Wake Forest Athletics
Spring Soccer Wrap-up
5/3/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
May 3, 2002
WINSTON-SALEM, NC - The Wake Forest women??s soccer team wrapped up its spring season in style by winning their six-team ACC Tournament on April 20. The Demon Deacons made great strides towards preparing for the upcoming season in their three months of offseason spring training. Lauren Claytor and Lindsey Griffin stood out as making vast improvements from the previous fall.
??Our Spring was very productive with our younger players showing significant improvement,?? said Wake Forest head coach Tony da Luz. ??They definitely made an impact this Spring and a statement that they will be ready to compete for more time next fall. We lost some very talented seniors last fall but our team has really come together in their absence. We have a better team concept now and I really feel like we will be a better team overall next fall.??
Wake traveled to Memphis, TN, Feb. 22-23 for a tournament hosted by the Tigers. The Deacs played Georgia to a 1-1 tie on Friday. Katherine Winstead scored the game-tying goal for Wake Forest with a hard hit rocket. On Saturday, Wake Forest succumbed to Oklahoma, 1-0, but then turned around and topped the Region III team 1-0. Alena Thom scored the game-winning goal and Erin Regan recorded the shutout. The Demon Deacons closed out the weekend in grand fashion with a 6-1 thrashing of the Canadian Providence Team on Sunday. Griffin led the way with two goals.
Returning home to the friendly confines of Spry Stadium, Wake Forest handed a very talented Region III team a 2-1 defeat on March 23. Gabi Lieb and Joline Charlton scored for the Demon Deacons.
Playing in an absolute downpour, Wake Forest lost 2-1 to Missouri on April 20, despite taking twice as many shots as the Tigers at a tournament in Atlanta. A.B. Robbins scored for the Deacs.
The Demon Deacons wrapped up spring competition by hosting an all-day, six-team ACC tournament featuring North Carolina, NC State, Maryland, Clemson and UNC Greensboro. Wake Forest lost its first game 1-0 to Maryland, but bounced back to tie Clemson 1-1 and then advance on penalty kicks. Robbins hit the winning PK to send the Deacons to the Championship game. The Championship game, the third of the day for both teams, pitted Wake Forest against Maryland again, who had upset North Carolina in the semifinals. The Deacs and the Terps played to a scoreless tie and Wake Forest won on penalty kicks, again. Katie Johnson hit the winning PK, Regan and Kenna Healy split the shutout for Wake Forest.
Seventeen letterwinners, including eight starters, will return this coming fall from a Wake Forest club that finished 9-9-2 overall and 3-4-0 in the ACC a year ago. The Demon Deacons will be looking to extend their streak of six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances to seven this season. The 2002 season will get underway Aug. 30 against Oregon at the Florida State Nike Tournament in Tallahassee, FL.
