Oct. 31, 2001

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Wake Forest (9-6-1, 3-3) heads to Charlottesville, VA to take on No. 15 Virginia (12-3-1, 4-2), Friday, Nov. 2 at 7:00 p.m. in the final game of the regular season for both teams. The Demon Deacons, are ranked 24th in the coaches poll this week. Wake Forest is led by senior forward Emily Taggart with eight goals and two assists and junior goalkeeper Erin Regan with a 0.98 goals-against average, .819 saves percentage and 4.5 shutouts in 1381:27 minutes in net.

Last Time Out

The Demon Deacons, 9-6-1 overall and 3-3 in the ACC, are coming off a 6-0 torching of Liberty on Tuesday, Oct. 30. Last week Wake Forest topped regional rival Charlotte 2-1 on Oct. 23 and then lost 2-0 at Duke on Oct. 27.

Six different Demon Deacons scored in the 6-0 shutout win over Liberty Tuesday evening. Gabi Lieb hit the game-winner, assisted by Stacy Roeck. Liz McDowell scored from Melissa Murray-Hobbs, Roeck scored from April Raymer, Kathleen Andrews scored from Meagan Mullins, Raymer scored unassisted and Sara Creighton scored from Lisa Senecal. Erin Regan shared the shutout with Kenna Healy and Raymer made two back saves.

Emily Taggart led the Deacs with five shots at Duke, but nothing got past the Blue Devil's goalkeeper and Wake Forest lost 2-0.

Taggart took a pass from Katherine Winstead up the middle, beat the 49er defenders and slid a shot into the lower left corner for Wake's opening goal against Charlotte. After the 49ers tied the game, Stacy Roeck hit the game-winning goal for the Demon Deacons when she scored on a penalty kick.

Virginia Cavaliers

Virginia, 12-3-1 overall and 4-2 in the ACC, split a pair of home conference games last week, dropping 6-1 to top-ranked North Carolina on Oct. 25 and then picking up a come-from behind 3-2 win over Florida State Oct. 28. The Cavaliers, coached by Steve Swanson, are ranked 15th in the country by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) and as low as seventh by CollegeSoccer.com's Media Poll. Freshman forward Lindsay Gusick leads the team with 11 goals and one assist and sophomore goalkeeper Jodi Clugston has a 1.26 goals-against average, .667 saves percentage and 3.7 shutouts in 715:07 minutes in net.

Virginia leads the series 5-2 with Wake Forest, but the Demon Deacons have won the last two meetings, including a 2-1 decision last year on Oct. 12 in Winston-Salem and a 1-0 victory at Charlottesville on Oct. 24, 1999.

Emily Taggart scored the game-tying goal and Gabi Lieb hit the game-winner for Wake Forest in last year's 2-1 win over the Wahoos. Taggart assisted then-freshman Joline Charlton's game-winning goal for the Demon Deacons' 1-0 victory at Virginia in 1999.

Friday's game will be a homecoming of sorts for five Demon Deacons who hail from the commonwealth of Virginia. Sarah Kate Noftsinger and A.B. Robbins are from Richmond, Katie Johnson hails from Virginia Beach, Lauren Claytor is from Chesterfield and Meagan Mullins calls Sterling home.

Wake Forest's Melissa Murray-Hobbs and Virginia's Anne Abernathy both hail from Atlanta, GA. The only other relatively interesting tie between the teams is that Wake Forest's football team will play at Virginia this weekend also, as the Deacs and the Hoos take to the gridiron this Saturday.

All-Time Goals Leader

Emily Taggart scored Wake Forest's opening goal in the 2-1 victory over Charlotte Oct. 23 giving the senior forward from Pleasanton, CA a team-leading eight goals on the season and 29 career goals, breaking the school's all-time goals scored record, held by Anne Shropshire with 28 career goals (1996-99). A three-time All-ACC selection and three-time All-Southeast Region selection, Taggart was picked by CollegeSoccer.com as a preseason All-American prior to this season.

Injury Report

Sarah Kate Noftsinger is scheduled to return to action in Friday's game at Virginia. The senior midfielder hurt her knee in the North Carolina match Oct. 14 and missed the next five games.

Joline Charlton returned to action at Duke Oct. 27 after missing two games with a heel injury. The junior forward missed two games at the beginning of season with an ankle injury.

A.B. Robbins sat out the last game versus Liberty with a bruised calf. The sophomore defender is listed as probable to play Friday at Virginia.

Emily Taggart also sat out the Liberty game Tuesday night. The senior forward hurt her neck in the Duke game Oct. 27 and is listed as day-to-day as she is further evaluated.

Alli Hunt suffered a sprained ankle in the Liberty match Tuesday night and is questionable for Friday's game at Virginia and Kathleen Andrews was helped off the field in the Liberty game after a hard collision, but she has recovered.

Making It Happen

April Raymer had a big game Tuesday against Liberty. Trailing 2-0, the Flames got past Wake's goalkeeper and launched a shot at the empty Demon Deacon goal. Raymer came out of nowhere, leapt up and headed the shot off the crossbar for the back save. The great play wasn't over though, as Liberty collected the rebound and fired again. Raymer stopped it again, making a kick save for her second back save.

Later in the half, the freshman defender from Marietta, GA assisted a goal for Wake Forest when she slid a pass up the middle to teammate Stacy Roeck, who pocketed it into the bottom right corner of the goal. Raymer then added a goal herself when she fired a rocket from the top right corner of the penalty box into the back of the net, for her first collegiate goal.

Lots of Firsts

Along with April Raymer, Wake Forest freshman midfielder Meagan Mullins scored her first collegiate goal in Tuesday night's 6-0 beating of Liberty. Juniors Gabi Lieb and Liz McDowell scored their first goals of the season, while Melissa Murray-Hobbs and Lisa Senecal earned their first assists on the season against Liberty.

The Solution

Stacy Roeck assisted the game-winning goal Tuesday against Liberty and then scored one herself, helping Wake Forest to a 6-0 victory. The senior defender-turned forward from Solana Beach, CA is second on the team in scoring with seven goals and two assists on the season.

A two-time All-ACC selection, Roeck earned all-region honors last year as well. The starting sweeper for the Demon Deacons as a freshman, Roeck helped the defense hold opponents to only 1.61 goals-per-game, while scoring seven goals herself. Her sophomore year, she was a key component of a Wake Forest defense that shutout 12 teams, only allowed 18 goals and finished the season ranked 18th in the country for team defense, as the starting sweeper.

Returning at sweeper last year, head coach Tony da Luz often moved the athletic Roeck up front to help out an ailing offense, which she responded to by scoring six goals and assisting three others. Her most memorable goal was probably the game-winner she netted against eventual national champions, North Carolina.

In need of a spark up front again this season, Roeck was moved up from defender to striker five games into the season and she has delivered, scoring five goals, including two game-winners, earning Soccer America's Team of the Week honors for her accomplishments.

Her 24 career goals ranks third in the all-time scoring record books at Wake Forest. A durable player that never quits, Roeck has played in 78 of the 80 Wake Forest games over the past four years and started all but six.

Twice As Nice

A.B. Robbins scored two goals Oct. 20 to help Wake Forest come from behind and beat No. 19 Florida State, including the game-tying goal and the game-winning goal. The sophomore defender from Richmond, VA headed in her first goal, assisted by Katherine Winstead and Alli Hunt and then drilled a free kick from just outside the Seminoles' penalty box into the upper right corner for her second goal. Robbins, named to Soccer America's Team of the Week the following Tuesday, is now third on the team in scoring with five goals on the season.

Back In Cage

Erin Regan returned to net this season as the starting goalkeeper for Wake Forest after sitting out last season with a knee injury. The redshirt-junior from Rancho Santa Margarita, CA, was a first team All-ACC selection in 1999 after posting a 0.71 goals against average, 113 saves and nine shutouts.

Regan has posted 4.5 shutouts already, a .819 saves percentage, and has only allowed 15 goals through 16 games for a 0.98 goals-against average. In fact, 12 of the 16 goals allowed have come from teams ranked in the national polls.

Regan is Wake Forest's all-time shutouts leader, all-time saves leader and she currently holds the school's career goals against average record.

Up Next

The Demon Deacons will return to action next week when they host the ACC Championship Nov. 8, 9, 11 at Spry Stadium. The quarterfinals will begin Thursday with games at noon, 2:30, 5:30 and 8:00. The semifinals will be played Friday at 5:30 and 8:00 and the Championship match will be Sunday at 1:00, televised live on Fox Sports Net South. The pairings will be announced by the ACC following the conclusion of the regular season Sunday, Nov. 4.