Wake Forest Athletics
#6 Women's Soccer Heads to California
10/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 2, 2002
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The Wake Forest women's soccer squad heads to the Golden State this weekend to face PAC-10 member California on Oct. 4 and Big Sky-member Sacramento State on Oct. 6 Wake Forest and California will match up in their second meeting, with the Golden Bears leading the series, 1-0. The last game between the two teams occurred on Sept. 15, 2000, with Wake Forest falling to California, 1-0, in Winston-Salem.
Sunday's game will be the first meeting between Wake Forest and Sacramento State. The Deacs 9-0-1 beginning is the best start of Tony da Luz's career at Wake Forest and the best start since the program began in 1994.
Wake Ties with NC State
The seventh-ranked Wake Forest women's soccer team remained undefeated, tying with NC State 1-1 in Raleigh on Sunday. The tie moves the Demon Deacons to 9-0-1 on the season and 1-0-1 in conference play.
NC State got on the board first in the third minute of action with a goal by Adrienne Barnes, on a cross from Annika Schmidt. Wake took five shots, but struggled to score in the first half.
Junior midfielder Katherine Winstead tied the score at the 56:16 mark of the second half for her eighth goal of the season. The teams played an additional 55 minutes, including two 10-minute overtimes, before settling for the 1-1 tie.
The Deacs outshot NC State 13-12, with each team having six shots on goal. Alena Thom led the team with four shots, followed by Winstead with three and Joline Charlton with two. Wake goalkeeper Erin Regan recorded a game-high five saves, totaling 110 minutes in the net.
California Golden Bears
Eighth-ranked California comes into Friday's contest against Wake Forest with a record of 6-2-1.
The Demon Deacons are the fourth top-10 opponent the Golden Bears will face this season. Californina owns victories over Ohio State, Purdue, Texas A&M, Santa Clara, Fresno State and Pennsylvania. The Golden Bears fell to Texas and Hartford.
Despite losing 3-1 to unranked Hartford, California stayed in the Top-10 in the four major soccer polls this week. The Golden Bears dropped to sixth in the NSCAA poll, eighth in Soccer Buzz, 10th in Soccer America and eighth in Soccer Times.
Sacramento State Hornets
Sacramento State holds a record of 1-6-1 entering Sunday's match-up with the Demon Deacons.
The lone win for the Hornets came against Idaho, 3-2. Sacramento State has fallen this season to Pacific, San Francisco, Wyoming, Creighton, St. Mary's and UC-Riverside. The Hornets also settled for a tie against Utah State.
100 All-Time Victories
With the 4-2 victory over UNCG on Sept. 25, the Wake Forest women's soccer program earned its 100th all-time victory. The program's record now stands at 100-68-12 since beginning in 1994. The Deacs look to continue their undefeated record of 9-0-1 on Friday against eighth-ranked California.
Blue-Collar Deacs
The 2002 women's soccer squad has dubbed themselves as a "blue-collar" team and taken it to the next level. The Deacs know that it is going to take a lot of effort this year if they want to be successful. They have decided as a team to work hard and earn every goal.
"Our theme has been 'blue-collar'. This team is a blue-collar team; we're going to work through everything," stated Coach da Luz.
"They've created more opportunities for themselves through teamwork, pressure and trapping for goals than our prior teams have been able to do." So far the efforts have paid off as the "blue-collar" Deacs are undefeated at 9-0-1 and beating opponents in every category.
Breaking Records
Junior Alena Thom tallied three assists against Elon (Sept. 3), setting a single-game record in that category. The record was most recently held by Katherine Winstead with two assists against Tulane on October 12, 2001.
Senior Joline Charlton is also looking to break several records this season. She currently is second in season points (24) and shots (71), third in goals (10) and fourth (7) in assists. In career records, Charlton ranks fourth in goals (20), points (53) and shots (146).
Wake in the ACC
As a team, Wake Forest is second in the ACC in goals allowed per game with 0.80, second in goals against average with 0.78 and tied for second in shutouts with three. The Deacs are second in points per game, averaging 8.8 per contest, third in assists per game with 3.2 and fourth in goals per game with 2.8.
Individually, seversl Deacs appear in the statistical categories as well. Katherine Winstead ranks second in goals (8) and points (21). Winstead is also sixth in assists per game (.60) and eighth with 3.0 shots per game.
Alena Thom is third in assists (.60 apg) and fifth with 1.6 points per game. Thom is also 10th in goals per game (0.50) and shots per game (2.8). Goalkeeper Erin Regan ranks second with 0.85 goals against average.
Alli Hunt ranks sixth in assists per game with 0.50 while Sarah Kozey ranks 10th in shots per game with 2.8. Kozey also ranks third, along with Thom and Winstead, in game-winning goals with two.
The Deacs vs. Opponents
Wake Forest has dominated the field this season, leading their opponents in every category. The Deacs have outshot opponents 177 to 74, including 98 shots on goal to their opponents' 32. Wake has scored 28 goals on the season and only allowed eight. The Deacs have held opponents to 24 points while tallying 87. Wake has recorded 31 assists on the season as well.
These players are the Deacs' current category leaders:
POINTS: Katherine Winstead (21)
GOALS: Katherine Winstead (8)
SHOTS: Katherine Winstead (30)
SHOT %: Katherine Winstead (.267)
GWG: Sarah Kozey, Alena Thom and Katherine Winstead (2)
ASSISTS: Alli Hunt, Alena Thom, Katherine Winstead (5)
SOG: Alena Thom (19)
SOG%: Tracy Chao (.800)
Poll Appearances
After continuing its perfect record this past weekend, the Wake Forest women's soccer team climbed to the sixth spot in the Soccer Buzz weekly poll. The ranking is the highest held by the Demon Deacons in the program's nine-year history.
The Deacs also appear in several other polls this week, moving to ninth in the NSCAA poll, ninth in Soccer Times and 13th in Soccer America.
Injury Report
Senior Lindsey Griffin is out for the rest of the season due to a knee injury. She will receive a medical redshirt and return to competition next season for the Deacs.
Up Next: Tennessee
After a three-game road stint, the Demon Deacons head home on Wednesday, Oct. 9 to face the Volunteers of Tennessee. The game will take place in Spry Stadium at 7:00 pm.
Getting To Spry Stadium
At the I-40/Business-40 split, take Business-40 towards downtown Winston-Salem. Take the Cherry Street exit and proceed north through the downtown area. Cherry Street then becomes University Parkway. Continue past Joel Coliseum on the right and then bear left at the fork in the road. Approximately one mile past the Coliseum, take the Polo Road exit and make a left turn on Polo Road. Spry Stadium will be 1/2 mile ahead on the left. Turn left onto campus at the stoplight and take the first road to the right to access the parking lot. No parking pass is necessary.
