Oct. 17, 2008

Wake Forest-Duke Game Notes

- WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - No. 1 Wake Forest steps back into conference play on Saturday night, hosting Duke at 7 p.m. (ET) at Spry Stadium. The game will be available live on the web on ACC Select.

The Deacons enter Saturday night's match with a 4-0 mark in Atlantic Coast Conference play, tied with Virginia for first in the league. The Deacons and Cavaliers have a three point lead over third place Maryland.

Wake Forest moved to 13-0 on the season with a 6-0 victory over UNC Greensboro on Tuesday night. The victory was the 200th for head coach Jay Vidovich. Five different Wake Forest players scored goals, including Cody Arnoux, who tallied two goals and also added an assist. Also scoring in the game for Wake Forest was Ike Opara, Zack Schilawski, Sam Cronin and Alfredo Rodriguez-Allen, who scored the first goal of his collegiate career.

Junior goalkeeper Akira Fitzgerald notched his eighth shut out of the season against the Spartans, tying a career-high with five saves. Fitzgerald is tied for fifth for must shut outs in a single season at Wake Forest.

Senior forward and M.A.C. Hermann Trophy candidate Marcus Tracy leads the team in goals with 10 and has an ACC-best 26 points on the season. Arnoux, also a Hermann Trophy candidate, has scored nine goals on the season, including scoring eight goals in his last five games.

Sophomore midfielder Corben Bone leads the ACC in assists with 11. He is two helpers shy of tying the Wake Forest single-season assist record held by Ryan Solle and Austin da Luz. Bone leads the country in assists per game, averaging .846 assists per game. The Dallas, Texas, native has had at least one assist in his last six games.

Duke is currently 6-5-1 on the season and 2-2-1 in conference play. The Blue Devils are currently in a tie for fourth with Clemson in the ACC standings with seven points. Duke is coming off a 2-1 overtime loss to Florida Atlantic on Tuesday night. In their last conference game, the Blue Devils dropped a 2-0 decision to North Carolina.

The Blue Devils are led by Hermann Trophy candidate Mike Grella, who has scored 10 goals on the season. Grella leads the Blue Devils in goals and in points with 23. Temi Molinar leads Duke with four assists on the season.

Brendan Fitzgerald has played nearly every minute in goal for the Blue Devils. Fitzgerald has allowed 11 goals on the season, posting a 0.93 goals against average. He has made 38 saves on the season and has recorded four shut outs.

Wake Forest and Duke are meeting for the 38th time in series history. The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 21-11-5, including holding a 9-4-1 advantage in games played in Winston-Salem. The Deacons snapped a four-match losing streak to Duke last season with a 3-0 win in Durham.

Live stats, along with a recap from Saturday night's ACC clash, will be available on wakeforestsports.com.