Men's Soccer Takes Four Game Unbeaten Streak To Raleigh
10/5/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 5, 2000
Date: October 8, 2000
Kickoff: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Raleigh, NC
Stadium: Method Road (4,000)
Coaches: Wake Forest coach Jay Vidovich is in his seventh season at the helm of the Deacs. He has an overall record of 72-46-10. George Tarantini has an all-time record of 151-95-28 in his 15 seasons with the Pack.
Series: WF leads 12-10-1.
Last Meeting: Wake Forest 2, NC State 1 (11/99/99 at Spry Stadium)
Deacons Take Four Game Unbeaten Streak to Raleigh for a Matchup With NC State
Wake Forest and NC State meet Sunday at 2 p.m. in Raleigh at Method Road.
The Deacs (5-3-1) take a four-game unbeaten streak to down I-40 including wins over Maryland, Davidson, UNC Wilmington and a tie against South Carolina.
Meanwhile, the Wolfpack is 1-6-3 after a 1-1 tie against Liberty on Wednesday in Raleigh. Earlier this season, Liberty defeated Wake Forest 4-2 in Lynchburg, Va.
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 NC State game, Vidovich has 72 career victories. He is just six 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 .602 (72-46-10).
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.
Stafford Synonomous With Scoring
Not only did Ben Stafford's overtime goal against Maryland give Wake Forest an important conference win, it propelled the Signal Mountain, Tenn., native into sole possession of second place all-time in Wake Forest history.
The two points he earned with the goal gave Stafford 72 career points, one more than former Deacon superstar and MLS player Raimo deVries.
Barring the miracle of all miracles, Stafford will leave Wake Forest in second place. There is no way Stafford will catch Mark Erwin, the 1983 NCAA scoring champion, who ended his four-year career at Wake with 160 points (68 goals, 24 assists).
To put that in perspective, Stafford would need an additional 44 goals or a mere 88 assists (or any other combination to score 88 pts) in the team's last eight games plus the postseason.
Last Time Out
The Deacons have been idle since last Sunday when the team evened its ACC record at 1-1 with an overtime win over Maryland at Spry Stadium.
Ben Stafford's second goal of the contest came in the 99th minute and was the difference as the Deacons overcame a 2-0 halftime deficit.
The Deacs benefited from some shaky play in the Maryland defense in the second half that led to three Wake Forest goals, including an own goal.
Kevin Wickart returned to the Deacon lineup after missing six games with injuries to score a goal to give Wake a lead late in the second half.
The Terps forced overtime but Stafford's third game-winning goal of the season enabled the Deacons to witn back-to-back overtime games with Maryland in 1999 and 2000.
Series history: Deacons and Wolfpack
Wake Forest captured the series lead last year by winning two meetings, both played at Spry Stadium.
The Deacs hold a slight 12-10-1 edge but have won the last seven games, dating back to 1994.
In the 1999 regular season matchup, the Deacs coasted to a 4-0 win. Ben Stafford scored two goals, one just 16 seconds into the game and another on a penalty kick, to lead the Wake Forest effort.
Adam Hakes and Chad Evans also booted in goals.
The teams had a rematch in the ACC quarterfinals. A season-high 4,722 fans saw Wake Forest win a 2-1 squeaker. Trailing 1-0 with less than 20 minutes to go, the Deacs struck twice and Bobby Gehring's goal in the 77th minutes sealed the win.
Scouting the Wolfpack
N.C. State is 1-6-3 after Wednesday's 1-1 tie with Liberty at Method Road. In its last five games, State has a record of 1-3-1 with a blowout 6-1 win against Charleston Southern.
Head coach George Tarantini in his 15th year as the head coach in Raleigh. He has an overall record of 151-95-29 at NC State.
Junior midfielder Lee Baldwin is the team's leading scorer with four goals and four assists. Senior forward Nick Olivencia has also scored four goals while recording one assist.
In goal, sophomore Mitchell Watson has started every game for the Pack allowing three goals per game. Watson was sharp against the Flames on Wednesday, making 12 saves.
Mr. October
He's not quite on the level of Reggie Jackson or Francisco Cabrera but Ben Stafford has shown the ability to step it up in the month of October.
Of Stafford's 28 career goals, 12 have come in the month highlighted by Halloween. That includes the forward's two-goal performance against Maryland on Oct. 1.
Mr. Durability
He's not quite on the level of Cal Ripken or Dan Marino but Brock Hilpert has started all 69 games on his four-year career at Wake Forest. The Durham native hasn't missed a game at sweeper. Head Coach Jay Vidovich calls the All-ACC candidate one of the country's best passers.
Mr. Versatility
He's not quite on the level of Magic Johnson or Jose Oquendo but Bobby Gerhing has shown the ability to play just about every position.
The Amsterdam native played forward and midfielder last season scoring six goals. For for the first seven games, Gehring played defender, starting in six of those contests.
In the Davidson game, Gehring came off the bench as a midfielder and started at that position against Maryland.
Wake Forest - N.C. State Connections
* Wake Forest sweeper Brock Hilpert (Academy) and Wolfpack defender Ross Weikel (Jordan HS) are from nearby Durham.
* N.C. State freshman forward Jeff West grew up in the shadows of Wake Forest and attended Mount Tabor High School in Winston-Salem.
* N.C. State volunteer coach Olen Stokes is originally from Winston-Salem.
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 brings back seven starters from the 13-3-5 squad.
The Deacs have been ranked as high as fifth in the NSCAA, Soccer America and Soccer Times polls.
| 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.
Facing the Nation's Best
Slightly over the midway point of the season, Wake Forest has played four top-10 teams. That number could grow with North Carolina and Duke still on the slate.
The Deacs opened with an overtime win over Connecticut (currently ranked #2), and an overtime loss to St. John's. On Sept. 16, Virginia shutout Wake Forest 2-0.
The remaining non-conference schedules includes UNC Asheville, George Mason, who was ranked earlier this year, Charlotte and High Point.
Just one ACC home game remains (Clemson) while Wake travels to face in-state ACC rivals NC State, North Carolina and Duke.
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
The N.C. State game is the team's tenth game, meaning Wake Forest is more than halfway through the regular season schedule.
Through 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.