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Nov. 11, 2003

Deacons Enter 2003 ACC Tournament as Two-Seed...
on a 10-match winning streak, Wake Forest comes to the 2003 ACC Tournament as the two-seed. In Wednesday's quarterfinal, Wake Forest (14-3) will face Duke (8-9-1) at 5:30 p.m. in Cary, N.C. at the SAS Soccer Complex. The regular season meeting between the teams took place on October 31 in Winston-Salem where the Deacons won 4-0 behind goals from Steven Curfman, Jeremiah White, Scott Sealy and Ryan Alexander. When the teams meet in postseason play, the series is tied 1-1-1. In all meetings, Duke leads the all-time series 17-9-5. After winning the regular season title in 2002, the Demon Deacons are seeking their first tournament championship since 1989.

Did You Know?
A Wake Forest win against Duke in the ACC quarterfinals would break the school record for consecutive wins. It would be the 11th straight victory. The previous record was ten set between September 27-November 5, 1999. A win would also give the Deacons 15 this season which would tie the WFU record set in 1989 and 2002.

Last Time Out...
Wake Forest closed the regular season with a 2-0 victory at UNC Greensboro.
Scott Sealy scored two first half goals, his 10th and 11th this season, to give the Deacons a cushion. Fifth year senior goalkeeper Brad McEachern and the Deacon defense preserved the shutout, the team's eighth this year. The win was Wake Forest's tenth in a row to tie a school record originally set in 1999. The Demon Deacons are 7-0 this season against schools located in North Carolina.

White Selected as ACC Player of the Year...
senior All-American forward Jeremiah White was named as the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, the league announced on Tuesday. White becomes the first Wake Forest player in history to earn the honor and to be selected to the All-ACC first team three straight years.

Hesmer, White Tabbed as Hermann Trophy Finalists...
senior All-Americans William Hesmer and Jeremiah White have been selected as two of 15 finalists for the most coveted individual award in college soccer, the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy. Both were repeat selections to the All-ACC first team. White has seven goals and three assists in 12 games. Hesmer owned a 0.77 goals against average and five shutouts in 15 games before suffering a season-ending injury on November 5 against Davidson.

Deacons Dot the All-ACC Teams... a program record of nine Deacons were recognized on the All-ACC first, second and freshman teams.

Jeremiah White was joined on the first team by William Hesmer and sophomore defender Michael Parkhurst. It was Hesmer's third straight appearance, the second season on the first team. Parkhurst makes his first showing on the first team after being listed as a second teamer in 2002. Sophomore midfielder Justin Moose made the second team for the second straight year. On the second team, earning their first-ever All-ACC recognition were senior midfielder Vicente Bastidas, junior midfielder Amir Lowery and junior forward Scott Sealy. Steven Curfman and Wells Thompson made the ACC All-Freshman team.

Hesmer Out For the Season...
the senior season for All-American goalkeeper William Hesmer came to an early end on November 4 when he suffered season-ending injuries in his left knee and right thigh in a game against Davidson. In a collision with a Davidson player, Hesmer damaged the posterior collateral ligament in his left knee and developed a hematoma in his right thigh, possibly resulting from a muscle tear.

Hesmer underwent emergency surgery on Wednesday, November 6 to treat the hematoma. Doctors at the Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center expect recovery time to last at least six months.

Hesmer's soccer resume is as impressive as any player in the 24-year history of Wake Forest soccer. A two-year captain, he is the school's career leader in goals against average and shutouts. This week, he was named as a finalist for the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy. He is a three-time All-ACC selection, twice a member of the first team. As a true freshman in 2000, Hesmer made the All-ACC Tournament team.

During Hesmer's two-year captainship, he led the Deacons to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances, an undefeated regular season (2002) and 23 straight weeks ranked in the top ten.

McEachern Takes Over in Goal...
with William Hesmer out for the season, the goalkeeping responsibilities fall into the hands of fifth-year senior Brad McEachern. Entering the ACC Tournament, McEachern has 15 career appearances, five starts and four shutouts. In 672 career minutes, the native of Arcadia, Calif., owns a sparkling career goals against average 0.80 goals against average.

He did not see any game action in 2000. Therefore, McEachern was able to use that year as a redshirt season.

McEachern graduated last May with a degree in economics and planning on joining the work force. In August, he opted to return to graduate school at Wake Forest. He re-joined the Deacons a couple days into the preseason.

McEachern appeared in the High Point, Gardner-Webb and Duke games before getting pressed into regular action.

Wake Forest's Offense Ranks First in the ACC, Sixth Nationally...
scoring 2.47 goals per game, the Demon Deacons rank sixth in NCAA Division I. That statistic is truly born out of a team effort as 14 different Deacons have scored goals in 17 games. Cal State Northridge leads the nation at three goals per game. Coastal Carolina (2.82), Florida Atlantic (2.63), UCLA (2.56) and Florida International (2.56) comprise the top five.

The Defense Is Pretty Good, Too...
Wake Forest's defense ranks third in the ACC, 17th nationally, at 0.71 goals allowed per game. In fact, the Deacons have shutdown some of the most high-powered offenses in the country. Coastal Carolina and Virginia Tech rank second and tenth nationally. Both squads were shutout by the Deacons. During the regular season, Wake Forest faced seven of the top 35 offenses in the country and shutout four of them. Only Old Dominion (2), Maryland (1) and Gardner-Webb (1) scored.

A Wake Forest Win Today Would...
allow the Deacons to advance to the ACC Tournament semifinals for the fifth straight year... improve the Deacons' record to 15-3 overall, including a 5-2 mark against ACC opponents this year... set a new school record for consecutive wins at 11... tie a program record for most wins in a single season (15)... improve Wake Forest's record against schools from North Carolina to 8-0 this season, 22-0-2 since the beginning of the 2001 season... increase Wake Forest's unbeaten streak against Duke to five games... give 10th-year head coach Jay Vidovich his 119th career victory, his fourth in the ACC Tournament.

A Wake Forest Loss Today Would...
eliminate the Deacons in the first round of the ACC Tournament for the first time since 1998... drop the Deacons to 14-4 overall, 4-2 against ACC opponents this year... snap Wake Forest's 10-match winning streak, giving the Deacons their first loss since Sept. 27... give Wake Forest its first loss to a North Carolina school since November 10, 2000, a 1-0 loss to North Carolina in the ACC Tournament, a stretch of 23 games.

Poll Position...
Wake Forest is ranked second this week by the NSCAA (tied with Maryland) and third by Soccer America. The Demon Deacons have now spent 38 straight weeks in the top 25 and 23 straight weeks in the top 10. They are in the top five for the fifth straight week.

Six of WFU foes are in the top 25 this week including Coastal Carolina, Maryland, Old Dominion, St. John's, North Carolina and Virginia Tech. Wake Forest opponents such as South Carolina, Connecticut, Virginia and Duke have appeared in the top 25 this year.