Wake Forest Athletics
Deacon Sports Xtra: Early Season Success Guides Wake Forest to Historic Campaign
11/2/2021 12:30:00 PM | Women's Soccer, Les Johns
Wake Forest will play No. 2 seed Florida State on Friday, November 5 in the ACC semifinals in Cary, N.C.
Wake Forest Women's Soccer has shown this season they can win games in a variety of ways. They ran off to an 8-0 start with eight-straight shutouts while outsourcing their opponents 23-0.
Then in mid-October, the Deacs proved they could outscore a team when they needed to, winning a 4-3 decision over No. 17 Virginia Tech at Spry Stadium.
"That's something we've had to prove," Wake Forest coach Tony da Luz said. "Last year we either shut a team out and won, or we gave up a goal and lost. That was last season. This year, against Virginia Tech and Miami, we've given up goals and still won. That's a good sign for our team."
"These kids are much-improved from a mentality standpoint," da Luz said. "I'm happy where we're at. We still could play better. We could have played better against NC State. We did a good job of taking care of their players and reducing their chances. They're a much-better team than they showed. Part of that was on them, and part of that was because of us."
The early-season schedule was designed strategically, da Luz said, to help his team gain some much-needed experience and confidence. The Deacs are a strange mix of both young players with upperclassmen, all blending together to amass a 15-4 record — the most wins for Wake Forest since 2011.
"We built up team confidence with our non-conference schedule," da Luz said. "For once in my life, I went a little lighter, and it really helped us build confidence within the team. It allowed some of our younger players to develop on the field. We're still gelling a little bit and getting to know each other a little bit."
"We took care of business and beat everybody we needed to beat. We get enough strength of schedule in our conference, and I don't think everybody realizes that. The ACC is the strongest it's ever been this year. I think the win against NC State probably put us into the NCAA Tournament. We're in good shape."
Wake Forest clinched a spot in the ACC tournament for the first time since 2017, breaking a tie over perennial powerhouse North Carolina for the No. 6 seed. The Deacs pulled out a historic 2-1 victory over No. 2-ranked and 3-seeded Duke Blue Devils on Sunday night. It was the highest ranked win in program history and it was the first time a Wake Forest team has advanced to the ACC semifinals since 2012.
"I thought we came out to play tonight," da Luz said. "We competed well and were aggressive throughout the whole unlike the last game we played against Duke. Tonight, we got a fast start and kept the pressure on. That is what I am most proud of is how we were able to continually apply the pressure throughout the 90 minutes. What resilience to give up that late goal and comeback and get the winner late"
Wake Forest will play No. 2 seed Florida State on Friday, November 5 in the ACC semifinals in Cary, N.C. The match will kick off at 8:00 p.m. and is slated to stream on ACC Network.
Then in mid-October, the Deacs proved they could outscore a team when they needed to, winning a 4-3 decision over No. 17 Virginia Tech at Spry Stadium.
"That's something we've had to prove," Wake Forest coach Tony da Luz said. "Last year we either shut a team out and won, or we gave up a goal and lost. That was last season. This year, against Virginia Tech and Miami, we've given up goals and still won. That's a good sign for our team."
"These kids are much-improved from a mentality standpoint," da Luz said. "I'm happy where we're at. We still could play better. We could have played better against NC State. We did a good job of taking care of their players and reducing their chances. They're a much-better team than they showed. Part of that was on them, and part of that was because of us."
The early-season schedule was designed strategically, da Luz said, to help his team gain some much-needed experience and confidence. The Deacs are a strange mix of both young players with upperclassmen, all blending together to amass a 15-4 record — the most wins for Wake Forest since 2011.
"We built up team confidence with our non-conference schedule," da Luz said. "For once in my life, I went a little lighter, and it really helped us build confidence within the team. It allowed some of our younger players to develop on the field. We're still gelling a little bit and getting to know each other a little bit."
"We took care of business and beat everybody we needed to beat. We get enough strength of schedule in our conference, and I don't think everybody realizes that. The ACC is the strongest it's ever been this year. I think the win against NC State probably put us into the NCAA Tournament. We're in good shape."
Wake Forest clinched a spot in the ACC tournament for the first time since 2017, breaking a tie over perennial powerhouse North Carolina for the No. 6 seed. The Deacs pulled out a historic 2-1 victory over No. 2-ranked and 3-seeded Duke Blue Devils on Sunday night. It was the highest ranked win in program history and it was the first time a Wake Forest team has advanced to the ACC semifinals since 2012.
"I thought we came out to play tonight," da Luz said. "We competed well and were aggressive throughout the whole unlike the last game we played against Duke. Tonight, we got a fast start and kept the pressure on. That is what I am most proud of is how we were able to continually apply the pressure throughout the 90 minutes. What resilience to give up that late goal and comeback and get the winner late"
Wake Forest will play No. 2 seed Florida State on Friday, November 5 in the ACC semifinals in Cary, N.C. The match will kick off at 8:00 p.m. and is slated to stream on ACC Network.
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