Wake Forest Athletics
Deacs Open Season vs. Kentucky and Alabama
8/22/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug 22, 2013
Watch Kentucky Match Live
| Watch Alabama Match Live 
| By Steven Wright, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWSoccer)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest women's soccer team will open up the 2013 season on Friday against Kentucky at 6:30 p.m. at Spry Stadium. The Demon Deacons will then host Alabama on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Let's Make it Six
• Wake Forest has won five straight season openers, with its last season-opening loss coming at San Diego (2-1) on August 31, 2007.
• The Demon Deacons are 12-4-3 all-time in season openers.
Two Decades of Women's Soccer
• The 2013 season marks the 20th year of women's soccer at Wake Forest.
• Head coach Tony da Luz has been at the helm for almost all of those 20 seasons, as he is embarking on his 17th season as the head of the program.
Series History vs. Kentucky
• Wake Forest is a perfect 3-0 all-time against Kentucky. The Deacs have won one home contest, one road contest and one neutral-site contest against the Wildcats.
• The teams' first meeting came on Oct. 2, 1998, with Wake Forest taking a 3-2 win in overtime. The Demon Deacons then defeated Kentucky 1-0 on Sept. 4, 2009 in Lexington and 2-0 on Sept. 5, 2010 in Winston-Salem.
• Katie Stengel scored the 2010 game-winner in the 14th minute, and Marisa Park added the second goal in the 41st minute.
Series History vs. Alabama
• Sunday's contest against Alabama will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
Katie Stengel and Aubrey Bledsoe
• Wake Forest seniors Katie Stengel and Aubrey Bledsoe have both been named as candidates for the Senior CLASS Award and to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.
• Stengel has already broken the Wake Forest career record with 44 goals in her first three seasons. She has also 17 career assists to give her 105 points.
• Bledsoe has started every game in goal for Wake Forest since she arrived on campus in 2010. For her career, she has 73 starts, 6,736 minutes played, 214 saves and a 0.92 goals against average. In addition, she has 25 shutouts and a 45-18-10 record.
Exhibition Win over Campbell
• Wake Forest used goals from six different players to defeat Campbell 6-1 in the Demon Deacons' only exhibition game of the preseason on Friday, Aug. 16, at BB&T Soccer Park in Advance, N.C.
• Katie Stengel, Annick McBryar, Riley Ridgik, Rachel Nuzzolese, Katie Dry and Kendal Robino all found the back of the net in the win for Wake Forest. Stengel and Nuzzolese each had three points apiece by dishing out an assist, also.
• Caroline Wootten recorded a pair of assists, while Jessica Mandarich and Courtney Owen each had one assist.
• Aubrey Bledsoe started and played in the first 60 minutes of the game without allowing Campbell to score.
Next Time Out
• The Demon Deacons will host the Wake Forest invitational at Spry Stadium. The Deacs will play North Texas on Friday, Aug. 30 at 6 p.m. and Louisville on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 2 p.m.
• Virginia Tech will also be in the field and will play Louisville on Friday and North Texas on Sunday.
