#1 Deacons Visit Davidson to Play Wildcats

Nov. 4, 2002

Game #17

#1 Wake Forest Visits Davidson

The Demon Deacons (12-0-4, 4-0-2 ACC) travel down I-77 to play a dangerous Davidson team on Tuesday. Wake Forest, ranked number one by all four major national polls this week, enters the game looking to break a number of school records. (more later in this release)
The Deacons come into Tuesday's game on a 16-game unbeaten streak, one of two undefeated teams in the country along with Coastal Carolina.
Davidson has been in and out of the top 25 rankings this season. The Wildcats own a 9-4-4 record, with a 1-1-1 mark against ACC foes.
Wake Forest and Davidson have played five common opponents this year including North Carolina, South Carolina, Duke, Clemson and UNC Greensboro. The Wildcats are 3-1-1 including wins over UNC, USC and UNCG while the Deacons are 3-0-2 against those five squads.
The Deacons lead the all-time series 15-4-1, including four straight victories. Wake Forest's last loss to the Wildcats came in 1997 and the defeat in Davidson happened in 1995.

Get Out Your Eraser

The Deacons are on the verge of tying or breaking several school records that have stood for many years.
* If the Deacons tie or defeat Davidson, they will break the school record for consecutive unbeaten games of 16 set by the 1999 team.
* If the Deacons tie or defeat Davidson, they will break the school record for consecutive unbeaten games on the road in a season. The 1991 team went undefeated in six straight games.
* If Wake Forest shuts out Davidson, it would be the team's ninth shutout of the year, a new school record. The 1989 and 1991 teams blanked eight opponents.

ACC Regular Season Champs

With a 2-0 victory at Duke last Friday, the Deacons clinched their first ever ACC regular season title. Wake Forest finished 4-0-2 in the conference with ties against Clemson and UNC.
The Deacons earn a critical first round bye in the ACC Tourmament and will start play in the semifinal round on Friday, November 15 against the winner of Duke and Virginia. The tournament is being held at the SAS Stadium in Cary, N.C., where the Deacons defeated NC State in October.
The team with the first round bye has advanced to the final nine of the last ten years. The number one seed has won the tournament in three of the last four years, seven of 15 times overall.

Everyone is on the Deacon Bandwagon

The Demon Deacons made room for another national poll on its bandwagon this 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 17 straight weeks in the top 25, in the top five of at least one poll for the last eight weeks and number one for the last three weeks.

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 seven different times this season against SLU, Akron, Richmond, William & Mary, South Carolina, Elon and Duke.

Comeback Kids

Wake has trailed in five games this season before coming back to tie three times (Saint Louis, St. John's, Clemson) and win twice (Old Dominion, Elon). The Deacs have trailed by two goals only once this year (Clemson). Wake Forest has surrendered two goals only once this season. The Deacons have not been shutout this season.

Up Next:

Wake Forest hosts Georgia Southern in the team's regular season finale and Senior Day. Pre-game ceremonies will honor seniors Bobby Gehring, Adam Hakes and Brad McEachern plus senior manager Sam Aleksiewicz and senior student trainer Kristin Wieneke.

Wake Forest Athletics