Sept. 2, 2010

Wake Forest Notes | Seton Hall Notes

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - After picking up a pair of exhibition wins, the third-ranked Wake Forest men's soccer team opens the 2010 regular season this weekend with a pair of matches. The Deacs face Seton Hall in the regular season lid-lifter on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Macpherson Stadium in Greensboro, before returning home on Sunday to face preseason No. 1 Akron at 7 p.m.

Admission to Friday's game against the Pirates is $5 per car. Tickets for Sunday's contest against Akron are $6 and can be purchased in advance at WakeForestSports.com or at the stadium on gameday. Soccer season passes are $45 for adults and $25 for youth (3-18) and seniors (55+).

Wake Forest finished the preseason with a 2-0 record after defeating Georgia State, 3-1, and besting Furman, 3-2. Sophomore Andy Lubahn led the Deacs in the preseason with three goals, including a pair of goals in the win at Furman. Freshman Jared Watts recorded three points in the two exhibition matches with a goal and an assist. Freshman Luca Gimenez scored a goal in the win against Georgia State, while sophomore Ben Newnam had the game-winning goal against Furman. Freshman Chris Duvall had two assists in the preseason and fellow rookie Kyle Emerson had a helper against Furman.

The Demon Deacons return six starters and 14 letterwinners from the 2009 squad that finished the year with a 17-4-3 record, earned a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title with a 5-2-1 league record and advanced to the College Cup for the fourth consecutive season. The Wake Forest roster also features 10 freshmen, including three rookies that were named freshmen to watch by College Soccer News.

Seton Hall finished the 2009 year with a 4-10-3 record, including a 1-7-3 record in the Big East. The Pirates return 10 starters from last year's team and a total of 20 letterwinners. Seton Hall finished the preseason with a 2-0-1 record, earning wins against Stony Brook and Lehigh, while tying Rutgers.

Senior Andrew Welker is the leading returning scorer for Seton Hall. Welker finished the 2009 season with 19 points, scoring eight goals and three assists. Senior Dritan Sela, who tallied six goals and three assists in 2009, also returns for the Pirates.

The Pirates will have to replace departed goalkeeper Paul McHenry, who started all 17 games for Seton Hall in 2009 and finished the year with a 1.76 goals against average, while making 93 saves. The only other returning keeper who saw time in net for the Pirates in 2009 is redshirt sophomore Michael Kuzan, who appeared in one game and made two saves.

Akron, which advanced to the national championship match last season and finished the year with a 23-1-1 record, returns eight starters and 11 letterwinners. Akron went 1-1 in the preseason with a win over VCU and a loss at South Florida.

The Zips, who are the consensus preseason No. 1 team in the country, are led by four players who were named preseason All-Americans by Soccer America. Junior Darlington Nagbe is the leading returning scorer for Akron with 10 goals and three assists in 2009. Senior Anthony Ampaipitakwong finished 2009 with eight goals and five assists. Joining Nagbe and Ampaipitakwong as preseason All-Americans were junior Kofi Sarkodie (3g, 7a) and sophomore Zarek Valentin.

In goal, sophomore David Meves returns as the Akron starter. Meves started 25 games in 2009 and allowed just seven goals, posting a miniscule 0.28 goals against average. Meves finished the year with 17 shutouts and made 48 saves.

Wake Forest and Seton Hall will be meeting for the first time in series history, while the Deacs hold a 2-1-0 advantage in the series against Akron entering Sunday's match.

Live stats and a recap of both games this weekend will be available on WakeForestSports.com.

For all of the latest information on Wake Forest men's soccer, please log on to www.WakeForestSports.com or, for up-to-the-minute updates, follow the team's Twitter account @wakemenssoccer or www.twitter.com/wakemenssoccer.