Wake Forest Athletics
Raben Wins ACC Defensive Player of the Week Honor
10/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMSoccer)
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Freshman defender Sam Raben of the Wake Forest men's soccer team has been tabbed this week's ACC Defender of the Week, as announced by the conference Tuesday.
The award marks the first collegiate honor for Raben. It also gives Wake Forest its third Defensive Player of the Week award in the last four weeks, as goalkeeper Alec Ferrell had won twice in the previous three weeks. Wake Forest has been represented in the ACC awards each of the last four weeks, as Jon Bakero and Jack Harrison have each on ACC Offensive Player of the Week during the stretch.
Raben played a crucial role on the Demon Deacons' back line in holding then-No. 2 North Carolina off the scoreboard for the first time since Nov. 9, 2014. Matched up against Alan Winn, who was coming off a two-goal performance against College of Charleston last week, Raben held Winn at bay while making two sliding stops in the penalty area to help the Wake Forest defense preserve the shutout.
Raben and Company on the Wake Forest back line have not allowed a goal in the month of October, as Wake Forest last conceded nearly 440 minutes of game action ago on Sept. 26 in the 1-1 draw against then-No. 5 Clemson at Spry Stadium. The victory on Saturday marked the end of North Carolina's 16-game unbeaten streak, also dating back to Nov. 9, 2014, in the ACC Championship against Louisville.
Jacori Hayes was also honored this week after scoring the game-winning goal on Saturday to beat the Tar Heels, as Hayes was named to Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week on Tuesday morning.
Wake Forest returns to action on Tuesday night against nonconference foe Georgia State. First kick at Spry is set for 7 p.m. The match marks the first game since Sept. 22 in which the Deacs are not battling a ranked opponent. Wake Forest moved up to No. 2 in the Top Drawer Soccer and NSCAA polls while advancing to No. 3 in the country in the Soccer America poll after topping UNC. The Deacs remained in the top spot of the RPI rankings while North Carolina held the No. 2 spot.
