October 20, 1998

The Wake Forest women's soccer team, ranked 14th in the country this week by Soccer News, continues its six-game homestand with critical matches against No. 12 Virginia and No. 25 Maryland this weekend at Spry Stadium. The Demon Deacons and Cavaliers will square off on Friday night at 7 p.m. while the game with the Terrapins is set for Sunday at 1 p.m.

These two conference games will go along way in determining the Demon Deacons' regular season finish in the ACC. Two victories will ensure them of a second or third place finish while two losses could knock the Deacs as low as fifth in the conference standings.

Wake Forest is currently on a season-long six-match winning streak which has vaulted the Deacons into the national top 25.

SCOUTING THE DEMON DEACONS
The Wake Forest women's soccer program, now in only its fifth season of competition at the varsity level, has already made a name for itself on the national level. The Demon Deacons have been ranked among the nation's top 20 teams and have earned invitations to the NCAA Tournament in each of the past two seasons. Head coach Tony da Luz has a squad comprised of a number of key veterans plus a talented freshman class which he hopes will guide the Deacs to their third consecutive NCAA berth this fall.

The Wake Forest offense is led by junior Anne Shropshire, who recently moved to a forward position after seeing most of her action at midfield. Shropshire leads the squad in goals (9), assists (10) and points (28) and has set school career records in each of those three categories during the course of the season as well.

A duo of seniors in forward Stefanie Mathews and midfielder Meghan Suddes also anchor the offensive attack. Suddes is second on the team with six goals while Mathews is responsible for four goals and seven assists. Freshmen midfielders Emily Taggart, who netted her first career hat trick last week against NC State, and Sarah Kate Noftsinger have entrenched themselves into the starting lineup with solid play all season while sophomore Christie Melby rounds out the midfield starting attack.

The Wake Forest defense is anchored by senior Jessen Snyder, who owns 78 career starts, and freshman Stacy Roeck, who has scored six goals this season. In goal, the Deacs will turn to either freshman Erin Regan, 1.75 GAA in 1998, or senior Sari Rose, who recorded shutouts vs. Charleston, Davidson and LSU, to provide steady play as the starter from 1997, Beth Klein, works to recover from a knee injury suffered last fall.

WEEK SEVEN RECAP
Wake Forest continued their winning ways with two more important regional victories last week as the Demon Deacons defeated NC State (7-0) and UNC Greensboro (3-2). Wake Forest's record now stands at 11-3-1 overall and 3-1-0 in the ACC.

On Friday the Demon Deacons dominated play throughout the game with NC State, outshooting the Wolfpack 24-6 and erupting for a season-high seven goals. Freshman Emily Taggart was the star of the game as she netted her first career hat trick. Julie Scott, Stefanie Mathews, Karli Schilling and Meghan Suddes all recorded goals in the game.

The Deacs stretched their winning streak to six games on Sunday against UNC Greensboro with a 3-2 victory. Wake Forest outshot the Spartans 22-8 as Anne Shropshire led the offensive attack with two goals while Sarah Kate Noftsinger provided the winning margin with her goal in the 63rd minute. Wake Forest tallied three or more goals in a game for the sixth straight contest.

SHROPSHIRE CONTINUES ASSAULT ON RECORD BOOK
Junior midfielder Anne Shropshire continues to add her name to the Wake Forest record book this season. Most recently, Shropshire set a new career mark for goals scored against LSU and now owns 19 goals in her career. The previous mark was held by teammate Julie Scott, who owns 16 career goals (and one this season).

Earlier this season at the Irish Key Bank Classic, the Lexington, Kty., product moved into first place on Wake Forest's career scoring list. She now owns 28 points this season and 61 career points. The previous record holder was Cheryl Zimmermann who totaled 43 points in four years from 1994-97, while Shropshire accomplished the feat in just over two years.

Shropshire set yet another career mark earlier this season with her two-assist performance at Davidson. Now with 10 assists this year, Shropshire has raised her career total to 23 and moved into first place on Wake Forest's career list in that category as well. The previous record holder was Zimmermann who tallied 15 assists in her career. Shropshire, who led the Deacons in assists last fall as well, has set a new school record for assists in a single season (10).

DEACS FIND HIGH-OUTPUT OFFENSE IN OCTOBER
A new look in the lineup from head coach Tony da Luz at the beginning of October in the ACC-SEC Challenge brought instant results on the offensive end of the field.

Anne Shropshire moved from the midfield to join Stefanie Mathews at the forward position, and the Deacs haven't looked back since. In six games since the move, Wake Forest is averaging 4.33 goals per game and holding its opponents to just 1.17 goals per contest. The Deacs have outscored their opponents 26-7 during this season long six-game winning streak, which includes victories over Kentucky, LSU, UNC Charlotte, Duke, NC State and UNC Greensboro.

FRESHMEN OF INFLUENCE
Now in the stretch run of the 1998 season, the Wake Forest freshman class has certainly made its presence felt this year. The four field players - F Emily Taggart (6 goals, 2 assists), MF Sarah Kate Noftsinger (4 g, 5 a), MF Stacy Roeck (6 g, 1 a) and F Rachel Parri (2 g, 2 a) - have accounted for 18 goals and 10 assists so far this season. GK Erin Regan, too, has made her mark in goal for the Deacs, sporting a solid 1.75 GAA in 12 games and 1,028 minutes.

The five players have combined to make 56 starts this season.

SNYDER ANCHORS THE DEFENSE
With senior Jessen Snyder manning the sweeper position, head coach Tony da Luz has the comfort of knowing that his defense is in good hands (or feet). A four-year veteran of the program, Snyder has appeared in 79 games in her career and owns 78 career starts. She is within one start of the Wake Forest record for games started in a career (79, set by Cheryl Zimmermann).

Snyder was asked to move from her midfield position of a year ago to the backfield prior to the season. She has not only accepted her new role as a defender but has also excelled at her new position, helping the Deacs allow an average of just 1.36 goals per game - the second best mark in the ACC. Wake Forest owns four shutouts this season as well. Although her name may not show up among the team's statistical leaders, Snyder may be the most valuable player on the squad.

INSIDE THE ACC STATISTICS
The Demon Deacons have several players listed among the ACC's statistical leaders. Junior Anne Shropshire is currently second in the league standings with 0.67 assists per game, ranks 5th with 1.87 points per game and ranks 6th with 0.60 goals per game. Freshman goalkeeper Erin Regan ranks 4th in GAA (1.75) and second in saves per game (4.67). As a team, Wake Forest ranks 3rd in scoring defense (1.36), 3rd in shutouts per game (0.27) and 3rd in scoring offense (3.00).

ALSO WORTH NOTING...
Junior Julie Scott, who redshirted in 1997 with a knee injury, scored her first goal since the fall of 1996 last weekend against NC State . . . freshman Emily Taggart netted her first career hat trick vs. NC State, becoming just the third player in school history to accomplish that feat . . . after missing four games with an ankle injury, senior Meghan Suddes returned to the lineup against NC State and scored a goal . . . the seven goals scored against NC State were the most scored by a Tony da Luz coached Wake Forest team . . . Wake Forest is ranked #14 this week and has been listed among the nation's top 25 teams at various points in each of the last three years.