Oct. 31, 2008

Wake Forest-Virginia Game Notes

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - After picking up a pivotal ACC win on Thursday night at Virginia Tech, No. 19 Wake Forest closes the regular season on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. at No. 8 Virginia. The game will be shown on ACC Select.

Wake Forest clinched a spot in the ACC Tournament with a 2-1 victory over Virginia Tech on Thursday night. Entering the final day of play in the regular season, the Deacons are the sixth seed. Wake Forest can finish no higher than sixth in the conference, but could fall to the seventh or eighth seed depending on the outcome of the other games on Sunday.

After falling behind 1-0 early against the Hokies, senior midfielder and Virginia native Amy Smerdzinski scored the equalizing goal, sneaking the ball inside the left post. Jill Hutchinson scored the game-winning goal, her fifth game-winning tally of season. Hutchinson's shot from 22 yards out got past the diving Hokie goalkeeper and went into the back of the net to give Wake Forest a 2-1 lead it would not relinquish.

Virginia Tech was able to generate several quality scoring chances near the end of the game, but the Hokies were unable to score the tying goal.

Virginia, currently ranked eighth in the country by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, has a record of 12-3-2 and a 6-2-1 record in ACC play. The Cavaliers played Duke to a 0-0 tie in their last game.

Virginia's offense has been strong all season, outshooting opponents 320-89 on the year and scoring 42 goals on the year, while only allowing 16 tallies. Over half of Virginia's shot attempts have been shots on goal.

The Cavaliers are led by Meghan Lenczyk, who has scored a team-high 11 goals and leads the team in points with 23. Lauren Alwine has a team-best 13 assists and 21 points overall.

Celeste Miles has played all but 18 minutes in goal this season for Virginia. Miles has a record of 12-3-2 in net with eight shutouts. She has allowed 15 goals on the year, posting a 0.87 goals against average.

Virginia leads the all-time series against Wake Forest, holding an 11-4-2 advantage, including a 4-1-1 advantage in Charlottesville. The Deacons and Cavaliers played to a 1-1 tie last season.

Live stats from Sunday's match will be available at virginiasports.com and a full recap will be available on wakeforestsports.com.