Wake Forest Athletics
Women's Soccer Hosts Virginia Tech Sunday
9/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 24, 2005
Deacons, Hokies square off Sunday night
The eighth-ranked Wake Forest women's soccer team looks to get back on the winning track Sunday night when they host Virginia Tech at Spry Stadium. Kickoff for the match is scheduled for 6 p.m.
The series is tied with each team winning one game. In 2000, the Deacons defeated the Hokies 5-1 at Spry Stadium.
Last season, the Deacons traveled to Blacksburg, Va., to face the Hokies in their first Atlantic Coast Conference game but could not get the win, losing 3-2. The Deacs took a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute when Sarah Kozey netted a goal on a pass from Maggie Horne. The lead did not last long as Virginia Tech scored two goals in the last nine minutes of the half. Virginia Tech added a third goal before Melanie Schneider netted a goal with two minutes left in the match.
Last time out
The Virginia Cavaliers downed Wake Forest, 1-0. Virginia scored the match's only goal when Noelle Keselica knocked in a rebound in the 17th minute. Junior keeper Kaitlyn Doe could only block the initial shot by Sarah Curtis.
The Deacons had several scoring opportunities late in the match. With just under 20 minutes left, sophomore Ashley Spooner fed a ball to freshman Amanda Lebo down the right side of the field. Lebo passed the ball to an open Whitney Berry who fired a shot from 15 yards out. Cavalier goalkeeper Christina de Vries made a save on the freshman's shot.
Just four minutes later, sophomore Maggie Horne and Spooner worked together to get the ball into Lebo who missed a shot high from 10 yards in front of the net.
With 4:16 remaining in the contest, Virginia fouled junior Elizabeth Remy just a yard outside the box. Senior Melanie Schneider took the kick and saw her shot barely miss the crossbar.
Kozey rewriting the record books
With her gamewinning goal against Washington State, senior Sarah Kozey broke Emily Taggart's career goals scored record with 30. Taggart, who played for the Deacons from 1998-2001, scored 29 career goals. Kozey, a forward from Halifax, Nova Scotia, added yet another goal on Sunday to give her 31 career goals.
Kozey also moved into second place in career points with 78. She passed Taggart (76 points) and trails Anne Shropshire (85 points). Kozey also ranks third on the career shots list with 187.
Deacons in the rankings
The Wake Forest women's soccer team is ranked in four national polls. The Deacons are ranked eighth in this week's adidas/NSCAA poll. Soccer Buzz Magazine ranks Wake Forest 11th. Both Soccer Times and Soccer America rank the Demon Deacons 15th in the latest polls. By earning a national ranking in 2005, the Deacons have been ranked at least one week every season since 1996.
Deacon defenders
The back line, which consists of juniors Jayme Leigh Cargnoni and Keisha Garrick and sophomores Nichole Lecznar and Megan Upchurch, has been a solid force in the season. Through eight games, the defense has allowed just 31 shots on goal, an average of just 3.8 shots on goal per game.
In the double overtime tie against Santa Clara, the back line played all 110 minutes and limited the Broncos to just two shots on goal.
Doe in the cage
Kaitlyn Doe continues to impress in goal. The junior from San Diego moved into the cage from her spot as a defender this past season and has excelled in shutting down the opposition. Doe has recorded two shutouts this season, and in 567 minutes of action, she has given up just three goals. Her goals against average is a paltry 0.63.
Garrick earns Soccer Buzz honors
Defender Keisha Garrick became the second Deacon this season to be named to the Soccer Buzz Magazine Elite Team of the Week. The publication honored the junior from Toronto for her stellar play against Santa Clara and San Diego. Garrick also was named the Defensive MVP of the Wake Forest/ACC/WCC Challenge. Junior Jayme Leigh Cargnoni, junior Elizabeth Remy, freshman Camelyn Dillon, and senior Melanie Schneider joined Garrick on the all-tournament team.
Remy's hot start continues, named ACC Player of the Week
Deacon forward Elizabeth Remy got off to a blazing start. The junior Norman, Okla., native scored two goals and registered five assists in the opening weekend to amass nine points. Remy played a role in seven of the first nine Deacon goals scored. In recognition of her great start, the ACC named Remy its ACC Player of the Week for August 30. Remy also earned national honors from Buzz Magazine and Soccer America as both publications named Remy to their weekly teams of the week (Aug. 30).
In the ACC/WCC Challenge, Remy was named the Offensive MVP as well as named to the all-tournament team. She netted her third goal of the season.
Against Washington State, Remy recorded two assists. She set up Melanie Schneider's goal which gave Wake Forest an early 1-0 lead, and later in the game created the scoring opportunity for Sarah Kozey's recordbreaking goal.
Prior to this season, Remy had scored 13 goals and registered six assists. Through just six games of her junior campaign, the forward already has three goals and seven assists. The seven assists places Remy in a tie for fourth for most in one season. She stands just three behind the single season record.
Spreading the wealth
This season, 10 players have scored 17 goals. Four more Deacons who have not scored a goal have registered assists, including freshman Camelyn Dillon who has three.
Fearless freshmen setting records
In their first career game, the Deacon freshmen stepped up when it mattered most. Trailing 1-0 in the match, midfielder Amanda Lebo netted a goal in the 25th-minute tying the game. Lebo collected a blocked Elizabeth Remy shot and fired a shot past the keeper. In the second half, midfielder Amy Smerdzinski knocked in a shot from 20-yards out into the upper right corner of the goal. In the 83rd-minute, forward Whitney Berry rebounded her own missed shot and rocketed a shot past the Seahawks' goalie. Freshman midfielder Camelyn Dillon recorded an assist on Berry's goal.
The three goals scored marked a Demon Deacon record. Three freshman had never scored a goal in their first career game before this season. The last time three freshman scored a goal in a game came last season when current sophomores Maggie Horne, Kristina Hanley, and Amber Bettenhausen each netted a goal versus Davidson.
So far this season, the freshmen have recorded four goals and five assists.
A tough road
The Demon Deacons once again face one of the toughest schedules in America. Although, playing in the ACC gives the Deacons little choice in playing a difficult slate.
Including the Deacs, six ACC schools earned top-25 rankings. Perennial powerhouse North Carolina (1st adidas/NSCAA, 1st Soccer Buzz, 1st Soccer America, 1st Soccer Times), Duke (7th a/N, 8th SB, 7th SA, 8th ST), Boston College (9th a/N, 9th SB, 8th SA, 12th ST), Virginia (13th a/N, 10th SB, 11th SA, 13th ST) and Florida State (12th a/N, 7th SB, 9th SA, 7th ST) represent the conference.
Wake Forest also has played Santa Clara, ranked sixth in the three latest polls, as well as Oregon State, 20th in Soccer America.
Changing places
Several Deacons have changed positions from last year. Most notably is junior Kaitlyn Doe. Doe moved from her defensive spot in the field into the goalkeeper position.
Junior Jayme Leigh Cargnoni moved from the midfield to the back and has started every contest as an attacking defender.
Sophomores Ashley Spooner, defender to forward, and Megan Upchurch, forward to defender, also changed positions from 2004.
Wake returns top scorers
Out of the 34 goals scored last year, the Deacs return players that accounted for 33 of the scores. Sarah Kozey (12 goals), Elizabeth Remy (seven goals) and Melanie Schneider (six goals) finished 2004 as the leading scorers. Juniors Jayme Leigh Cargnoni and Kristen Kemp netted two goals last season.
Deacs again picked to finish seventh
Wake Forest was selected to finish seventh in the ACC coaches poll. Last season, the Deacons finished in a tie for fifth with a 4-4-1 conference record. The Deacons' overall record stood at 10-7-2.
Another talented class
Each of the last two seasons, da Luz has brought in record numbers of players in recruiting classes. While this season only six players are new faces, the talent level is very high. Soccer Buzz ranked the Deacons freshmen class 29th nationally.
Amanda Lebo was a top-25 selection, while Amy Smerdzinski was ranked in the top-100 players. The class is rounded out by Erin Baldwin, Whitney Berry, Christy Carter and Camelyn Dillon.
Nine in a row
In 2004, the Demon Deacons earned their ninth straight trip to the NCAA tournament. Facing UAB in the first round, the Deacs fell 2-0.
They come from all around
The Wake Forest women's soccer team has players from all across the nation, representing 12 different states and Canada. North Carolina has five representatives and California has four girls. Three Deacons hail from Texas. Georgia, Colorado, Florida, Virginia and Pennsylvania each have two players. Kansas, Oklahoma, Kentucky and Michigan each have one player. Two players hail from Canada, one from Nova Scotia and the other from Ontario.
da Luz keeps winning
Deacon coach Tony da Luz has yet to experience a losing season at the helm of the women's soccer team. da Luz has 98-62-15 mark in eight years of coaching Wake Forest. For his career, da Luz has a record of 144-104-19. His 144 wins places him 48th all-time among active NCAA Division I coaches.
Up next
The Deacons will travel to face ACC foes Maryland and Boston College. The Deacons and Terrapins will play on Friday at 6 p.m. On Sunday, the Deacs will tangle with the Eagles.
Wake Forest holds the series lead with Maryland 7-6, including winning five of the last six. Last season, the Deacons won the match 2-0 behind goals from Alli Hunt and Sarah Kozey.
Sunday's matchup with Boston College marks the first meeting between the two programs.
