Wake Forest Athletics
Men's Soccer Opens Exhibition Season With Charlotte
8/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Aug. 20, 2004
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The sixth-ranked Wake Forest men's soccer team opens the 2004 season with a exhibition match against Charlotte Saturday night at Spry Stadium. Kick-off with the 49ers is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The Demon Deacons return eight starters and 16 letterwinners from last year's squad that finished 15-5 and ranked second in the entire country. In fact, the Deacs earned the third-seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Demon Deacons not only return junior Michael Parkhurst, an All-ACC first team and NSCAA All-American second team selection, but also All-ACC second team selections Scott Sealy, Amir Lowery and Justin Moose -- who was also named NSCAA All-South Region. In addition to that core of returning players, Wake Forest added Patrick Phelan, Marcus Rein and Julian Valentin, three of the top 25 freshmen in the entire country according to Soccer America.
Charlotte was picked to finish fourth out of 10 teams in Conference USA. The 49ers finished the 2003 season with a flurry as they posted a win over nationally-ranked Cincinnati in the C-USA Tournament. Then, they tied national power Saint Louis in double overtime in the finals before losing the championship on penalty kicks. Charlotte returns 14 letterwinners and seven starters from that team, including players that accounted for 19 of the team's 23 goals last season.
After another exhibition match on August 28 against Furman at Spry Stadium, the regular season begins with the Ohio State Classic, a round-robin event that features Big 10 foes Ohio State and Penn State.
The rest of the schedule gets no easier. In all, Wake Forest will face 11 teams that reached the 2003 NCAA Tournament. The Deacs face seven schools ranked in the top 30 of the CollegeSoccerNews.com Preseason Poll.
-- WakeForestSports.com --
