17 and then advanced past the Demon Deacons on penalty kicks after playing to a 0-0 tie Nov. 13 in the NCAA Regionals at Clemson.
Taggart Named ACC Player of the Week
Down 1-0 against Virginia on Thursday, Emily Taggart punched through the Cavalier's back line, sending the ball to about the top of penalty box, about 15 yards ahead of her and 15 yards in front of Virginia goalkeeper Julie Harris. Taggart turned on the jets and beat Harris to the ball. Finding herself behind all eleven Cavaliers, Taggart knocked in the equalizing goal on the empty Virginia net. The junior forward from Pleasanton, Calif., garnered ACC Player of the Week honors for her heroics. She has five goals on the season and is tied for second on the team in scoring. Named the 1998 ACC Rookie of the Year, Taggart is a two-time All-ACC selection.
Lucky Lieb
With the score tied 1-1 and less than four minutes remaining in Thursday's game versus then-ranked 14th Virginia, Melissa Murray-Hobbs lofted up a free kick from 25 yards out into a cluster of people in front of the Cavalier goal. A.B. Robbins got to it first and played it to Lieb who knocked it home for the game-winning goal in a 2-1 upset victory for Wake Forest. It was Lieb's first goal as a Demon Deacon. A sophomore from Greensboro, N.C., Lieb is a defender and has only taken 15 shots in her career.
M.A.S.H.
A rash of injuries have depleted the number of Demon Deacons available to play. In the last game versus Virginia, Wake Forest only played 12 people the entire match. Losing goalkeepers Erin Regan and Kenna Healy before the season even started to knee injuries, the Deacs had lost the services of defender Roxanne Chow and forwards Stacy Roeck and Lindsey Griffin to knee injuries by this time last week. Senior midfielder Rachel Lewis played despite having a sore ankle and freshman midfielder was sidelined with mono.
Wake Forest should be able to field a few more against Clemson though. Thom is feeling better and Roeck, Griffin and Lewis are all expected to play. Chow will most likely miss the remainder of the season though. In a rough and tumble season, not one single Demon Deacon has started all 14 games. Liz McDowell, Colleen Bradley and Katie Johnson all lead the team with 13 games started, but there is not one single person that has been healthy for the duration.
Holding Down The Fort
Tracy Chao took over goaltending duties at the beginning of the season when both Demon Deacon goalkeepers Erin Regan and Kenna Healy suffered season-ending knee injuries during the preseason. Although Chao had never played goalie before, the athletic sophomore learned quick. Constantly improving, Chao holds a 1.51 goals against average, a .739 saves percentage and 1.5 shutouts in 1071 minutes in net. Regan, a first team all-ACC selection last year as a sophomore, and Healy, a highly touted freshman, will both redshirt this season and return next year.
In The Rankings
After a one-week hiatus from the national rankings, the Demon Deacons are back in the Top 25, in at least one of the five college women's soccer polls. Although still unranked in the NSCAA, Soccer America, Soccer Buzz and Soccer Times rankings, the American Soccer Writer's Poll, published on College Soccer Daily, ranks Wake Forest 24th this week. The Deacs sit at 6th and 7th in the Regional rankings.
Interesting Numbers
Wake Forest has averaged 17.2 shots per game, while holding its opponents to only 9.9 shots per game. Nearly doubling their opponents' shot attempts (241-139) and corner kicks (76-41) are some abstract notes, but it points out the thorn in the Demon Deacons side this season - not being able to finish. There has obviously been no lack of offensive opportunities, but scoring 24 goals this season on 241 tries (.100) could lead one to believe that the Deacs have been struggling with scoring.
Next Up
The Demon Deacons will be back in action next week when they return home to host Davidson College at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 25 at Spry Stadium.
