Wake Forest Athletics
Women's Soccer Departs Today for College Cup
11/30/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 30, 2011
Complete Wake Forest Notes 
| College Cup Central
The Wake Forest women's soccer team has advanced to the NCAA College Cup for the first time and will face Duke in the semifinals on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at KSU Soccer Stadium in Kennesaw, Ga. The game will be shown live on ESPN3.com.
The team is leaving for Kennesaw this afternoon and fans are invited to come send off the Deacs in front of the Manchester Athletic Center at 3:30 p.m.
For tickets to the College Cup, contact the Wake Forest Ticket Office at (336) 758-3322. Fans attending the match on Friday are invited to register for the Deacon Club Tailgate - for more information click here.
Wake Forest Tops UCF to Reach First College Cup
Wake Forest beat UCF for the second time this season, this time a comfortable 3-0 decision in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, to advance to its first-ever College Cup.
Katie Stengel scored the game-winning goal in the 28th minute, with Alisha Woodson setting up the play with hard work to outmuscle a defender and Kristen Meier providing a helpful touch pass. Meier scored herself on a sliding finish in the 41st minute after an outlet pass by Jordan Feger and cross by Jackie McSally. Marisa Park put the game on ice in the 75th minute via a blast from 20 yards.
The Demon Deacons are playing in the NCAA College Cup for the first time, besting their previous-best quarterfinal appearance in 2009. The Wake Forest men's soccer team made the College Cup for four straight years from 2006-09 and won the 2007 National Championship.
Deacons Face Duke for the Third Time in Semifinals
Wake Forest's opponent in the semifinals on Friday will be Tobacco Road rival Duke. The two teams have already played twice this season, splitting the two matches.
The Blue Devils downed the Demon Deacons 2-0 in Winston-Salem in the regular season, though Wake Forest was playing without ACC Offensive Player of the Year Katie Stengel, who missed the game with an injury. Laura Weinberg netting both Blue Devil goals in the match.
Wake Forest got revenge in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament, scoring a 2-1 victory over Duke to reach the ACC Championship Match. Kim Marshall and Rachel Nuzzolese scored to give the Deacons' a 2-0 lead, and they hung on to earn the win.
The Deacons have a 7-13-3 all-time record against the Blue Devils, though the two teams have never met previously in the NCAA Tournament. Wake Forest and Duke's only postseason meetings have taken place in the ACC Tournament, where the Deacs have held a 3-1-1 all-time advantage.
Stengel Adds to School Scoring Records
Katie Stengel scored the game-winning goal against UCF in the NCAA quarterfinals to add to her Wake Forest single-season record scoring totals. She how has 19 goals and 46 points this year, with the numbers topping the previous school records of 16 goals and 37 points that she set as a freshman in 2010.
The First Since Mia Hamm...
If Katie Stengel continues her current scoring pace through the end of the season, she will join former North Carolina star Mia Hamm and NC State standout Charmaine Hooper as the only players to lead the ACC in goal-scoring two years in a row.
As a freshman in 2010, Stengel led all ACC players with 16 goals and a 0.67 goals-per-game rate, the statistic that the conference has used to name its scoring leader since 2002. This season, Stengel has scored 19 times at a rate of 0.83 goals-per-game, with both marks currently leading the ACC. Stengel is also the conference's points leader with 46 points (2.0 points per game).
Hamm was the last player to lead the league in scoring in back-to-back seasons, accomplishing the feat when she netted 32 goals in 1992 and 26 goals in 1993. Hooper was the first to lead the ACC in consecutive seasons, scoring 15 goals in 1988 and 26 goals in 1989.
Bledsoe Extends School Shutout Record
Sophomore goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe came up with five saves in Wake Forest's 3-0 quarterfinal win over UCF to post her 14th shutout of the season, extending her Wake Forest single-season record.
In the NCAA Tournament, Bledsoe has kept clean sheets against Oakland, Boston University and UCF, joining Long Beach State's Kaitlyn Gustaves, Virginia's Chantel Jones and Florida State's Kelsey Wys as the only goalkeepers to record three shutouts in the tournament so far.
The lone goalkeeper on the 2011 All-ACC First Team, Bledsoe holds a 0.62 goals against average and an .832 save percentage this season, both numbers that rank in the top-four of ACC keepers. She has started every game since arriving on campus as a freshman and has played every minute of the 2011 season. Her 2,338 minutes are the second-most in D-I this year.
Scouting the Blue Devils
Duke is also in the midst of one of its best seasons ever, having finished as the ACC regular season champion, which earned it a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Blue Devils are led offensively by freshman Kelly Cobb, who has tallied 11 goals and eight assists this season, along with Kaitlyn Kerr who has totaled 10 goals and five assists. Duke and Wake Forest are the only two College Cup teams to boast two double-digit goal-scorers.
Duke has also put forth a strong defensive effort this season, headlined by defender and ACC Defensive Player of the Year Natasha Anasi. Goalkeeper Tara Campbell ranks third in the ACC with 13 shutouts this year.
Sophomores Only One Away From Career Records
Despite playing fewer than two complete seasons in a Wake Forest uniform, sophomores Katie Stengel and Aubrey Bledsoe are closing in on school career records.
Stengel is only one goal shy of Jill Hutchinson's career goal-scoring record of 36 goals and three points away from Sarah Kozey's career-point scoring mark of 86 points.
Bledsoe has kept 17 shutouts in her career, 14 of them coming this season, putting her only one behind Erin Regan's career mark of 18 clean sheets.
Fellow sophomore Rachel Nuzzolese is also high on the Wake Forest career charts, ranking in the top 11 in both goal and point scoring.
