Wake Forest Athletics
Wake Forest University
Miami
No. 7 Deacons Blow By Miami 4-1
9/25/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 25, 2011
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WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest sophomore women's soccer phenoms Katie Stengel and Rachel Nuzzolese each scored twice to lead the No. 7 Demon Deacons past Miami 4-1 on Sunday afternoon at Spry Stadium.
With the win, the Deacons stayed perfect in the ACC season, moving to 10-1-0 (3-0-0 ACC), leaving them in a tie for first place in the conference. The Hurricanes fell to 7-3-0.
Stengel and Nuzzolese, who lead the Demon Deacons this season with 13 goals and six goals, respectively, were the story of the afternoon. Nuzzolese opened the scoring in the eighth minute, firing a one-time volley of a failed clearance into the net and Stengel doubled the lead to 2-0 only eight minutes later, warding off a number of Hurricane defenders before sliding the ball past Miami goalkeeper Vikki Alonzo.
Stengel struck again on a free kick from the top of the box in the waning seconds of the first half. Ali Brennan pulled one back for Miami in the 68th minute, when her free kick deflected off of the wall and past Bledsoe, but Nuzzolese restored the lead to three in the 75th minute, looping a shot over Alonzo after a feed from Kelsey Zalimeni.
Nuzzolese was also credited with an assist on Stengel's first goal, giving her a five-point night - a new career-high. The two-goal game was the second of her career after scoring twice on free kicks against Duke last season.
Stengel's two scores pushed her ACC-leading mark to 13, leaving her only three goals shy of the Wake Forest single-season record of 16 that she set last year as a freshman. In only a season and a half as a Demon Deacon, Stengel has already tallied 29 goals, tied for third-best on the Wake Forest goal-scoring charts.
Kristin Meier also assisted on Stengel's first goal, her team-leading sixth helper of the year. Aubrey Bledsoe earned the win in net for the Demon Deacons, making one save.
The Demon Deacons dominated all facets of the game, outshooting Miami 20-4 and taking seven corner kicks compared to only two for the Hurricanes. The three-goal margin gave head coach Tony da Luz a chance to delve into his bench as 21 Demon Deacons saw time in the match.
Nuzzolese got the Deacons on the board early in the eighth minute. After a scramble in the box, a Miami defender tried to smash a clearance but the ball went straight to the feet of Nuzzolese and the sophomore nailed a one-timed volley into the back of the net.
The Deacs doubled the lead in the 17th minute. Meier found Nuzzolese who chipped a ball over the top that Stengel ran on to, muscling away a Miami defender before slotting a shot past Alonzo.
A hand ball by Miami at the top of the box only seconds before halftime set up Wake Forest's third score as Stengel rifled the ensuing free kick into the upper-90.
Miami's lone score came from a 23-yard free kick in the 68th minute. Ali Brennan stepped up to the ball and hit a shot that took a deflection off of the Wake Forest wall, leaving Bledsoe with no chance to make the stop as the ball fluttered past.
Nuzzolese rounded out the scoring in the 75th minute, taking a pass from Kelsey Zalimeni and lofting a shot past Alonzo from the right.
The Demon Deacons will return to action next Thursday when they host Virginia Tech at 7 p.m. before welcoming Virginia to Spry Stadium next Sunday at 1 p.m. The match against the Cavaliers with serve as Wake Forest's Senior Day with seniors Chelsea Allen, Jordan Feger and Amanda Howell honored on the field before the match.
