Sept. 18, 2008

Wake Forest - UNC Greensboro Game Notes

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The No. 14 Wake Forest women's soccer team faces UNC Greensboro on Friday at 7 p.m. at Spry Stadium in the Fall Sports Spotlight Game of the Week. The match will be the final non-conference game of 2008 for the Deacons.

"UNC Greensboro is playing really well right now, defeating a ranked team in Santa Clara last weekend," head coach Tony da Luz said. "They're confident coming into the weekend. It's always a difficult game. Our team is taking the game extremely seriously with this being the last non-conference game of the season."

A bevy of promotions are scheduled in conjunction with the game. Members of the Optimist Soccer League who wear their Optimist soccer jersey to the game receive free admission to the game. Second Harvest Food Bank will also be collecting canned food and fans that bring two canned goods also receive free admission.

Wake Forest will look to cap a successful non-conference schedule on Friday night with its seventh win of the season. The Deacons are coming off a pair of impressive 3-0 victories last weekend in the Wake Forest Nike Tournament. Wake defeated Charlotte on Friday, before downing No. 22 Cal State Fullerton on Sunday.

Bianca D'Agostino scored two game-winning goals and added an assist in last weekend's action. She was named ACC Player of the Week and also earned national accolades from Soccer America and Soccer Buzz after her performance. Junior goalkeeper Laura Morse picked up two shut outs in the Wake Forest Nike Tournament, making six saves.

"The balance last weekend was good to see," da Luz said. "Teams are starting to focus on Jill (Hutchinson) and Allie (Sadow). Teams are structuring their defense against them. It's really good for our midfielders to get some goals. We have to have balance to be successful."

UNC Greensboro enters the game with a 5-3-0 record. The Spartans split a pair of games last weekend, defeating No. 15 Santa Clara 1-0 and dropping a 2-0 decision to No. 3 Stanford. UNCG is led by Kristin Player, who has four goals, two assists and 10 points through the first eight games of the season. Freshman goalkeeper Kelsey Kearney was named the Southern Conference Player of the Week after recording a shut out against Santa Clara and making 10 saves against Stanford.

"UNCG is very well organized," da Luz added. "Their coach does a very good job tactically of preparing for specific teams. They're a solid team."

Tickets for the game are $6 and can be purchased before the game at Spry Stadium.

Live stats and a recap from Friday's game will be available on wakeforestsports.com.

-WakeForestSports.com-