Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons Open ACC Play at Duke Before Hosting Clemson
9/22/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 22, 2010
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest women's soccer team will open Atlantic Coast Conference play this weekend with a trip to face No. 14 Duke on Thursday evening and a home match against Clemson on Sunday afternoon.
Kickoff against the Blue Devils is set for 7 p.m. at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, N.C., and the match against the Tigers will kick off at 1 p.m. at Spry Stadium. An interactive live blog of Thursday's match against Duke will be available on WakeForestSports.com
The Demon Deacons enter league play with a 6-3 non-conference record. Last weekend, Wake Forest picked up a 2-1 road win at High Point on Friday, before being shut out for the first time this season in a 1-0 home loss to No. 20 South Carolina on Sunday.
The big story for Wake Forest so far this season has been the fantastic play of freshman forwards Rachel Nuzzolese and Katie Stengel. Nuzzolese leads Division I freshmen nationwide with 16 points and became the first player in Wake Forest history to score a goal in each of her first four career games.
Stengel leads the team with seven goals, tying her for first among D-I freshmen. She is tied for the ACC lead with four game-winning goals, having scored the winner in each of the Deacons' last four victories, and was the first Wake Forest freshman in over eight years to be named ACC Player of the Week. The Melbourne, Fla. native scored in five straight games from Sept. 3-17, tying the school-record scoring streak.
Another freshman, Aubrey Bledsoe, has started all nine games in net for Wake Forest, notching a 1.11 goals against average while making 19 saves and recording two shutouts.
Last season, the Deacs finished with a 5-3-2 conference record, earning them the No. 5 seed in the ACC Championships. Wake Forest received a bid to the NCAA tournament for the 14th consecutive year, and advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time in school history before falling to North Carolina. The Deacons were picked to finish seventh in the ACC this season in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches.
Duke enters the contest with a 6-1-2 record. Two of the Blue Devils' three setbacks this season have come against top teams, as they fell 2-1 to No. 2 Stanford, and last weekend drew 1-1 with No. 7 Florida.
The Blue Devils have also relied heavily on frosh this season, with four of their top five scorers being first-year players. Freshman Laura Weinberg has led the Blue Devils with four goals and nine points, while Mollie Pathman, Molly Lester and Kaitlyn Kerr have each recorded eight points this season.
Tara Campbell has seen the majority of the minutes in goal for Duke, boasting a 0.48 goals against average to go with four shutouts. The Blue Devils' team goals against average of 0.42 is good for third-best in the conference.
The last meeting between Wake Forest and Duke came on Oct. 1, 2009 at Spry Stadium, with the match ending in a 0-0 draw. Amanda Barasha earned a shutout for Wake Forest, while Campbell recorded the shutout for Duke. The Blue Devils own a 12-5-3 advantage in the overall series, but the Demon Deacons have held a 2-1-2 edge in the last five games between the two teams.
Clemson enters the weekend with a 5-3-0 record from non-conference play. The Tigers are in the midst of a three-match losing skid, having dropped recent matches to South Carolina, High Point and Coastal Carolina.
Maddy Elder has been Clemson's primary offensive option this season, recording 13 points on five goals and three assists. Lauren Arnold has seen action in all eight games in goal for the Tigers, recording a 1.15 goals against average.
Wake Forest and Clemson last played on Oct. 4, 2009, with the Demon Deacons earning a 3-0 victory in Clemson, S.C. Jordan Feger scored a career-high two goals for the Deacs in the match and Barasha earned the shutout while making one save.
The Deacs will continue ACC action next week with a trip to Tallahassee, Fla. to face No. 13 Florida State on Sept. 30 at 7 p.m.
