Nov. 10, 2008

2008 ACC Tournament Bracket

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The top-ranked and No. 1 seed Wake Forest men's soccer team will face either eighth seed NC State or No. 9 seed Virginia Tech in the quarterfinals of the 2008 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament at 5:30 p.m. (ET) on Wednesday at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.

The Demon Deacons earned the top seed in the conference tournament by virtue of having the best regular season record, finishing the ACC schedule with a 7-0-1 mark. The Deacs were the first team to finish the conference season unbeaten since 2002, when Wake finished 4-0-2 in league play.

Wake Forest was dominant throughout the regular season, outscoring its opponents 62-12 on the season. The Deacs finished the regular season ranked first in the conference in shots (324), points (194), goals (62), goals per game (3.44/game), assists (70), assists per game (3.89/game), goals allowed (12), goals against average (0.66) and shutouts (11).

The Deacs are coming off a 2-0 win at Virginia to close the regular season. The win gave Wake Forest its first unbeaten regular season in program history and extended the team's unbeaten streak to 23 games, the longest unbeaten streak in program history.

NC State enters the ACC Tournament with an 8-8-1 record and a 3-5 mark in conference play. The Wolfpack have won seven of their last nine games, including three of their last four ACC matches. Wake Forest downed NC State 4-1 in Raleigh during the regular season.

NC State is led by Ronnie Bouemboue, who has scored 11 goals and has 25 points on the season. Alan Sanchez leads NC State with eight assists on the season and is second in points with 24. Christopher Widman has played and started in 14 games, allowing 21 goals on the season.

Virginia Tech earned the ninth seed in the ACC Tournament after finishing the regular season with a 5-12-1 record and an 0-8-0 conference record. The Hokies closed the regular season with a 2-1 loss to Boston College. The Deacons downed Virginia Tech 8-2 in the regular season.

James Gilson leads the Hokies with six goals, four assists and 16 points on the year. Virginia Tech has used a trio of goalkeepers this season as Stefan Caulfield, Thomas St. Germain and Brendan Dunn have all seen time in net for the Hokies.

Fans can watch all the action from the 2008 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament on ACC Select. Live stats, along with links to the free online video, will be available at http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-soccer/08-msoc-championship.html.