Wake Forest Athletics
Women's Soccer To Face First ACC Opponent Friday Night
9/19/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Demon Deacons Host Terrapins And Hawkeyes: No. 20 Wake Forest (5-2) will face its first conference opponent of the season Friday night at home versus No. 21 Maryland 7:00 p.m. Sept. 22 at Spry Stadium. On Sunday, Sept. 24, The Demon Deacons will take on Iowa at 1:00 p.m. at Spry Stadium.
Last Time Out: The 20th ranked Demon Deacons (5-2) split a pair of games in their Wake Forest/Nike Invitational last weekend at Spry Stadium. Wake Forest lost to No. 25 California 1-2 on Friday, Sept. 15 and then beat Virginia Tech 5-1 on Sunday, Sept. 17.
Maryland Terrapins: Maryland, ranked as high as 21st by the NSCAA and as low as 25th by the Soccer Times, enters Spry Stadium on Friday with a 4-4 overall record and a 0-1 ACC mark. The Terrapins are coming off a pair of loses in California last weekend, falling to Santa Clara 2-4 on Sept. 15 and 0-3 at Stanford Sept. 17. Head coach Shannon Higgins-Cirovski is 15-14-1 in her second season at College Park and has accumulated a 84-73-12 record in her tenth season overall. Maryland leads the series 5-3 against Wake Forest. The Deacs won 1-0 in the last meeting, Nov. 5, 1999 at the ACC Tournament in Chapel Hill, N.C. The last time the two teams met at Spry Stadium was Oct. 25, 1998 and Wake Forest won 3-2. Senior forward Julie Nelson and junior forward Sara Gustafson lead the Terps with three goals and one assist each, while senior goalkeeper Riki-Ann Serrins holds a 1.38 goals against average and a .771 saves percentage.
Iowa Hawkeyes: Iowa, 6-2 overall and 1-1 in the Big Ten, will take on Michigan State on Friday, Sept. 22 at home before traveling to Winston-Salem to face Wake Forest. Last weekend the Hawkeyes split a pair of conference road games, losing to Minnesota 1-5 on Friday, Sept. 15 and winning at Wisconsin 2-1 on Sunday, Sept. 17. Head coach Wendy Logan is in her first season at Iowa and is 41-24-2 in her fourth year overall. Senior forward Kate Walse leads the Hawkeyes with six goals on the season and sophomore goalkeeper Liz Hendel has started every game in net, earning three shutouts.
In The Rankings: Wake Forest is ranked as high as 20th by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and Soccer Times and as low as 15th by Soccer Buzz. Soccer America has Wake at 16th and the American Soccer Writers Poll lists the Demon Deacons 18th. In the regional standings, the Deacs are ranked fifth by the NSCAA and fourth by Soccer Buzz.
The Microwave: Emily Taggart has come off the bench in the last three games to take over the game. The junior forward from Pleasanton, Calif., broke through Cal-Berkeley's tough defense moments after subbing in Sept. 15 and assisted Joline Charlton's goal. In the Sept. 17 5-1 victory over Virginia Tech, Taggart netted two goals, including the game winner and was fouled inside the penalty box giving the Demon Deacons a penalty kick - which Lindsey Griffin took and scored. Taggart has three goals and three assists on the season.
The Chameleon: Tracy Chao started the Virginia Tech game Sept. 17 wearing a green number zero goalkeeper jersey. The sophomore from Raleigh, N.C., played the first half as the Demon Deacons' goalkeeper, as she had the last four games. Chao collected seven saves in 45 minutes tending the net and only allowing one goal. Leslie Goelz took over in the cage at halftime and towards the end of the match Chao re-entered the game, except with a black number 20 field jersey and played as a defender. A reserve defender on last year's team, Chao was moved to goalkeeper at the beginning of the season to help Goelz with goaltending duties after starting keeper Erin Regan and backup goalie Kenna Healy went down with season-ending knee injuries.
Upgrade: Lindsey Griffin is tied for a team-leading four goals after depositing two in the second half of the Virginia Tech game. The sophomore from Englewood, Colo., played in the midfield last year and led the squad with eight assists, but scored no goals. This year playing up front, Griffin hasn't assisted any goals as of yet, but she's obviously discovered her scoring touch.
Interesting Numbers: Wake Forest has a tendency to turn up its offensive attack a few clicks in the second half. Outshooting their opponents 129-67, the Demon Deacons have fired 85 second half shots, while holding their opponents to only 32 second half shots. Leading the corner kick category 51-16, the Deacs have taken 32 second half corner kicks, while only allowing their opponents five after halftime.
Next Up: The Demon Deacons head west next weekend to play in the Santa Clara/Nike Tournament in Santa Clara, Calif. Wake Forest will take on No. 5 Stanford on Friday, Sept. 29 and then No. 19 Santa Clara on Sunday, Oct. 1.
