#1 Wake Forest Travels to Duke

Oct. 31, 2002

Game #16

#1 Wake Forest Travels to Duke in ACC Regular Season Finale

The Demon Deacons (11-0-4, 3-0-2 ACC) venture to Durham to play Duke in the last game on the regular season conference schedule. Heading into the final weekend, there is still plenty left to be decided as three teams are in the hunt for a share of the regular season title. Only NC State is locked into its seed.
Wake Forest, ranked number one by Soccer America and Soccer Times, is undefeated on the season at 10-0-4 and along with Coastal Carolina, is one of just two teams in the country still unbeaten.
Duke comes into the game with a 10-5-1 record, 3-2 in the ACC. The Blue Devils lost their last outing, 1-0, last Sunday at Charlotte. Duke is undefeated at home in the ACC with wins over Clemson and North Carolina.
The Devils and the Deacons have played seven common opponents. Against those foes, Duke is 4-3 while Wake is 5-0-2.
Duke leads the all-time series 17-7-5. The Deacons are 3-8-3 all-time in Durham. Wake Forest won last year's meeting 2-0 on a pair of Jeremiah White goals and advanced past the Blue Devils in the ACC Tournament on penalty kicks.

On the Outside Looking In

Just how tough is the Atlantic Coast Conference? Wake Forest could finish the season undefeated, with an undefeated record in the ACC and ranked number one nationally and still NOT win the regular season conference crown.
That's because with two ties, Wake Forest actually trails Maryland in the points race. The Terrapins have 12 points (4-1 ACC) to Wake Forest's 11 (3-0-2). With just one game remaining on the ACC schedules for both teams, the Deacons do not control their own destiny.
Entering the final weekend, three teams have a shot at claiming a share of the regular season title. Wake Forest could finish anywhere from first to third, depending on the outcomes of Friday's Wake Forest-Duke and Maryland-Virginia games. No matter what happens, though, Maryland holds the tiebreaker over Duke. In the event that Maryland and Duke share the regular season title, the Terrapins would get the first round bye in the grueling ACC Tournament. Here are the scenarios:

- Maryland controls its own destiny and would clinch with a win over Virginia on Friday night.

- Wake Forest would get the title with a win over Duke AND either Maryland tie or loss.

- Duke would share the title with Maryland with a win over Wake Forest and a Maryland loss.

Wake Forest Takes Over #1 Spot in the Soccer America Poll

The Demon Deacons earned another number one ranking when Soccer America released its top 25 poll on Monday evening. The Demon Deacons are the top-ranked team in the country for the second straight week.
Wake Forest is number one in the Soccer Times poll for the second straight week. The Demon Deacons held steady in the NSCAA poll at number three behind St. John's and UCLA.
Wake Forest has spent 16 straight weeks in the top 25 and in the top five of at least one poll for the last seven weeks.
Five of the ACC's seven men's soccer schools are ranked in the Soccer Times top 25.

The Better Half

The Demon Deacons have outscored their opponents 26-3 in the second half this season, only allowing goals to Virginia, Old Dominion and North Carolina. One possible explanation is that Wake Forest wears down its opponents with its deep bench and possession style of play.
Another statistic of note: the Deacons have scored in the final ten minutes of regulation six different times this season against SLU, Akron, Richmond, William & Mary, South Carolina and Elon.

Best Starts

Through 15 games, the Deacons have equaled the best start in school history. It is just the second time in school history Wake Forest has stayed unbeaten to this point. Last time it happened was 1999 when the Deacons opened with an identical 11-0-4 record. That group keep its unbeaten streak intact for 16 games.
This is the first time a Wake Forest team has ever been undefeated into the month of November.

Notes From the Gardner-Webb Game

Wake Forest's 10-0 win over the Bulldogs was the largest margin of victory and the most goals scored in a game since a 17-1 win over St. Andrew's in 1983.
The ten goals were the most by any ACC team this year, the most since Maryland put a 10-spot on Manhattan last November.
The ten goals came from ten different players and five additional players registered assists in the game.
Four players (Tomy Szczypiorski, Gideon Coronel, Brent Pridgen and Wes Allen) scored their first career goals in the game.
The team's 29 shots were the most since Oct. 20, 1998 when the Deacons fired 29 shots in a 6-2 win over Charleston Southern at Spry Stadium.

Comeback Kids

Wake has trailed in five games this season before coming back to tie three times (SLU, SJU, Clemson) and win twice (ODU, Elon). The Deacs have trailed by two goals once this year (Clemson).

Up Next:

Wake Forest travels to Davidson on Tuesday to play a pesky Wildcat squad that has performed exceptionally well against ACC teams and other regional powers. This season, Davidson has defeated North Carolina and South Carolina with a tie against Clemson. The Wildcats have been in and out of the top 25 this season.

Wake Forest Athletics