Wake Forest Athletics
da Luz and Co. Looking to Build on Fall Momentum for Competitive Spring
1/28/2021 12:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer, Les Johns
Winners in two of their last three games, including a 1-0 decision over No. 14 Notre Dame, the Wake Forest women's soccer team enters the spring portion of this unusual season with momentum.
Wake Forest coach Tony da Luz is excited, and for good reason. His young Deacs progressed dramatically during the fall and he's signed a talented class that will join the team late this summer. But before they look too far ahead, he believes they can accomplish big things this spring — including making a run toward the NCAA Tournament.
"It takes young players time to develop," da Luz said. "They were improving as the season went on. We also settled our goalkeeper issues down the stretch, giving Kaitlyn Parks most of the minutes in goal, so we had some continuity there. There were some really tight games. It's not like we were out of any games, just needed to do a better job of closing things out. I think the spring is going to be great for us. We're a little bit further along the learning curve."
The Demon Deacons finished 3-5-1 in the fall portion of the schedule, just missing the eight-team ACC Tournament.
"We need to make up for that postseason experience in the spring, because we want to put these kids through that kind of pressure," da Luz said. "It came down to the last day."
Wake finished the fall portion of the slate with a 1-0 home victory over Pittsburgh. Redshirt junior Sophia Rossi and freshman Kristi Vierra both had two shots on goal in the contest, with Rossi finding the back of the net, providing the difference.
"We got some good signs from freshman Kristi Vierra in the last game of the season, as a center-forward," da Luz said. "I'm looking forward to our front line gelling and building on what they were doing down the stretch.
"We moved Ryanne Brown from an attacking position to a defensive position. So I'm really looking forward to seeing how she develops there as an attacking right back. Sophie Faircloth was fantastic. Kaityln Parks in goal had grown and done really well. Faith Adams and Carrie McIntire, both freshmen, made real progress through the season. I'm excited about those guys and this season. It's going to be good."
Freshman Sophie Faircloth led the Deacs with three goals and six points in the fall.
"She might have been our best player this fall, and was certainly our most consistent performer," da Luz said. "She was so good and mentally tough. These pro scouts were already mentioning Sophie, and she's a freshman. They really like what she's done."
The spring portion for the women's soccer program is usually developmental, and the records don't usually count. That's all different for the 2020-21 campaign, because of changes made due to Covid-19. Each team was allocated 16 games total they could play, split between the two periods.
"We played nine in the fall, leaving us seven we can play," da Luz said. "Normally we have 20 games in a fall season, so instead we're spreading 16 out over two semesters."
The players have already arrived and will have gone through a period of quarantine before they begin training on Feb. 1, with a scrimmage scheduled for Feb. 26. The season starts again in March.
"Since the fall was all conference games for us, this is going to be a mixture," da Luz said. "We have a couple of ACC opponents in NC State and Louisville, then Tennessee, Appalachian State and Elon. We're playing a scrimmage against NC Courage in February, just to test ourselves against the best team in the country. It's going to be an eye-opener.
"It's been good for our kids. We started five or six freshmen almost every game in the fall, and they did well. They've accumulated some great experience, and they're going to get some more great experience in the spring. Hopefully, we will qualify for the postseason, so they can get the feel for a knockout game, or two or three."
The NCAA Tournament will feature just 48 teams this season instead of the standard 64.
"It's going to be a little bit more difficult to qualify, but I think there will be less teams playing overall across the country," da Luz said. "Some conferences are still opting to not play.
"I'm excited about it. I'm excited about our young players, and our seniors have decided to stay for the spring. Hannah Betfort just got drafted to Portland in the NWSL and Abby McNamara is coming back in the spring. We will have the same team we had for the fall. We're just going to try to build on it."
Da Luz indicated that when he combines the young talent playing this spring with the recruiting class that will join in the summer, the fall Demon Deacons could be the most competitive he's had during his tenure. But first things first — making an NCAA Tournament run this spring.
"Spring is always good for us, because it's a development period and the games don't usually count in the spring," he said. "You can usually experiment a little bit and get players more time. But this spring is for real. I'm just glad our young players will be able to play under that kind of pressure, trying to earn a bid into the NCAA Tournament.
"We want to win. We want to get into that tournament and see what we can do. But on the other hand, this is a really good developmental time for us to get ready for the fall. We have 14 new kids coming in the fall. The roster is going to be extremely competitive. The level of athleticism, adding this class, is going to raise exponentially. There are some really great athletes coming in. The practices in the fall are going to be — they're just going to be destroying each other vying for playing time. It's going to be great for our program."
Wake Forest coach Tony da Luz is excited, and for good reason. His young Deacs progressed dramatically during the fall and he's signed a talented class that will join the team late this summer. But before they look too far ahead, he believes they can accomplish big things this spring — including making a run toward the NCAA Tournament.
"It takes young players time to develop," da Luz said. "They were improving as the season went on. We also settled our goalkeeper issues down the stretch, giving Kaitlyn Parks most of the minutes in goal, so we had some continuity there. There were some really tight games. It's not like we were out of any games, just needed to do a better job of closing things out. I think the spring is going to be great for us. We're a little bit further along the learning curve."
The Demon Deacons finished 3-5-1 in the fall portion of the schedule, just missing the eight-team ACC Tournament.
"We need to make up for that postseason experience in the spring, because we want to put these kids through that kind of pressure," da Luz said. "It came down to the last day."
Wake finished the fall portion of the slate with a 1-0 home victory over Pittsburgh. Redshirt junior Sophia Rossi and freshman Kristi Vierra both had two shots on goal in the contest, with Rossi finding the back of the net, providing the difference.
"We got some good signs from freshman Kristi Vierra in the last game of the season, as a center-forward," da Luz said. "I'm looking forward to our front line gelling and building on what they were doing down the stretch.
"We moved Ryanne Brown from an attacking position to a defensive position. So I'm really looking forward to seeing how she develops there as an attacking right back. Sophie Faircloth was fantastic. Kaityln Parks in goal had grown and done really well. Faith Adams and Carrie McIntire, both freshmen, made real progress through the season. I'm excited about those guys and this season. It's going to be good."
Freshman Sophie Faircloth led the Deacs with three goals and six points in the fall.
"She might have been our best player this fall, and was certainly our most consistent performer," da Luz said. "She was so good and mentally tough. These pro scouts were already mentioning Sophie, and she's a freshman. They really like what she's done."
The spring portion for the women's soccer program is usually developmental, and the records don't usually count. That's all different for the 2020-21 campaign, because of changes made due to Covid-19. Each team was allocated 16 games total they could play, split between the two periods.
"We played nine in the fall, leaving us seven we can play," da Luz said. "Normally we have 20 games in a fall season, so instead we're spreading 16 out over two semesters."
The players have already arrived and will have gone through a period of quarantine before they begin training on Feb. 1, with a scrimmage scheduled for Feb. 26. The season starts again in March.
"Since the fall was all conference games for us, this is going to be a mixture," da Luz said. "We have a couple of ACC opponents in NC State and Louisville, then Tennessee, Appalachian State and Elon. We're playing a scrimmage against NC Courage in February, just to test ourselves against the best team in the country. It's going to be an eye-opener.
"It's been good for our kids. We started five or six freshmen almost every game in the fall, and they did well. They've accumulated some great experience, and they're going to get some more great experience in the spring. Hopefully, we will qualify for the postseason, so they can get the feel for a knockout game, or two or three."
The NCAA Tournament will feature just 48 teams this season instead of the standard 64.
"It's going to be a little bit more difficult to qualify, but I think there will be less teams playing overall across the country," da Luz said. "Some conferences are still opting to not play.
"I'm excited about it. I'm excited about our young players, and our seniors have decided to stay for the spring. Hannah Betfort just got drafted to Portland in the NWSL and Abby McNamara is coming back in the spring. We will have the same team we had for the fall. We're just going to try to build on it."
Da Luz indicated that when he combines the young talent playing this spring with the recruiting class that will join in the summer, the fall Demon Deacons could be the most competitive he's had during his tenure. But first things first — making an NCAA Tournament run this spring.
"Spring is always good for us, because it's a development period and the games don't usually count in the spring," he said. "You can usually experiment a little bit and get players more time. But this spring is for real. I'm just glad our young players will be able to play under that kind of pressure, trying to earn a bid into the NCAA Tournament.
"We want to win. We want to get into that tournament and see what we can do. But on the other hand, this is a really good developmental time for us to get ready for the fall. We have 14 new kids coming in the fall. The roster is going to be extremely competitive. The level of athleticism, adding this class, is going to raise exponentially. There are some really great athletes coming in. The practices in the fall are going to be — they're just going to be destroying each other vying for playing time. It's going to be great for our program."
Players Mentioned
Midfielder
/ Women's Soccer
Defender
/ Women's Soccer
Forward
/ Women's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Women's Soccer
Forward
/ Women's Soccer
Forward
/ Women's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Women's Soccer
Midfielder
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