Wake Forest Athletics
No. 2 Wake Forest Opens ACC Play at Clemson
9/11/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 11, 2009
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - No. 2 Wake Forest opens Atlantic Coast Conference play on Sunday, traveling to Clemson. Kickoff at Riggs Stadium is set for 5:30 p.m. (ET).
Live video of Sunday's match will be available on clemsontigers.com on a pay-per-view basis. Cost of the match is $7.95.
The Demon Deacons enter conference play with a 2-0-1 record. Wake is coming off a victory and a tie against a pair of top-12 opponents last weekend. The Deacs tied No. 12 Notre Dame 1-1 on Friday before defeating No. 7 Indiana 2-1 on Sunday.
Wake Forest has featured balanced scoring through the first three games with four players tied for the team lead with two points. Luke Norman, Sean Randolph and Zack Schilawski each have a goal, while Austin da Luz has a team-leading two assists.
Da Luz and Akira Fitzgerald received national honors after the first week of the season. Da Luz was named to Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week, while Fitzgerald earned CollegeSoccerNews.com National Team of the Week honors. Fitzgerald has an 0.62 goals against average and has made 15 saves in 290 minutes of action.
Clemson enters conference play with an 0-2-1 record. After opening the season with losses to Gardner-Webb and South Carolina, the Tigers played Charlotte to a 1-1 tie on Wednesday night.
Nathan Thornton has scored the only goal of the season for Clemson and also leads the team with nine shots attempted. Nick Burton is the leading returning scorer for the Tigers after scoring three goals and three assists in 2008.
Joseph Bendik has played every minute in goal for Clemson so far in 2009. Bendik has allowed three goals and made 12 saves in 290 minutes of action.
Clemson leads the overall series against Wake Forest, 16-14-3, including an 8-6-0 advantage in games played at Clemson. The Demon Deacons have fared well in recent meetings, going unbeaten against the Tigers in the last seven games. The two teams last met on September 13, 2008, with Wake Forest claiming a 5-0 win, which included a goal from Corben Bone and Zack Schilawski.
Wake Forest has struggled in ACC openers, posting a 5-21-3 mark all-time. However, the Deacs have won their last two conference lid-lifters.
Live stats and a recap from Sunday's game will be available on WakeForestSports.com.
