Wake Forest Athletics
No. 5 Deacons Face Road Test at No. 17 Maryland
10/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 7, 2011
Halfway through the ACC season, the fifth-ranked Wake Forest women's soccer will kick off a grueling second-half stretch of four of its final five games on the road on Saturday when the Demon Deacons take on No. 17 Maryland in College Park, Md. at 7 p.m.
An interactive live blog of the match will be available on WakeForestSports.com
Deacons Off to Best Start in Program History
The Demon Deacons remained undefeated in ACC play last week, playing to a scoreless draw with Virginia Tech before topping Virginia to improve to 11-1-1 (4-0-1 ACC) - the best overall and ACC starts in the history of the program.
With five games remaining in the ACC season and the postseason to follow, the Demon Deacons have a chance of reaching school-record wins marks. The most games that Wake Forest has ever won in a season is 16, reached in 2006 and 2009. The Deacs won six ACC matches, their most-ever in a season, in 2006 and 2007. Last year, Wake Forest finished 13-7-3 (5-4-1 ACC).
Wake Forest Set for ACC Title Game Rematch
Wake Forest will take on Maryland for the first time since last year's ACC Championship Game, where the Deacons topped the Terrapins in a penalty kick shootout to win their first-ever ACC Championship.
After knocking top-seeded North Carolina out of the tournament in the semifinals, the fifth-seeded Deacons entered the 2010 title match against the second-seeded Terrapins with confidence, having already defeated the Terps in the regular season.
Ashley Grove struck first for Maryland, but Katie Stengel equalized soon after for Wake Forest, and neither team would score again, sending the match to overtime and then a penalty kick shootout for the conference crown.
The Demon Deacons made all of their kicks from the mark, and goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe was the hero for Wake Forest, stopping three of Maryland's four attempts to give the Deacs their first-ever title. Bledsoe was named the ACC Tournament MVP.
Bledsoe Named to Top Drawer Soccer National Team of the Week
For the third straight week, Wake Forest put a player on Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week as Aubrey Bledsoe was named to the squad after recording shutouts against Virginia Tech and Virginia to help the Demon Deacons remain undefeated in conference play.
Bledsoe has eight shutouts this year, tied for second in the Wake Forest single-season record books.
The Deacons have received national recognition from Top Drawer Soccer all season long. Katie Stengel has made their national team of the week twice, and Jackie Logue and Rachel Nuzzolese have each been recognized once.
Bledsoe Jumps Up Wake Forest Shutout Charts
Having allowed only six goals all season, goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe has notched eight shutouts through the Demon Deacons first 13 games of the season, tied for the second-most all-time by a Wake Forest netminder. Only a sophomore, but a starter in every game of her college career, Bledsoe has now totalled 11 clean sheets in her career, moving her into the top-five on the Wake Forest career charts.
Bledsoe needs only one more shutout to tie the Wake Forest single-season record of eight, which was set by Erin Regan in 1999. The Cincinnati, Ohio native has made a name for herself nationally this season. Her 0.45 goals against average ranks as the third-lowest in the ACC and 13th-best nationally.
Bledsoe, Stengel Training With U-23 National Team
Aubrey Bledsoe and Katie Stengel have spent this week in Carson, Calif. training with the U.S. U-23 National Team under the direction of full national team head coach Pia Sundhage, and will rejoin the Deacons for Saturday's game against Maryland.
Sundhage is evaluating the 24 college stars and young professionals as she prepares to put together the U.S. squad for Olympic qualifying in December.
Wake Forest was one of only three schools along with North Carolina and Stanford to have multiple players called in for the camp.
Stengel Leads the League in Scoring
Katie Stengel has remained in her familiar place atop the league scoring charts, leading all ACC players with 13 goals and 30 points this season. Stengel was held without a point in consecutive games last weekend for the first time all year, but still had built up enough of a cushion to remain at the head of the conference.
As a freshman in 2010, the Melbourne, Fla. native finished as the ACC leader with 16 goals and 37 points, becoming the first-ever Demon Deacon to finish as the league leader in scoring.
And She's Only a Sophomore...
Katie Stengel's rampage through the Wake Forest record books becomes even more remarkable when you take into account that she is only midway through her sophomore year.
Her 13 goals in 13 games this season already rank third on the Wake Forest single-season charts, putting her on pace to shatter the record of 16 that she herself set as a freshman last year. In fact, only one other Demon Deacon, Jill Hutchinson has scored more goals in an entire season that Stengel has in just over one of them.
The Melbourne, Fla. native's 30 points this season also rank in the top-five in school history and are only seven behind the record of 37 that she set last year.
Perhaps even more remarkable, in only a season and a half in the Old Gold and Black, Stengel has scored 29 goals, already tied for third on the Wake Forest career goal-scoring charts, leaving her within striking distance of the school record of 36 that is held by Jill Hutchinson.
Series History vs. Maryland
Wake Forest and Maryland have met on 20 previous occasions with the Demon Deacons holding a 12-7-1 all-time advantage in the series. The Deacons are unbeaten in their last six matches with the Terrapins, holding a 5-0-1 record in those contests.
Wake Forest played Maryland twice in 2010. The Deacs scored a 2-1 victory over a No. 6 ranked Terrapin squad in the regular season and then took down the Terps in a penalty kick shootout in the ACC Championship match to capture their first conference crown. The Terrapins' last victory over Wake Forest came in a 1-0 home triumph in 2005.
When scoring at least one goal against the Terps, the Deacs hold a 13-1-1 all-time record - a stat that bodes well for Sunday's match-up given that Wake Forest has only been shut out once this season.
What's Next?
Wake Forest will have the week off before making the short trip down Tobacco road to face rival North Carolina on Oct. 16. In their last meeting, the Deacs took out UNC in a penalty kick shootout in the ACC Semifinals, becoming the first-ever team to keep the Heels out of the championship match.
