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Tony da Luz
Tony da Luz

Position:
Head Coach

Experience:
15th season

Alma Mater:
San Diego, 1985

02/09/2012

Deacons Sign Three For Fall 2012 Class

Jenai Davidson, Katie Dry and Taylor Waters will join the Demon Deacons in August

12/24/2011

Season's Greetings From Wake Forest Athletics

A message from Athletics Director Ron Wellman

12/13/2011

Women's Soccer Video Thank You Message

Watch the video for a special thank you message from the Wake Forest women's soccer team

12/03/2011

Post-Game Quotes - Duke 4, Wake Forest 1

Post-Game quotes following the Deacons' loss in the College Cup

12/02/2011

Deacons Fall To Duke in College Cup Semifinals

Wake Forest concludes its best season in school history at 18-4-4

12/13/2011

College Cup Behind the Scenes

11/29/2011

Tony da Luz - Press Conference

Head women's soccer coach Tony da Luz talks to the media before the Deacs depart for the College Cup in Kennesaw, Ga.

11/25/2011

NCAA Quarterfinals - Wake Forest def. UCF

Wake Forest topped UCF 3-0 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament

As head coach of the Wake Forest women's soccer team for the last 15 of the program's 18 seasons, Tony da Luz has built the Demon Deacons into an ACC and national powerhouse. He has a 191-107-28 record at Wake Forest, with his 191 wins trailing only legendary North Carolina coach Anson Dorrance among coaches of ACC programs since the conference first recognized women's soccer in 1987.

Under da Luz's guidance, Wake Forest has earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament in 16 consecutive seasons, the sixth-longest active streak in the country, and in 2011 he achieved his greatest success to date, leading the Demon Deacons to their first-ever College Cup appearance.

Recent years have seen Wake Forest reach a new level of women's soccer prominence. The Deacons captured the 2010 ACC Championsip, the first in the history of the program, and made a return trip to the ACC Tournament final in 2011.

Wake Forest's success under da Luz has not only been limited to the conference level. In addition to their 16 straight NCAA Tournament appearances, the Deacons have also advanced to at least the second round in six straight seasons and have reached the NCAA Quarterfinals in two of the past three years - culminating in the program's first College Cup in 2011.

Under da Luz's guidance, Wake Forest has constantly produced some of the most talented players in the nation. Recently, U.S. U-20 International Katie Stengel led the ACC in scoring in both her freshman and sophomore years, scoring 16 goals in 2010 and 19 goals in 2011, becoming the first-ever Wake Forest player to lead the conference in scoring and the first player since North Carolina's Mia Hamm in 1992 and 1993 to win the ACC's goal-scoring title in back-to-back seasons. Stengel was named the 2011 ACC Offensive Player of the Year, the first Demon Deacon to take home that award, after having taken home ACC Freshman of the Year and Top Drawer Soccer National Freshman of the Year honors in her freshman season.

In total 35 Deacs have earned All-ACC honors under da Luz, including 12 first-team selections, one ACC Player of the Year and three ACC Rookies of the Year.

Da Luz has helped guide four Freshmen All-Americans and 11 to the ACC All-Freshman team, including one National Rookie of the Year winner. Also, 23 Deacs have been named All-Southeast Region and 12 have been selected to ACC Championship all-tournament teams, while the team has continually been ranked among the top-25 in the nation.

Long respected as one of the nation's top managers, da Luz was named the 1998 ACC Coach of the Year in a vote of his peers.

The 2011 season was the culmination of da Luz's methodical build-up of Wake Forest to one of the nation's elite teams. Led by ACC Offensive Player of the Year Katie Stengel along with 12-goal scorer Rachel Nuzzolese and All-ACC First Team performer Aubrey Bledsoe, the team jumped out to an 11-1-1 start before closing out a fourth-place finish in the ACC. The Deacons turned it up a notch in the postseason, upsetting top-seed Duke to reach the ACC Championship Match for the second year in a row, and earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the first time before posting multi-goal wins over Oakland, Boston University, Penn State and UCF to reach their first-ever College Cup. The 2011 squad finished with a program-best 18-4-4 record and was ranked as high as No. 3 nationally in the NSCAA poll and No. 1 in the NCAA RPI ranking - with both marks the highest in program history.

Da Luz achieved what might be his most impressive accomplishment in 2010 when he guided a team that was picked to finish seventh in the preseason to the program's first-ever ACC Championship. Under his tutelage, freshman forwards Katie Stengel and Rachel Nuzzolese established themselves as one of the most dynamic striking duos in the nation. As a rookie, Stengel set new school records with 16 goals and 37 points and received numerous honors, including ACC Freshman of the Year and TopDrawerSoccer National Rookie of the Year. She became the first freshman in Wake Forest history to earn First Team All-ACC honors.

Da Luz enjoyed one of his most successful seasons in 2009, as the Demon Deacons finished the year with a 16-6-2 record and advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. Wake Forest's national ranking was as high as No. 5 during the season, then highest ranking in program history, and the Deacs finished the year with a No. 8 national ranking. Goalkeepers Amanda Barasha and Laura Morse combined for a program record 15 clean sheets during the year. Led by All-Americans Kaley Fountain and Jill Hutchinson, Wake Forest easily advanced to the Round of 16 in the 2009 NCAA Tournament, picking up a pair of home victories with a 2-0 win against Kennesaw State and a 3-0 victory against West Virginia. Wake reached its first quarterfinal appearance in program history with a dramatic 1-0 win at South Carolina on Bess Harrington's header goal as time expired. The magical run came to an end in the quarters as Wake fell, 5-2, at eventual national champion North Carolina.

The 2007 season was another successful one for the Demon Deacons. Wake Forest finished the season with a 13-7-3 record, including an impressive 6-2-2 mark in the ACC to tie for second place - its highest-ever conference finish. The Deacons advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th straight year, defeating Boston University in the first round, before falling to Connecticut in the second round.

Prior to coming to Wake Forest, da Luz coached five years at the University of San Diego, where he compiled a 46-42-3 record. Da Luz was entrusted with starting the San Diego program from the ground up in 1992 and in his final two seasons he guided his teams to a 25-13-2 mark.

His final season at San Diego was his most impressive, leading the Toreros to a 15-7-1 record and into the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 1996.

His success at San Diego earned him West Coast Conference Coach of the Year honors in 1996. He was named the West Region Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association.

Da Luz has been coaching for 20 years. He worked as an assistant coach for the San Diego men's team from 1985 until 1991. He has also been active in coaching at the youth level with his involvement with the Winston-Salem Twins Club organizations.

Da Luz achieved success as a player as a midfielder and defender while at San Diego. He was an All-WCC honorable mention selection in both 1981 and 1982. As team captain in 1982, he led the Toreros in assists and earned the team MVP award.

Da Luz earned his bachelor's degree in Business Administration from San Diego in 1985. He and his wife, Amy, reside in Winston-Salem and have three children Tyler, Austin and Jonah. Austin, who was an All-ACC selection for the Wake Forest men's soccer team, currently plays for DC United in Major League Soccer.

Da Luz's Year-by-Year College Head Coaching Record
Season School W L T Pct. W L T Pct. Conference Finish NCAA Finish
1992 San Diego 5 10 0 .333 0 4 0 .000 5th ---
1993 San Diego 8 8 0 .500 3 3 0 .500 t-3rd ---
1994 San Diego 8 11 1 .425 3 4 0 .429 t-5th ---
1995 San Diego 10 6 1 .618 5 2 0 .714 3rd ---
1996 San Diego 14 6 1 .690 5 2 0 .714 t-2nd R2
1997 Wake Forest 11 8 2 .571 1 6 0 .143 7th R1
1998 Wake Forest 13 7 1 .643 4 3 0 .571 4th R1
1999 Wake Forest 16 6 1 .717 4 3 0 .571 t-3rd R3
2000 Wake Forest 11 8 2 .571 4 3 0 .571 t-2nd R2
2001 Wake Forest 9 9 2 .500 3 4 0 .429 t-5th R1
2002 Wake Forest 13 8 1 .614 2 4 1 .357 t-7th R2
2003 Wake Forest 10 7 3 .575 1 4 2 .286 7th R1
2004 Wake Forest 10 7 2 .579 4 4 1 .500 t-5th R1
2005 Wake Forest 9 9 1 .500 4 6 0 .400 7th R1
2006 Wake Forest 16 6 1 .717 6 4 0 .600 3rd R2
2007 Wake Forest 13 7 3 .630 6 2 2 .700 t-2nd R2
2008 Wake Forest 13 8 0 .619 5 5 0 .500 6th R2
2009 Wake Forest 16 6 2 .739 5 3 2 .625 5th QF
2010 Wake Forest 13 8 3 .604 5 4 1 .550 5th (ACC Champs) R2
2011 Wake Forest 18 4 4 .769 5 2 3 .650 t-4th SF
USD Totals (5 seasons) 45 41 3 .522 16 15 0 .516
WFU Totals (15 seasons) 191 108 28 .627 59 57 12 .508
Overall (20 seasons) 236 149 31 .605 76 72 12 .513
College Cup