Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest Prepares For No. 16 Tennesse, Maryland
9/17/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 17, 2001
Wake Forest (0-2-1) will make an unscheduled stop in Knoxville, TN, Thursday night to take on No. 16 Tennessee before heading to College Park, MD Sunday for the Demon Deacons' conference opener at Maryland. The Demon Deacons, still searching for their first win of the season, canceled their trip to Los Angeles, CA, last weekend after the national tragedies and will not make up the games versus Southern California and Loyola Marymount.
Tennessee also canceled its trip to California this weekend setting the stage for Thursday's 7:00 p.m. game.
Last Time Out
The Demon Deacons are coming off a 10-day layoff after a pair of tough one goal losses at home Sept. 7, 9 in their own Wake Forest Nike Tournament, falling to No. 7 Santa Clara 1-0 on Sept. 7 and then dropping a 2-1 decision to No. 5 Portland on Sept. 9. Wake Forest jumped out on seventh-ranked Santa Clara early in the game Sept. 7, but couldn't get anything past the Bronco's goalkeeper. A long shot from 30 yards out got through Demon Deacon goalkeeper Erin Regan's hands for the game's only goal.
On Sept. 9, Wake Forest gave up two goals in the first two minutes of the match to fifth-ranked Portland and could not recover. The Demon Deacons fought back and outplayed the Pilots in the second half. Senior midfielder Sarah Kate Noftsinger connected with a pass from Liz McDowell to cut Portland's lead to one goal, but Wake Forest could not erase the remainder of the deficit.
Tennessee Lady Volunteers
Tennessee (3-1) is coming off a pair of wins at the James Madison Invitational Sept. 7, 9, beating JMU 4-2 and Rutgers 3-0. The Lady Vols, coached by Angela Kelly, are led by freshman midfielder Sue Flamini with three goals and two assists. Junior goalkeeper Cori Stevens has a 1.00 goals-against average with 24 saves and one shutout in 360 minutes spent in net. Tennessee is ranked 16th in the coaches poll, as high as 14th in the media poll and is unranked by Soccer America.
Thursday's match will be the first-ever meeting between Wake Forest and Tennessee.
Two players on Tennessee's roster hail from North Carolina. Cori Stevens is from Greensboro and Jen Laughridge is from Wilson. Lady Volunteer sophomore twins Carie and Tracy Swibas, both hail from Lakewood, CO, as does Wake Forest junior Liz McDowell. Tennessee's Lauren Duncan and Wake Forest's Joline Charlton both call Stone Mountain, GA, home. The Demon Deacons may recognize Tennessee junior forward Kim Patrick, who transferred from North Carolina. She will definitely look familiar to Demon Deacon senior forward Emily Taggart, since they both played at Foothill High in Pleasanton, CA.
Maryland Terrapins
Maryland (3-1) split a pair of home games Sept. 6, 9, falling 1-0 to Richmond and beating East Carolina 1-0. Scheduled for a pair of games in Colorado last weekend, Maryland canceled the trip and will not make up the games. The Terps, coached by Shannon Higgins-Cirovski, are led by senior forward Sara Gustafson with two goals and two assists. Senior goalkeeper Ali Wolff has a 0.25 goals-against average, 10 saves and 3 shutouts in 360 minutes in net.
Maryland leads the series with Wake Forest 5-4, but the Demon Deacons won the last meeting 1-0, Sept. 22, 2000 in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest out shot Maryland 21-5, placing 10 shots on frame and allowing none. Lindsey Griffin scored the game-winning goal for the Deacs, when she converted a penalty kick late in the first half. Wake Forest goalkeeper Tracy Chao earned the shutout victory with no saves.
Wake Forest junior midfielder Katie Johnson played at Kempsville High in Virginia Beach, VA, with Maryland's Sally Harrison. Demon Deacons Sarah Kate Noftsinger and A.B. Robbins both played with Terrapin Ali Wolff at Godwin High in Richmond, VA.
Noftsinger Steps Up
Sarah Kate Noftsinger, a senior from Richmond, VA, connected with a pass from Liz McDowell in the 57th minute of the Portland game Sept. 9, for the Demon Deacons' first goal of the season. Noftsinger led the team with three shots against the Pilots, placing two on goal. The 5-3 center midfielder has played in every single Wake Forest game over the past four seasons, starting all but 10 of them. (68 games played, 58 games started)
Back In The Cage
Erin Regan returns to net this season as the starting goalkeeper for Wake Forest after sitting out last season with a knee injury. The redshirt-junior from Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, was a first team All-ACC selection in 1999 after posting a 0.71 goals against average, 113 saves and nine shutouts.
Regan earned a shutout in her first game back, collecting seven saves against Georgia and followed that up with 11 saves in the Nike Tournament - only allowing three goals from No. 7 Santa Clara and No. 5 Portland. Her backup keepers, redshirt-freshmen Kenna Healy and Colleen Vena, have both recovered from injuries that caused them to also take medical redshirts last year and are ready.
Who did play goalie for Wake Forest last year? Tracy Chao, a junior from Raleigh, NC, returns to the field as a defender this season after filling the void in net last year for the Demon Deacons. After losing all its goalkeepers last year before the season even began, Wake Forest held an intrasquad tryout for the position and the 5-5 Chao won the starting job, despite never playing goalie in her life. She learned quick and with the help of a tough Demon Deacon defense, Chao finished the year with a 1.52 goals against average, a .746 saves percentage and 3 shutouts - including an Oct. 27 1-0 win over eventual national champions, North Carolina.
Injury Update
Joline Charlton was carried off the field less than 10 minutes into the Santa Clara match Sept. 7, after suffering a sprained ankle. She missed the rest of the game, as well as the Sept. 9 match versus Portland. Charlton is listed as probable for the Tennessee game.
A speedy forward from Stone Mountain, GA, Charlton was second on the team in scoring last year with eight goals and three assists, despite missing the entire postseason with mono. The 1999 ACC Rookie of the Year, Charlton is a two-time All-ACC selection and led the team in scoring in 1999 as a true freshman.
Taggart On Track
Emily Taggart begins her senior season at Wake Forest with more speed and strength than ever. The forward from Pleasanton, CA, led the team in scoring last year with nine goals and six assists. A three-time All-ACC and three-time All-Region selection, Taggart needs just seven goals to tie and eight to become the school record holder for career goals. The 1998 ACC Rookie of the Year was named honorable mention preseason All-American by CollegeSoccer.com this summer.
Rookie Attack
After first glance at the new class of freshmen, Courtney McCrudden stands out of a very talented crop of rookies. McCrudden, a forward from Voorhees, NJ, got the starting call in the season opener at Georgia and again versus Portland. Alli Hunt, another freshman also started the Portland match. April Raymer, Kathleen Andrews, Meagan Mullins and Sara Creighton all have come off the bench to give the Deacs a lift throughout the first three games of the season.
Century Mark
Head coach Tony da Luz is three wins away from reaching 100 career victories. In only nine seasons da Luz amassed a 97-71-9 record, including 51 wins at Wake Forest in four years. The 1998 ACC Coach of the Year, da Luz has taken the Demon Deacons to the NCAA Tournament every year that he has been at Wake Forest.
Up Next
Wake Forest will return home Friday Sept. 28 to take on North Carolina State at 7:00 p.m. at Spry Stadium.
