Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons End Most Successful Season with Exciting NCAA Tournament FinishWINSTON-SALEM -- If there is one team in America which is feeling good about the way its season ended, it's the Wake Forest women's soccer team. Granted, the Demon Deacons weren't ecstatic over a 5-0 loss in Gainesville to the University of Florida in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but the fact that they made it that far in only their third season as a varsity program made the achievement something to be proud of. Wake Forest finished the year with a school-record 14 wins in compiling a 14-8 overall mark and 2-5 Atlantic Coast Conference record. There were a number of highlights from the 1996 season (please see next page), but qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, and then beating Clemson in the first round are the two events which stand out. NCAA TOURNAMENT RECAP -- As one of seven ACC schools selected to compete in the NCAA Tournament, the Demon Deacons found themselves matched against a familiar opponent in the first round. Wake Forest had played Clemson twice on its home field, dropping a pair of hard-fought games during the regular season. After losing a 5-2 overtime decision and 2-1 ACC Tournament semi-final match, the Deacons travelled once again to Clemson and proved the theory "The Third Time Is A Charm" to be accurate. After falling behind 1-0 in the first half, Wake Forest struck twice in a five minute span midway through the second to post its first postseason win. Cheryl Zimmermann scored on a penalty kick, and then Meredith Lester netted the game-winner five minutes later to put the Deacons ahead to stay. The win was Wake Forest's third against a nationally-ranked opponent in four games and the second straight over a team rated in the Top 10. In the second round against Florida, however, the Deacons ran into a faster and stronger team which showed why it was seeded eighth in the tournament and entered the contest with a record of 21-2. After falling behind 1-0, the Deacons nearly tied the match, but Vanessa Slattery's volley from 18-yards out hit the goalpost. The Gators eventually scored four times in the first half en route to a 5-0 victory. "I can't say enough about the way this team played all season," said Deacon head coach Chris Turner. "For them to come this far in only our third year is remarkable. We're living proof that if you work hard and focus on your objectives, you can reach your goals." ACC TOURNAMENT RECAP -- The seventh-seeded Deacons became the lowest seeded team in the nine-year history of the tournament to win a game with a stunning 3-2 triumph over second-seeded Duke. Wake Forest jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 25 minutes of the match on goals by Norine Fernbach and Liz Burnette, but the Blue Devils evened things by the intermission on a pair of goals by Emily Feeney. Duke appeared to control the second half and had a number of good scoring chances, but goalkeeper Beth Klein made a couple of key saves and the Deacon defense held firm. And, then, with only nine minutes remaining, freshman Anne Shropshire made a long run up the left wing and crossed the ball into the goal crease, where junior Vanessa Slattery was stationed. Her initial shot was stopped by goalkeeper Dana Piper, but the rebound went right back to Slattery who put it into an empty net. That proved to be the difference as Wake Forest knocked off the Blue Devils for the second time this season. What made the victory even more impressive was that Duke had just defeated three straight Top 10 teams in Clemson, Virginia and Florida prior to the tournament, and was playing some of the best soccer in the conference. The Blue Devils were ranked 10th in the nation by Soccer America at the time of the contest. Wake Forest didn't stop there, however, as it pushed third-seeded Clemson in the semi-finals. Once again, the Deacons took control with the fastest goal in tournament history as Whitney Jackson finished off a corner kick just 1 minute and 25 seconds into the match. The Deacons were strong on defense and held their one-goal advantage until the midway point of the second half when Clemson scored twice in a two-minute span. Wake Forest fought back and had a pair of good scoring chances in the final two minutes, but couldn't get the equalizer. SEASON HIGHLIGHTS -- The third season of women's soccer at Wake Forest has been the most memorable yet and included a number of "firsts". Here is a list of this year's major achievements:
CLOSING STRONG -- One thing that likely aided Wake Forest's cause in regards to their NCAA Tournament hopes is that they finished the season on a strong note. The Deacons won four of their last six games and five of the last eight overall, including impressive back-to-back wins over conference foes Florida State and Duke. The Deacons traveled to Tallahassee and beat the 25th-ranked (Soccer News) Seminoles 1-0 on Nov. 3, and then upended the 10th-rated (Soccer America) Blue Devils 3-2 in the ACC Tournament quarter-finals. Wake's triumph over 10th-ranked (Soccer News) Clemson was the third win over a ranked opponent in a four-game stretch. After starting the season with a school-record eight consecutive wins, which included an impressive 4-2 road victory at Rutgers in the championship game of the Rutgers-Umbro Classic Sept. 21, the Deacons endured a four-game ACC losing streak to nationally-ranked teams. They bounced back, however, to win a school-record 14 games, which is five better than the previous mark of nine set last year. Of Wake Forest's eight losses, seven came to teams which were ranked at some point in the Top 10. THE RANKINGS -- For the first time in its three-year history, the Deacons were ranked nationally by four different polls. The NSCAA, Soccer America, Soccer News, and Soccer Buzz all ranked the Deacons in the Top 25 at different points of the season. History has repeated itself as far as head coach Chris Turner goes. This represents the second time in his career he has started a program from scratch and took it to a national ranking by the third year. He previously did it at Division II Philadelphia Textile, where he coached from 1990-93. Here is a look at Wake Forest's rankings week-by-week: ALL-TIME RECORD -- Wake Forest's come-from-behind 3-1 overtime win over the College of Charleston Oct. 26 was significant because it set a school record for most wins in a season. In registering their 10th victory of 1996, the Deacons eclipsed last year's previous high of nine wins (9-9-3). Wake Forest continued to build on that standard with four wins in their final five games to boost its season victory total to 14-7. This is only the third year varsity soccer has been sponsored by the athletics department, and the program has an all-time record of 31-26-3. That's even more impressive considering the caliber of play in the ACC, and the fact Turner has only six scholarships at his disposal. The Deacons will be a fully funded program within the next three years. HEAD COACH CHRIS TURNER -- Wake Forest head coach Chris Turner is in his third season leading the Deacons and he has duplicated the timetable from his previous position at Philadelphia Textile. Turner started both programs from scratch and led each to a national ranking by the end of the third season. With the Deacons, Turner helped Wake Forest peak at No. 18 in Soccer America and owns a three-year record of 31-26-3 and a career mark of 59-49-4. He was 28-23-1 in three years at Textile with his best mark coming in 1993 when his team finished 13-6, a mark the Deacons bettered this season after upending Duke in the ACC Tournament. A DEACON FIRST TWICE IN ONE GAME -- Sophomore Julie Scott and freshman Liz Burnette became the first players in school history to score three goals in one game when they both did it in Wake Forest's 11-1 win over Providence Sept. 14 at the Diadora Invitational. Scott netted a pair of goals in the first half as the Deacons built a 6-1 lead, and then added her third at the 61-minute mark. Burnette scored two of the team's final three goals after tallying once in the first half. SHROPSHIRE AND SCHILLING NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT -- For the first time in the program's history, Wake Forest was represented on the ACC All-Tournament team when freshmen Anne Shropshire (Lexington, KY/Henry Clay) and Karli Schilling (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks West) were named two weeks ago. The duo played a key role in leading the Deacons to their first tourney victory and a near semi-final upset over Clemson. Shropshire assisted on two of Wake Forest's four goals during the tournament while Schilling assisted once and played her usual steady midfield game. The postseason recognition was the first of any kind for Wake Forest, which has yet to have a player named all-conference. BALL RECUPERATING -- Wake Forest'a 2-1 loss at Virginia (Oct. 3) was costly in more ways than one as junior goalkeeper Jacki Ball (Fairfax, VA/Fairfax) broke her left leg for the second time in less than a year. While charging out to make a sliding save, an oncoming Virginia attacker hit Ball in the lower left leg while attempting to leap over her. The contact resulted in Ball suffering a fracture in the same spot when a similar play occured against UNC-Charlotte last season. That initial injury against the 49ers came on Oct. 11, 1995 while this latest incident took place on Oct. 3, 1996. As a result, Ball will be lost for the season after registering four shutouts and helping the Demon Deacons to their best start in school history. She had surgery on Oct. 21 and has already begun rehabilitation. SCOTT INJURED; OUT FOR REST OF SEASON -- The Deacons received more bad news when sophomore Julie Scott (Kernersville, NC/East Forsyth) suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in her right knee during Wake Forest's 1-0 victory over Davidson Oct. 20. Scott ranked second on the team in goals scored with seven and third in overall points with 14 at the time of the injury after leading the team in points last season as a freshman with 21 on eight goals and five assists. She underwent reconstructive surgery Oct. 31 and will begin rehabilitation in the next couple of weeks. KLEIN KEEPING KOOL -- With Jacki Ball being lost for the season due to her broken leg, freshman Beth Klein (Rockville Centre, NY/South Side) has emerged as the team's No. 1 goalkeeper. She made her first career start against NC State Oct. 10 and played well despite the fact Wake Forest dropped a 2-0 decision. She posted a 6-6 record, which included her first career shutout in a 1-0 win over Davidson Oct. 20, and back-to-back blankings three weeks ago as the Deacons beat Jacksonville (10-0) and Florida State (1-0). Klein also had an outstanding ACC Tournament in which she made nine saves in Wake Forest's upset win over Duke in the first round, and then kept the Deacons close with a couple of diving stops in their 2-1 semi-final loss to Clemson. She preserved the team's 2-1 win over Clemson in the NCAA Tournament with a point-blank stop of a Sara Burkett blast with only six minutes remaining. OFFENSIVE OUTPUT WAY UP -- As mentioned earlier, this is only the third year Wake Forest has sponsored a women's soccer program, but the improvement which has been made each season is obvious. The most telling statistic can be found on the offensive end. In 22 matches this season, Wake Forest scored 59 goals, which included a school-record 11 against Providence Sept. 14 in an 11-1 win. That is more than the inaugural 1994 campaign in which the Deacons scored only 25 goals, and last year's total of 40. Wake Forest outscored its opponents 59-35 this season, which includes seven shutouts. BURNETTE NETS SECOND HAT TRICK -- Freshman Liz Burnette (Raleigh, NC/Ravenscroft) led the team with 12 goals and 27 points this season. She registered her second hat-trick of the season when she scored three goals in Wake's 10-0 win over Jacksonville, matching her outburst earlier in the year when she netted three against Providence in an 11-1 victory. Burnette had an outstanding season, one which has seen her score two or more goals in the same match four times. She scored once in Wake Forest's 5-1 win over Villanova Sept. 20 and then netted a pair, including the game-winner with only 2 minutes and 28 seconds remaining, in a 4-2 triumph over Rutgers one day later. She was named to the Rutgers/Umbro Classic All-Tournament Team, the second straight all-tourney team she made after also being named at the Diadora Invitational one week earlier at Maine. As a result, Burnette was named the ACC's Player of the Week and to the Soccer America Team of the Week on Sept. 22, becoming the first Wake Forest women's soccer player to ever earn those two awards since the program was established in 1994. SCHILLING'S RECORD STREAK -- Freshman Karli Schilling (Doylestown, PA/Central Bucks West) put together the longest point-scoring streak in school history earlier this year when she registered at least one goal or one assist in seven straight games. The streak began with an assist against Duquesne in the second game of the season and ended when the Deacons were blanked by Maryland Sept. 29. During that stretch, Schilling scored five goals and assisted on five others. Her dramatic goal with two seconds remaining in regulation time lifted the Deacons to a 1-0 win over Duke Sept. 25 in their ACC opener. Schilling ranks second on the team in goals with eight and points with 23, but is tied for the team-lead in assists with seven. DEACON NOTES -- A total of five Deacons started every match this season -- Anne Shropshire, Meredith Lester, Cheryl Zimmermann, Jessen Snyder, and Kate Crowley . . . sophomore Susie Nettelbeck (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) missed the UNC-Asheville game with a knee injury, and had surgery Nov. 25 to repair ligament damage . . . Kate Crowley (Lebanon, NJ/North Hunterdon) continued a rather impressive streak with her 22 starts this season. She is the only player who has seen action in every game since the program started, spanning a total of 60 games . . . sophomore Norine Fernbach (Westlake, OH/Magnificat) closed out the season on a strong note with three goals and three assists in the last eight games, including the game-winner in Wake Forest's 1-0 win over Florida State. She also set up Meredith Lester's game-winner at Clemson . . . sophomore Rachel Thomas (Downingtown, PA/Downingtown), in addition to being steady on defense, got her first goal of the year in a key situation as she headed home a corner kick in the final five minutes of regulation against the College of Charleston (Oct. 26) to tie the game and force overtime, a game the Deacons won 3-1 . . . freshman Alison McPheely (Greer, SC/Riverside) has made the most of her playing time this season as one of Wake Forest's top reserves. She tied for the team lead with seven assists and added two goals in the 20 games she has seen action . . . junior Cheryl Zimmermann (Alexandria, VA/West Potomac) is Wake Forest's all-time leading scorer, despite playing primarily defensive back the last two years. She has 13 career goals and 14 career assists for 40 points, which includes her penalty kick goal at Clemson. Despite playing most of the game with a bad case of the flu, Zimmermann stood tall in leading the Deacons to victory . . . sophomore Andrea Pelletier (Apple Valley, MN/Apple Valley) was a key reserve all season long, playing in 17 contests and scoring three goals. |