Deacons Travel to ACC Tournament as Top Seed

Nov. 12, 2002

Game #19

Semifinal Round

Wake Forest Travels to ACC Tournament as Top Seed

For the first time ever, the Deacons (14-0-4, 4-0-2 ACC) enter the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament as the top seed. Wake Forest is ranked number one in all major polls for the second consecutive week. The Deacons have been number one at least one poll for the last four weeks, are the only undefeated team in the country and have outscored their last four opponents, 24-0.
By winning the regular season title, Wake Forest gets a first round bye in this weekend's tournament. The Deacons will face the winner of Virginia-Duke on Friday at 5:30 in the first semifinal.
In its regular season meetings, Wake Forest upended then-#2 Virginia 2-1 on September 14 and defeated Duke on November 1 in Durham 2-0.
The team with the first round bye has advanced to the final nine of the last ten years and has won the tournament in three of the last four years, seven of 15 times overall.
The Deacons are seeking their second ACC Tournament title after capturing the 1989 crown.

All Aboard the Deacon Bandwagon

The Demon Deacons made room for another national poll on its bandwagon last week as the NSCAA gave Wake Forest the nod for the first time this season. Soccer Times was the first poll to get on board on October 21 and Soccer America followed suit on October 28.
Wake Forest has spent 18 straight weeks in the top 25, in the top five of at least one poll for the last nine weeks and number one for the last four weeks.
The number one ranking is the best in school history. The previous best came in 1991 and 1999 when the Deacons were ranked third.

Saving the Best for Last

The Demon Deacons have outscored their opponents 34-3 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.
The Deacons have scored in the final ten minutes of regulation seven different times this season against SLU, Akron, Richmond, William & Mary, South Carolina, Elon and Duke.

A Season of Firsts

There's no question the 2002 season will go down as one of the best in Wake Forest history. For the first time ever, Wake Forest has ...
Won first place in the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season.
Been ranked number one.
Gone undefeated in the regular season overall and in the ACC.
Shut out ten opponents.
Had a Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy Finalist (Brian Carroll).
Had three crowds of more than 3,000 at Spry Stadium (So. Carolina, Clemson, Ga. Southern).

Shutout Streak Reaches 398 Minutes

Earlier this season, the Deacons set a school record, going 569 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal. During that stretch, which began in the first half at St. John's, Wake Forest blanked some of the nation's most high-powered offenses including St. John's, Maryland, South Carolina and UNC Greensboro.
Now the Deacons look to rewrite the record book before the ink is even dry. Wake Forest has shutout four consecutive opponents, a stretch of 398 minutes without a goal dating back to the second half of the North Carolina game on October 26.
Wake Forest has recorded a school record ten shutouts this season.

No Longer a Bridesmaid

Wake Forest fielded its first varsity men's soccer team in 1980 but hadn't ever finished first in the ACC regular season until this year. The Deacons have finished second on two occasions (1988, 1989) and in third place three times (1991, 1996 and 1999).

Carroll Named M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Finalist

Last week, junior midfielder Brian Carroll was named a finalist for the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy, soccer's equivalent of the Heisman Trophy or Wooden Award. Carroll, a Soccer America Preseason All-American and native of Springfield, Va., is the first Deacon to earn the honor.

White Charges Up the Wake Forest Scoring Charts

Jeremiah White continues his ascent up the WFU scoring charts. The junior from Lansdowne, Pa., was an All-American and the ACC's leading scorer last year with 15 goals and seven assists.
He needs one goal to become the school's third all-time leading scorer.
Early this fall, White missed five games with a leg injury. He came off the bench in his first nine games but had a major impact in each of those games, scoring against Maryland, Clemson, NC State and the game-winner against Virginia.
White reclaimed a starting role in late-October, scoring both goals in Wake's 2-0 win at Duke.

'72 Dolphins, '76 Hoosiers, '02 Deacons?

Wake Forest ended the regular season with an unblemished 14-0-4 record, the latest of many teams to finish the regular season undefeated. Last season, SMU finished the regular season with a 19-0 record. Most recently in the ACC, Duke accomplished the feat in 1999.
Although it is certainly an impressive feat, it is still a little early to put the Deacons in a class with the NFL's 1972 Miami Dolphins or college basketball's 1976 Indiana Hoosiers. Many teams have entered the NCAA Tournament undefeated and since 1989, ten teams have done it. Only the 1989 Santa Clara team, however, was able to go on to win a national championship.

Up Next:

The Demon Deacons expect to receive a bid in the NCAA Tournament. First round action begins next weekend at campus sites. The top 16 teams will get a first-round bye.

Wake Forest Athletics