Nov. 17, 2005
Wake Forest Opens 2005 NCAA Tournament With No. 17 South Carolina
No. 23 Wake Forest opens the 2005 NCAA Tournament with No. 17 South Carolina in the first round Friday, Nov. 18. Kickoff at Spry Stadium is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. With a victory, the Demon Deacons would advance into the second round and face No. 10 seed Old Dominion in Norfolk on Tuesday. Kickoff would be 7 p.m.
Record
Wake Forest is 11-7-2 overall after its showing in the ACC Tournament. The Deacons blanked Boston College, 4-0, before losing to top-seed Maryland, 2-1.
Ranking
Wake Forest is ranked No. 19 by the NSCAA and No. 23 in Soccer America.
Coach
Jay Vidovich is in his 12th year, all at Wake Forest, with a mark of 145-74-21.
Vidovich In The NCAA Tournament
Vidovich has guided Wake Forest to the NCAA Tournament each of the past five seasons and six times during his tenure. For his career, Vidovich is 3-4-1 in the NCAA Tournament.
Last Year's Result
After earning a first round bye, top seed Wake Forest routed UCF, 5-0, in the second round. The Demon Deacons then faced VCU in the third round, but the Rams advanced into the quarterfinals on penalty kicks.
Deacons in the NCAA Tournament
Wake Forest is making its fifth straight and 10th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Demon Deacons are 4-8-1 all-time and have played just one road game in the event.
The program has advanced to the round of 16 three times, first in 1989, then in 2002 and again last year in 2004. Wake Forest was the tournament's top seed last season and 2002. The Deacons were the third seed in 2003 and 1989.
Eight of the ACC's nine teams made the tournament field, including six that were among the NCAA Tournament's top-16 seeds. Eleven of Wake Forest's regular season opponents made the NCAA Tournament, including three non-conference opponents. The complete list includes Clemson, Duke, Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, South Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech and UNC Greensboro. The Deacons went 4-7-1 in those games. Here is a look at Wake Forest against the field:
*Sep 02 at #1 Indiana L 0-1
Sep 04 vs #16 Notre Dame W OT 1-0
Sep 09 vs South Carolina W 3-0
*Sep 18 at #10 Duke L O2 2-3
*Sep 23 Virginia Tech W 2-1
*Sep 30 at #16 Maryland L 1-3
Oct 12 Clemson T O2 0-0
*Oct 22 #14 North Carolina L OT 0-1
Oct 26 at #14 UNC Greensboro W 1-0
*Oct 30 at #17 NC State L 1-2
*Nov 04 #11 Virginia L OT 1-2
*Nov 09 vs Maryland L 1-2
*- seeded among the top 16
Let's Get It Started
In the Demon Deacons nine previous appearances in the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, Wake Forest has gone 2-3-0 overall in the first round with each match taking place at Spry Stadium.
Last Time Out
Maryland senior All-American Jason Garey scored a goal midway through the second-half to lead the top seed and No. 1 ranked Terps past Wake Forest, 2-1, in the 2005 ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Nov. 9. Junior defender Steven Curfman scored the Deacons only goal on a penalty kick in the first-half.
A Win This Evening Would
... improve the Demon Deacons to 12-7-2 overall
... move the Deacs into the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the fifth consecutive year
... be the first ever victory over South Carolina in the NCAA Tournament
... make the Deacs 12-11-4 all-time against the Gamecocks
... be the fourth victory over South Carolina in the last five meetings
... give Wake Forest 12 or more victories for the fifth consecutive season and sixth time in the last seven years
... improve the Demon Deacons to 7-2-1 at Spry Stadium this season
... give the Deacons a record of 5-8-1 all-time in NCAA Tournament action
... make the Deacs 4-4-1 in the NCAA Tournament in the Vidovich era
... give Wake Forest a record of 3-3-0 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament
... improve Wake Forest to 5-7-1 all-time at home in the NCAA Tournament and 3-4-1 at Spry Stadium
... make the Deacs 69-21-9 (.742) all-time at Spry Stadium
... make the Demon Deacons 30-7-3 at home over the last four years
... give 12th-year head coach Jay Vidovich his 146th career victory
A Loss This Evening Would
... drop the Demon Deacons to 11-8-2 overall
... eliminate the Deacs from the NCAA Tournament in the first round for the first time since 1991
... snap the Deacons streak of four consecutive years of reaching the second round
... make Wake Forest 0-2 all-time against South Carolina in the NCAA Tournament
... make the Deacs 11-12-4 all-time against the Gamecocks
... be the second loss in the last three meetings with South Carolina
... deny Wake Forest a 12-victory season, snapping a streak of four consecutive
... drop the Demon Deacons to 6-3-1 at Spry Stadium this season
... give the Demon Deacons a record of 4-9-1 all-time in NCAA Tournament action
... make the Deacs 3-5-1 in the NCAA Tournament in the Vidovich era
... give Wake Forest a record of 2-4-0 all-time in the first round of the NCAA Tournament
... drop Wake Forest to 4-8-1 all-time at home in the NCAA Tournament and 2-5-1 at Spry Stadium
... make the Deacs 68-22-9 (.732) all-time at Spry Stadium
... make the Demon Deacons 29-8-3 at home over the last four years
Wake Forest Trends
... of Wake's seven losses this season, six have been by the slimmest margin of one goal, including three in overtime. In fact, four of the Deacons' five regular season defeats in the ACC were by just a single goal.
... the Demon Deacons have gone into overtime in six matches this season. Wake Forest is 1-3-2 in those overtime games.
... the North Carolina victory over Wake Forest on Oct. 22 at Spry Stadium was the first for the Tar Heels over the Deacs since 2000 and the first regular season victory for Carolina at Spry Stadium since 1997.
... since Wake Forest defeated Virginia Tech on Sept. 23, the Deacs went winless in their last six ACC matches (0-4-2). Wake Forest scored just four goals in those matches.
Scouting the Gamecocks
South Carolina earned one of 23 automatic bids to the tournament by winning the C-USA Tournament title. The Gamecocks are making their 18th appearance overall in the NCAA Tournament and their eighth in the last 11 years. Heading into the NCAA Tournament at 12-6-2, South Carolina is one of the nation's hottest teams. The Gamecocks stumbled to an 0-5-0 start, but have since responded by going 12-1-2 in their last 15 matches. In fact, since the first 10 days of the season, USC has lost only two matches. Junior Mike Sambursky leads South Carolina in points with 24 on eight goals and eight assists. Senior Josh Alcala is second on the squad with 22 points on seven goals and nine assists. Junior forward Ayo Akinsete has seven goals and has notched a pair of assists for a total of 16 points. Senior midfielder Eric Szeszycki has totaled 10 points (4 goals , 2 assists). Freshman goalkeeper Mike Gustavson sports a 1.15 goals-against average in 1,880:54 of action. Gustavson has compiled 83 saves and recorded four shutouts
Last Meeting With South Carolina
Wake Forest scored three first-half goals and cruised past South Carolina, 3-0, in action from the Carolina/Nike Classic on Sept. 9. Freshman Michael Lahoud scored a goal and assisted on another, while senior Justin Moose and junior Mark Ellington added the other two goals. The Deacons outshot the Gamecocks, 14-7.
Last NCAA Tournament Meeting With South Carolina
The Gamecocks pulled away with three second-half goals for a 5-1 victory over the Deacons in the second round of the 1989 NCAA Tournament. Ruben Tufino scored two goals, while Clark Brisson and Andrew Coggins each added a goal and assist in the victory. South Carolina outshot Wake Forest, 17-15, but the Deacs had a 7-1 advantage on corner kicks.
