Nov. 7, 2005
Winston-Salem, N.C. - The Wake Forest women's soccer team earned a spot in the field of 64 in the 2005 NCAA College Cup. Wake Forest will face Tennessee in the opening round in Charlottesville, Va., on Friday Nov. 11. The Demon Deacons earned an at-large bid by finishing the season with a 9-8-1, while the No. 13 Volunteers won the SEC Championship and finished with a 14-5-2 record.
Wake Forest is making its 10th straight NCAA appearance. Head coach Tony da Luz has earned a berth in each of his nine seasons at Wake Forest.
The winner of the Wake Forest-Tennessee match will face the winner of the Virginia-Liberty tilt. Wake Forest and Tennessee did not meet in 2005, but did play common opponents in Washington State and Virginia. The Deacons downed the Cougars in Pullman, Wash., 2-1, while the Vols fell in overtime 3-2. Against the Cavaliers, the Vols recorded a 1-0 upset and the Deacons dropped a pair of one-goal losses, 1-0 at home and 2-1 in the ACC Championship quarterfinals.
"It's an incredible relief," said da Luz. "It's been a long few days, and it's the closest I think we've ever been to being off the bubble. We performed very, very well in the beginning of the season and tailed off late, but hopefully this will give us some new energy. We have players back (from injury), Kristina Hanley and Kristen Kemp, so hopefully we'll be able to rally and start new and fresh."
Wake Forest has lost the only two meetings with Tennessee. In 2001, the Deacons fell in Knoxville, 2-1, and in 2002, lost 2-0 in Winston-Salem.
Wake Forest is 0-1 all-time in NCAA trips to Charlottesville. In 2001, Wake Forest lost to William & Mary in double overtime, 2-1.
