Wake Forest Travels to Face No. 3 Seed South Carolina to Open 2022 NCAA Tournament

Saturday, November 12

Columbia, SC

6:00 p.m.

Wake Forest University

South Carolina (NCAA Championship First Round)

Wake Forest Travels to Face No. 3 Seed South Carolina to Open 2022 NCAA Tournament

11/11/2022 12:14:00 AM | Women's Soccer

The Demon Deacons will square off with the Gamecocks in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 6 p.m.

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest women's soccer program will make its 22nd all-time NCAA Tournament appearance Saturday night when the Demon Deacons travel to face third-seeded and 13th-ranked South Carolina at Eugene E. Stone III Stadium in Columbia, S.C.

Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m., and the match will be streamed on ESPN+.

2022 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament

First Round
- Nov. 11-13
  - Campus Sites
Second and Third Round
- Nov. 18 & 20
  - Campus Sites
Quarterfinals
- Nov. 25 or 26
  - Campus Sites
Semifinals
- Dec. 2
  - WakeMed Soccer Park (Cary, N.C.)
National Championship
- Dec. 5
  - WakeMed Soccer Park (Cary, N.C.)

The full 2022 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer bracket can be found here.

Demon Deacons in the NCAA Tournament

NCAA College Cup Appearances (1)
2011
NCAA Tournament Appearances (22)
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022

The Matchup

The Demon Deacons (9-6-3, 3-6-1 ACC) will be making their second-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
- Last season the Deacs knocked off Harvard at home, 3-0, in the first round before falling to No. 9 Michigan, 2-0, in Ann Arbor.
South Carolina is making its ninth-consecutive NCAA appearance.
- Last season, the Gamecocks earned a spot in the Elite Eight before falling to BYU on the road, 4-1.
The Gamecocks are 5-1-4 this season as hosts, while the Demon Deacons hold a 3-4-2 record on the road.
Wake Forest finished ninth in the ACC with 10 points. South Carolina finished first in the SEC East division with 16 points (5-1-1 in division) before claiming the SEC tournament crown with a 1-0 win over No. 3 Alabama.
Wake Forest is currently 45th in the RPI rankings, while South Carolina is 12th.

Last Time Out

The Wake Forest women's soccer team battled to a 1-1 tie with ACC foe Boston College in its final regular season contest of the 2022 campaign.
Neither side came up with significant scoring opportunities in the early going as the two teams combined for only two shots on goal in the first half.
The defensive struggle continued into the second half before Boston College opened the scoring in the 81st minute on a goal from Sophia Lowenburg.
With its back against the wall, Wake Forest responded just four minutes later when Hannah Johnson fired a strike into the net from six yards out.
Both sides attempted to break the deadlock over the final five minutes of action but neither team was successful as the match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Scouting the Gamecocks

The SEC Champions are 13-3-5 this season and 6-3-1 in SEC play.
Goalkeeper Heather Hinz ranks 13th in the nation and first in the SEC with a .866 save percentage, while also ranking fourth in the nation in shutouts with 12 in 21 appearances.
Offensively, the Gamecocks are led by Catherine Berry, who has a team-high 21 points on seven goals and seven assists (both team-highs).
South Carolina is 1-0-3 against ACC opponents this season. The Gamecocks defeated Virginia Tech and drew with Clemson, Florida State and NC State.

Series History

Wake Forest currently leads the all-time series, 4-2-1.
In 2009, the Demon Deacons defeated the Gamecocks in the third round of the NCAA tournament.
- Bess Harrington scored with one second left in regulation to lift Wake Forest past South Carolina, 1-0.
  - It was the only other time the two teams met in the postseason.
The last match between the two sides was a 2-0 road loss for the Demon Deacons in Columbia.
The last win for Wake Forest in the series was a 3-2 contest in Winston-Salem in 2017.
While visiting, the Demon Deacons are 2-1-1.

Looking Ahead
The winner of Saturday's first round matchup will advance to the NCAA second round on Friday, Nov. 18 to face the winner of No. 6 seed Harvard and New Hampshire.