Sept. 30, 2008

Wake Forest-Elon Game Notes

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The No. 1 Wake Forest men's soccer team takes a break from ACC play on Wednesday night, traveling to Elon for a 7 p.m. (ET) match.

"We're looking forward to the opportunity to challenge ourselves against a good team," Wake Forest head coach Jay Vidovich said. "We know it's going to be a big challenge for us. It's an opportunity for us to see how much we've grown as a team."

The Deacons (8-0-0, 2-0-0 ACC) are coming off an ACC road victory at then-No. 2 Maryland. Four different Wake Forest players scored in the game. Marcus Tracy and Ike Opara scored equalizing goals in the first half, while Zack Schilawski and Austin da Luz scored in the second half.

Da Luz was named ACC Player of the Week and also earned Soccer America Men's Player of the Week honors after his performance against Maryland. Da Luz assisted on Schilawski's game-winning goal and added a goal of his own later in the second half.

Wake Forest will be looking to extend its unbeaten streak against non-conference opponents. The Deacs have either won or tied their last 34 non-conference games. The last loss for Wake Forest against a non-ACC foe came on November 26, 2005, in a 3-2 defeat at California in the NCAA Tournament.

Elon enters Wednesday's match with a 2-6-1 record on the season. The Phoenix are 1-0-0 in Southern Conference play. Elon has recorded victories over Wofford and UNC Asheville. The Phoenix have lost three straight games, falling to William & Mary, North Carolina and Charlotte.

Elon is led by Justin Wyatt, who has scored four goals on the season and has nine points. Aaron Parker and Brad Franks, younger brother of Wake Forest senior midfielder Jamie Franks, are tied for the team lead with two assists. Kyle Boerner has been the main goalkeeper for Elon this season, starting seven games. Boerner has allowed 12 goals on the season, posting a 1.68 goals against average.

"Their record does not reflect the quality of team they have," Vidovich said. "They have some very good players on their team and I'm sure they'll be ready to go on Wednesday night."

Wake Forest and Elon are meeting for the seventh time in series history. The Deacons lead the overall series 5-0-1. The two teams played to a tie last season. The tie snapped Wake's 7-0 start to the 2007 season.

Elon will provide live streaming video of the game on its website, elonphoenix.com. The cost to watch the match is $4.95.

Live stats for the match will be available at elonphoenix.com, and a recap of the match will be available at wakeforestsports.com.

-WakeForestSports.com-