Wake Forest Athletics
Women's Soccer Ties Fifth-Ranked Santa Clara
9/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 2, 2005
Winston-Salem, N.C. - The 21st-ranked Wake Forest women's soccer team played to a scoreless tie against fifth-ranked Santa Clara Friday night. The Demon Deacons (2-0-1) and Broncos (1-0-1) each had several scoring opportunities, but neither side could net a goal in 110 minutes of action.
The Deacons had a scoring opportunity in the 34th minute as junior Elizabeth Remy and freshman Camelyn Dillon strung together two passes and found an open Melanie Schneider. The senior was unable to score as her shot missed just wide.
With 8:47 left in the half, Santa Clara pushed deep into Wake Forest territory, but junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Doe made a leaping catch on a crossing pass into the box.
In the second half, freshman Whitney Berry was open for a moment with the ball in position to shoot, but two Bronco defenders closed down and prevented Berry from shooting on an open net.
In the final minutes of the match, Schneider fired a shot from 10 yards out that Bronco keeper Julie Ryder blocked. Freshman Amanda Lebo garnered the rebound, but Ryder managed to make a diving save on the shot.
The Wake Forest back line of juniors Jayme Leigh Cargnoni and Keisha Garrick and sophomores Megan Upchurch and Nichole Lecznar played the entire game and shut down the Bronco attack.
On countless occasions, the back line thwarted scoring opportunities with hard tackles and battles won in the air. The Broncos fired nine shots, with just two being on goal. Doe made her saves in the first period and in the first overtime.
The defense prevented Santa Clara on scoring on five corner kicks and one dangerous free kick in the first overtime. The officials awarded Santa Clara with a free kick when a foul was whistled outside the box on the right side of the field. Bronco forward Tina Estrada fired a shot at the goal, but Doe made a tremendous save to preserve the shutout.
"The back four was solid," said head coach Tony da Luz. "They played very well together, and individually they did exactly what we wanted them to do. They worked very well as a unit. They had a little bit of an extra bite, and they did a great job."
"We came out in the second half with an even tougher attitude, ready to play hard and shut down their attack," said Upchurch. "We made some adjustments and came out refreshed and ready to battle. We wanted to keep them off the scoreboard and give our team its best chance to win."
Wake Forest will next play on Sunday afternoon against San Diego. The Deacons and Toreros will kick off at 1:30 pm at Spry Stadium. Livestats can be found at WakeForestSports.com.
For the latest news on Wake Forest soccer, visit WakeForestSports.com.
