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Aug. 31, 2005
Demon Deacons Open Season at adidas/IU Credit Union Classic... the 18th-ranked Wake Forest men's soccer team will open the season with the two-time defending NCAA champion Hoosiers on Friday, Sept. 2. Kickoff at Bill Armstrong Stadium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (CST). The Demon Deacons will then face 19th-ranked Notre Dame on Sunday, Sept. 4. Kickoff with the Fighting Irish is slated for noon (CST). Indiana captured its second consecutive NCAA College Cup in 2004, while Notre Dame advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The two Hoosier State schools have participated in a total of 37 NCAA Tournaments. Indiana has captured seven NCAA championships in 29 appearances over the history of the program. Notre Dame has eight NCAA berths in school history and four consecutive appearances entering this season. News & Notes... Wake Forest is 23-1-1 all-time in its season opening matches... the Demon Deacons only season opening loss came on Sept. 1, 1987 at Catabwa, 1-0... Wake Forest has a 17-game unbeaten streak in season openers... the Deacs have outscored their opponents in openers, 84-10, and has recorded 16 shutouts including each of the past two seasons... the Demon Deacons will open with a Big Ten opponent for the second straight season... Wake Forest blanked Ohio State, 2-0, to open 2004... the Deacs are 0-1 all-time against Indiana with the only meeting taking place way back on Oct. 4, 1987 when the Hoosiers blanked Wake Forest, 4-0... the Demon Deacons are 2-0 against Notre Dame all-time... Wake Forest last faced Notre Dame on Sept. 28, 1994 as part of College Soccer Weekly's Game of the Week... the Deacs blanked the Fighting Irish, 1-0... Wake Forest captured the other meeting between the two schools on Oct. 30, 1982 in Winston-Salem, 2-1... head coach Jay Vidovich has never dropped a season opening match... the 12th-year head coach is 11-0-1 in season opening matches with seven shutouts and has outscored those foes, 31-4. Scouting the Hoosiers... the two-time defending national champion Indiana men's soccer team is ranked No. 1 in Soccer America, College Soccer News and the NSCAA. The Hoosiers were Soccer America's top choice in the 2004 preseason poll. Indiana had three players represented on the 2005 Hermann Trophy Watch List. Senior midfielder Brian Plotkin joined juniors Jacob Peterson and Jed Zayner as three of the 25 players considered to be the best in college soccer for the upcoming season. Peterson, on nearly every All-American list, was first team All-Big Ten in 2004 after leading the Hoosiers with 24 points on 11 goals and two assists. Plotkin was first team All-Big Ten in 2004 and second team in 2003. Zayner has started at center back since his arrival on campus and has been named to the College Cup All-Tournament team each of the past two seasons. Scouting the Fighting Irish... The Notre Dame men's soccer team must reload after losing valuable members of its BIG EAST regular-season championship squad from a year ago. The Fighting Irish graduated a solid five-man class that featured All-American goalkeeper Chris Sawyer, along with two All-BIG EAST and MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalists in defenders Kevin Goldthwaite and Jack Stewart. Also departing were midfielder Luke Boughen, who tallied eight points as a senior, and defender Christopher High. Those five players were a major reason why the Irish led the nation with a 0.45 goals-against-average in 2004 and their absence may leave some doubting this year's squad as they embark on the 2005 campaign. Losing the nucleus of an amazing defensive unit will pose a challenge, but it may be overshadowed by the fact that the Irish return a strong offense-- including 63 of its 84 points from a season ago. The situation was quite different last year as the team only returned three of their 38 goals from the 2003 season, yet the squad would go on to capture a conference championship and a top-five national ranking. Junior Justin McGeeney returns after posting team-high totals in points with 12 on five goals and two assists. Those marks helped him to land third team All-BIG EAST accolades. Tying McGeeney for the team lead in goals was Tony Megna. Demon Deacons In Season Openers... Wake Forest has an astounding 23-1-1 record in season openers over the past 25 years. The Demon Deacons only season opening loss came on Sept. 1, 1987 at Catabwa, 1-0. The Deacs have a 17-game unbeaten streak in season openers. Wake Forest has outscored their opponents in openers, 84-10, and has recorded 16 shutouts in the span including each of the past two seasons. All-time Season Openers 9.3.80 Catabwa W, 6-0 9.3.81 at Catabwa W, 8-0 9.9.82 at High Point W, 3-0 9.3.83 Western Carolina W, 4-0 9.5.84 UNC Asheville W, 8-0 9.1.85 Wooster W, 7-1 9.4.86 Berry W, 2-1 9.1.87 at Catabwa L, 0-1 9.1.88 Ohio State W, 2-1 9.1.89 TCU W, 3-0 8.31.90 Stetson W, 1-0 8.30.91 Jacksonville W, 1-0 9.5.92 Davidson W, 4-2 9.4.93 Syracuse W, 4-0 9.3.94 Manhatten W, 8-0 9.2.95 College of Charleston W, 3-1 8.30.96 Davidson W, 3-0 8.30.97 at Charlotte W, 1-0 9.1.98 Virginia Tech W, 1-0 9.1.99 Coastal Carolina W, 6-1 9.1.00 at Connecticut W, 2-1 (ot) 8.31.01 James Madison W, 2-0 8.30.02 St. Louis T, 1-1 8.29.03 Connecticut W, 2-0 9.3.04 at Ohio State W, 2-0Big Shoes To Fill... the Deacs lost eight seniors from a class that departed as the winningest in school history. Gone are All-American forward Scott Sealy, All-ACC midfielder Amir Lowery, James Riley, Stephen Keel, Ryan Caugherty, Matt Koh, Brent Pridgen and Tomy Szczyzpiorski. Sealy finished his Demon Deacon career as one of the most prolific scorers in school history. He finished second on the career chart for goals (43) and points (108). Sealy also finished in a tie for fourth place on the all-time assists chart with 22. He led Wake Forest last season with 17 goals, 10 assists and 44 points. For his effort, he was named 2004 ACC Offensive Player of the Year and first team All-ACC. The Demon Deacons will also be without the services of All-American central defender Michael Parkhurst who entered the MLS SuperDraft after his junior season. Parkhurst was in the starting lineup for every match the past three years -- a span of 62 consecutive starts. He was named 2004 ACC Defensive Player of the Year and first team All-ACC for the second consecutive year. Parkhurst was also named NSCAA All-America second team in 2003. Sealy and Parkhurst were each chosen in the first round of the 2005 MLS SuperDraft, while Riley and Lowery were selected in the second and fourth rounds respectively. The Deacs were the lone school to have four players drafted in 2005. Sealy and Parkhurst are the leading candidates for MLS Rookie of the Year and Parkhurst was the lone newcomer to appear in the 2005 MLS All-Star Game. Caugherty was picked in the MLS Supplemental Draft, but is now playing professionally in Denmark, while Keel has since signed with the Colorado Rapids. In all, the class went 57-18-7 (.738) in their four years -- the most victories over four years in school history. Poll Position... Wake Forest was among the top 25 in each of the three preseason polls. The Demon Deacons have now spent 53 straight weeks in the top 25. Wake Forest has eight games against teams ranked in the Soccer America preseason top 20 and 10 against schools that reached the 2004 NCAA Tournament. Moose Named To Hermann Trophy Watch List... Wake Forest senior forward Justin Moose was placed on the Hermann Trophy Watch List. A total of 25 of the nation's finest college soccer players were mentioned. Moose joins former Demon Deacons Brian Carroll (2002), William Hesmer (2003), Jeremiah White (2003) and Michael Parkhurst (2004) as candidates for college soccer's equivalent to the Heisman Trophy. Moose, a native of Statesville, N.C., was the Deacs' second-ever NSCAA first team All-America selection in 2004. He was named to the NSCAA All-South first team after being awarded second team in 2003. Moose was second on Wake Forest in points (19) and goals (7). He also earned All-ACC second team in 2004, despite missing five matches due to injury. With one season remaining, Moose already ranks in a tie for fifth all-time with 20 career assists. Four Wake Forest Freshmen Recognized By College Soccer News... The quartet of Cline Beam, Sam Cronin, Jamie Franks and Marcus Tracy were honored by College Soccer News as four of the nation's top 100 impact freshmen. Beam, a native of Augusta, Ga., was a NSCAA Youth All-American in 2003 and 2004, attended the adidas ESP Camp and was a member of the 1986 Region III ODP squad. Cronin, a Winston-Salem product, was also a NSCAA Youth All-American last season at Mount Tabor HS. Franks, a native of Medford, N.J., was New Jersey High School Player of the Year, a Parade High School All-American and was twice named NSCAA Youth All-American. Franks has also suited up for the U.S. Under-18 National Team. Tracy, a Newtown, Conn. product, was named Parade High School All-American and was the Connecticut High School Player of the Year. Moose Named 2005 All-Premier Development League... Senior Justin Moose was named to the 2005 Premier Development All-League Team as announced by the United Soccer League. The honor recognizes 11 of the best players in the PDL for the past regular season as voted on by team coaches and general managers. Moose is one of two players on the All-League Team representing a club that missed the postseason. He was named to the All-Conference Team for the second consecutive year and makes his All-League debut. Moose helped lead Carolina within a point of the playoffs at 9-6-1. He scored nine goals and dished out four assists in 15 games. He registered seven goals and two assists in 13 games last season for the Dynamo. Another ACC Regular Season Title... Wake Forest captured the 2004 ACC Regular Season Championship -- its second in the past three years. Solle Not Selfish... junior Ryan Solle finished second on the team in assists with nine in 2004. He just missed out of becoming the fourth player in school history to ever reach 10+ assists in a single-season. Road Warriors... the Deacons finished the 2004 season at 6-1-0 on the road and 9-2-1 away from Spry Stadium. Wake Forest has only completed one season without a single road loss -- 2002 when the Deacs finished the entire regular season unbeaten. Model Of Consistency... after finishing the 2004 season with a 14-5-2 record, Wake Forest has eclipsed the 10-win plateau for 11 consecutive seasons -- all under current head coach Jay Vidovich.
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