Wake Forest Athletics
Women's Soccer Begins Training for 2018 Season
8/1/2018 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeWSoccer)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest women's soccer team opened training on Wednesday in preparation for the 2018 season.
"There was a lot of energy today," said head coach Tony da Luz. "The team came in fit and was well prepared. There was a lot of enthusiasm and passion. We're excited to get going."
The Demon Deacons are returning 18 members from the 2017 team which made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The team also welcomes nine true freshmen and Mariah Lee, a graduate transfer from Stanford, to the squad this season.
The Deacs open 2018 with a pair of exhibition contests, both at Spry Stadium. The first game is against William & Mary on Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. and the second exhibition match will be held on Aug. 11 against West Virginia at 2 p.m.
The squad kicks off the regular season in Bloomington, Indiana at the Hoosier Cup Challenge and will play Indiana on Aug. 17 and Northwestern on Aug. 19. The Deacs host Tennessee on Aug. 23 at 7:30 p.m. for the home-opener.
This season, Wake Forest will face 13 squads that made it to the NCAA Tournament a season ago, including two College Cup teams in South Carolina and Duke. Overall, the team will play 17 Power 5 schools in exhibition and regular-season play.
"I wanted to challenge our team and put us in a good position to prepare for our conference games and the NCAA Tournament," said da Luz. "The only way to do that is to play against really good teams all the time. I have confidence in our team that we can get through it and we can be successful."
The Demon Deacons finished the 2017 campaign with an 11-6-4 record, including a 5-3-2 ledger in conference play. The Deacs returned to the ACC Tournament for the 20th time in program history and the NCAA Tournament for the 19th.
