Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons Venture To Chapel Hill For Top-Five Matchup
10/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 12, 2006
No. 5 Demon Deacons vs. #3 Tar Heels...
The Wake Forest men's soccer team travels to Chapel Hill for a critical ACC match-up against North Carolina. The Deacons are coming off a thrilling 1-0 double overtime win at 23rd-ranked Connecticut. Julian Valentin headed home a Ryan Solle free kick in the 103rd minute. The win kept Wake Forest's perfect road record intact. The Deacons are 5-0 in road games this season and 7-0 overall away from Spry Stadium. North Carolina is coming off a home 1-0 loss to Campbell.
A Win Would...
improve the Demon Deacons to 12-2-1 overall ... extend Wake Forest's unbeaten streak to six games ... give Wake Forest a 6-0 record on the road in 2006 ... make the Deacons 7-2 against ranked opponents this season ... extend Wake Forest's unbeaten streak in Chapel Hill to 11 games ... extend Wake Forest's winning streak in Chapel Hill to eight games ... give head coach Jay Vidovich his 160th career victory.
A Loss Would...
drop the Demon Deacons to 11-3-1 overall ... snap Wake Forest's unbeaten streak at five games ... give Wake Forest a 5-1 record on the road in 2006 ... make the Deacons 6-3 against ranked opponents this season ... break Wake Forest's unbeaten streak in Chapel Hill at 10 games ... break Wake Forest's winning streak in Chapel Hill at seven games ... deny head coach Jay Vidovich his 160th career victory.
Friendly Confines Of Fetzer Field...
The Demon Deacons have gotten awfully comfortable in Chapel Hill. Wake Forest, a regular participant in UNC's early-season tournament, has a 10-match unbeaten streak at Fetzer Field that dates back to the 2000 season. Head-to-head against the Heels, the Deacons are 1-0-1 in that stretch including a 2-0 win last time out in 2004.
Recent History In Chapel Hill...
- 8.30.02 Saint Louis (#11) T, 1-1
- 9.1.02 Akron W, 2-1
- 10.26.02 North Carolina T, 2-2
- 9.10.04 VCU W, 1-0 (ot)
- 9.12.04 Florida International W, 3-2 (ot)
- 10.31.04 North Carolina W, 2-0
- 9.9.05 South Carolina W, 3-0
- 9.11.05 Rutgers W, 5-1
- 9.1.06 Penn State (#13) W, 2-0
- 9.3.06 Ohio State (#20) W, 3-2 (2ot)
Wake Forest Trends...
- Senior Wells Thompson currently leads the Deacs with 12 points off five goals and two assists. Following close behind is fellow senior Steven Curfman, who currently has five assists and three goals for 11 points.
- After not recording a single goal or assist last fall, sophomore Marcus Tracy is fourth on the team with nine points in 2006. He is also second on the team with four goals this season.
- Sophomore Michael Lahoud is second on the team with four assists. Lahoud is also fifth on the squad in total points with eight.
- Wake Forest has out-shot its opponents 202-126, including a 107-71 second-half margin. As a result, the Deacs have out-scored the opposition 31-13 overall and 19-8 in the second half.
- The Demon Deacons have taken four more corner kicks than their opponents at 66-62.
- Redshirt junior Brian Edwards upped his own school record for career shutouts to 26 Tuesday at Connecticut. Edwards has started all of the Deacons last 56 matches and has eight shutouts this season. Edwards enters the contest against North Carolina with a 0.89 goals-against-average.
- Wake Forest had nine different players score its first nine goals this season. The Demon Deacons currently have 12 different players with goals this season, eclipsing the total number of all of the 2005 season.
Poll Position...
Wake Forest remained ranked inside the top 25 in each of the three major polls. The Deacons are ranked 5th (Soccer America), 5th (NSCAA) and 3rd (College Soccer News). Wake Forest extended its impressive streak of consecutive weeks ranked in the top 25 to 72 weeks. The streak dates all the way back to the start of the 2001 season.
