Wake Forest Men's Soccer Release
10/17/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 17, 2000
Wake Forest Men's Soccer Release
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WAKE FOREST Demon Deacons (8-3-1)
vs.
GEORGE MASON Patriots (8-5)
Date: October 18, 2000
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Winston-Salem, NC
Stadium: Spry Stadium (3,000)
Coaches: Wake Forest coach Jay Vidovich is in his seventh season at the helm of the Deacs. He has an overall record of 75-46-10. Gordon
Bradley has an all-time record of 183-108-34 in his 16 seasons with the Patriots.
Series: This is the first ever meeting.
Demon Deacs Bring Five Game Win Streak Home to Face George Mason
Wake Forest meets George Mason in a midweek battle on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. at Spry Stadium.
The Deacs (8-3-1) enter the first ever meeting between the schools with a five-game winning streak and a run of seven games without a loss. Wake Forest's last loss came more than one month ago when the Deacs dropped the ACC curtain-raiser against Virginia.
The Patriots (8-5) are coming off a 2-1 victory against UNC Wilmington. The win, however, came at a very costly price as the school's all-time leading scorer Eduardo Lima broke a bone in his foot and is out for the season.
Last Time Out
After building a 2-0 halftime lead, the Demon Deacons held on against a pesky Charlotte squad to win 3-2 in overtime.
Jeremiah White's first collegiate goal came at a good time as he buried the gamewinning in the fifth minute of overtime.
Ben Stafford extended his goal streak to five games on a penalty kick.
Blind Date
Although Wake Forest and George Mason are meeting for the first time, you could say the teams met through common friends.
Wake and GMU have had two common opponents this season, UNC Wilmington and Maryland. Both teams defeated the Seahawks earlier this season but the Terps forced the Patriots to retreat last Wednesday after a 4-1 loss. The Deacs de-shelled Maryland in overtime, 4-3, back on October 1.
On a conference level, the ACC has dominated the Colonial Athletic Association in 2000. ACC teams are 9-1 against Colonial foes. ACC leading Virginia dropped a game to William & Mary earlier this season.
Gold Streak
The Deacons on fire as of late. The ACC's hottest team enters the George Mason contest with a seven-game unbeaten streak and winners of their last five.
With just five games remaining on the regular season schedule including three critical in-conference matchups with Clemson, North Carolina and Duke, the Deacs are getting hot at the right time.
Vidovich On The Verge
Jay Vidovich, in his seventh season as the Wake Forest head coach, is closing in on a record that belongs to his friend and mentor, Walt Chyzowych.
Entering the Charlotte game, Vidovich has 75 career victories. He is just three wins away from passing Chyzowych.
Vidovich, the third coach in the program's 21 years, already holds the school's record for highest winning percentage at .611 (75-46-10).
Vidovich, a longtime Wake assistant, became head coach just days before the start 1994 season when Chyzowych passed away at the age of 57.
Chyzowych coached the Deacons to the ACC title in 1989 and to four NCAA appearances.
He keeps scoring .. and scoring .. and scoring
Ben Stafford's one goal, one assist performance vs. Charlotte on Sunday was the seventh straight game in which he has scored a point and the fifth straight game with a goal. He has scored a goal in nine of Wake's 12 games this year.
Barbee Cracks Record Charts
Senior forward Jaron Barbee has crept into the record books and is now tied for 8th all-time in scoring with 48 points.
Barbee found net against Charlotte and last Tuesday, scored twice against UNC Asheville, his first tallies of the season. Barbee also has four assists on the year, for a total of 10 points, second on the team.
The Graduate
Senior goalkeeper Rob Vartughian has already been an all-conference performer and he's looking to do it again.
Vartughian, who came to Wake Forest after completing his undergraduate requirements at St. Bonaventure, was an All-Atlantic 10 keeper for the Bonnies.
Vartughian missed one season with a back injury at St. Bonaventure, giving him one last season of eligibility.
The graduate student ranks among the conference's best keepers, second in saves (4.67 per game) and second in save percentage (.747).
Stafford Among Nation's Scoring Leaders
Through October 15, Ben Stafford ranked 7th nationally in goals per game (1.08) and 7th in the NCAA in points per game (2.50).
Stafford, who has been named to Soccer America's Team of the Week twice this season, is a very strong candidate for ACC and national honors.
Here's a look at how Stafford stacks up in the nation's strongest conference.
ACC Goal Leaders (thru Oct. 16)
Player GP Goals
1. Chris Carrieri, UNC 14 17
2. Ben Stafford, WF 12 13
3. Fabio Tambosi, CU 12 12
4. Alecko Eskandarian, VA 13 11
5. Ali Curtis, Duke 12 10
ACC Points Leaders (thru Oct. 16)
Player GP Points
1. Chris Carrieri, UNC 14 43
2. Ben Stafford, WF 12 30
3. Fabio Tambosi, CU 12 28
t4.Caleb Norkus, UNC 14 26
t4.Ali Curtis, Duke 12 26
Mr. October
He's not quite on the level of Don Larsen or Mike Hampton, but Ben Stafford has shown the ability to step it up in the month of October, particularly this year.
Of Stafford's 33 career goals, 17 have come in October. That includes the forward's two-goal performances against Maryland on Oct. 1., NC State on Oct. 8 and UNC-Asheville on Oct. 10 and his goal against Charlotte on Sunday.
Death, Taxes, Hilpert
Brock Hilpert has started all 72 games on his four-year career at Wake Forest. The Durham native hasn't missed a game at sweeper. The Wake Forest record for most games played in a career is 82, held by Neil Covone.
Head Coach Jay Vidovich calls the All-ACC candidate one of the country's best passers. Hilpert will celebrate his birthday in his hometown when the Deacons take on Duke on Nov. 3 in the regular season finale.
Tale of the Tape
A statistical comparison of the teams:
WF GMU
8-3-1 W-L Record 8-5-0
2.7 Goals 2.3
1.6 Goals Allowed 2.1
15.5 Shots 13.2
10.7 Shots Allowed 14.5
3 Shutouts 3
13.8 Fouls 19.5
2000 Pre-Season ACC Men's Soccer Poll
In the preseason ACC Coaches Poll, the Deacs were slotted to finish fifth. The team finished third in the conference in 1999 and finished the year 13-3-5.
The Deacs have been ranked as high as fifth in the NSCAA, Soccer America and Soccer Times polls.
Halfway through the conference season, the Deacons are 2-1, good for fourth in the league. The Deacons still have Clemson at home before rounding out the regular season with trips to the Triangle against UNC and Duke.
School Points '99 Record '99 Finish
1. Duke 45 16-1-3, 4-0-2 1st
2. UVa 38 14-9-1, 1-4-1 T6th
3. Clemson 31 9-8-2, 2-2-2 4th
4. UNC 27 12-7-1, 2-3-1 5th
5. Wake 25 13-3-5, 2-1-3 3rd
6. Md. 22 14-6, 4-2 2nd
7. NCSU 8 7-7-3, 1-4-1 T6th
Thomas Named Preseason All-American
Sophomore midfielder Aaron Thomas was named to College Soccer Online's preseason All-American team. After playing defender last year, Thomas has already proved to be a dangerous threat in the penalty area. He scored a gametying goal against St. John's on a diving header during a scramble in the box.
Three Deacons Earn Spots on Bob's Stores/UConn All-Tournament Team
Seniors Ben Stafford and Rob Vartughian and sophomore Aaron Thomas were named to the Bob's Stores/UConn All-Tournament thanks to their outstanding performances against Connecticut and St. John's.
Vartughian made three saves within a eight second span in overtime vs. UConn.
Just 34 seconds after Vartughian's saves, Stafford scored his second goal, the overtime gamewinner.
Thomas earned his place on the team with his diving header against St. John's that tied the game at two and forced the teams to play overtime.
Looking Back at the First Half
Through the first nine games, the Deacs have certainly experienced their ups and downs. Injuries have limited players at all positions as the season has progressed. With the team getting healthier, the Deacs are gearing up for another run at the NCAA tournament.
Here's a look back at the first half of the 2000 campaign:
Wake started the year in grand fashion with an upset win at Connecticut. The team played well the next night but took an overtime loss against St. John's.
The Deacs won their home opener against UNC Greensboro and rose to #5 in the national rankings before slipping at Liberty and at home against Virginia.
After sliding out of the polls entirely, Wake rebounded with its most lopsided win of the season, shooting down the Seahawks of UNC Wilmington, 4-0.
The Deacons followed up that effort with a 2-2 tie of seventh-ranked South Carolina and a 2-0 shutout of Davidson.
Worthless Note of the Game
Entering Wednesday's game against the Patriots of George Mason, the Deacons are 2-1 against teams with human mascots. That figure includes wins against the UNC Greensboro Spartans and the Charlotte 49ers. Wake dropped a contest against the Virginia Cavaliers. Of course, several years ago, St. John's would have also counted in this survey. For the record, Wake Forest lost to the team formerly known as the Redmen.