Sports > November 13, 2008

By Connor Swarbrick | Sports editor

The No. 1-ranked Wake Forest men’s soccer team finished their first ever undefeated season with a victory over Virginia Nov. 7 before beginning the ACC tournament Wednesday, Nov. 12, against N.C. State.

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Senior Jamie Franks pass the ball up the sideline in the Deacs’ recent win over Boston College. The Deacs will play in the ACC semifinals Nov. 14. (Kelly Makepeace/Old Gold & Black)

The unbeaten regular season marked the second in Wake Forest history, joining the 2002 team that finished the regular season with a 15-0-4 record.

The top-seeded Deacons found themselves down early to eighth-seeded Wolfpack, but that didn’t last long.

Ronnie Bouemboue took on three Wake Forest defenders in the 12th minute. He turned sharply, got the Deacs flat-footed and junior Akira Fitzgerald had no chance in goal as Bouemboue moved the ball from the ride side to the far post.

The goal was a result of the Wolfpack’s aggressive style, a style that is in stark contrast to the Deacons’ controlled offense.

Notably, senior Marcus Tracy did not start for the Deacs, but that didn’t mean their offense was lacking.

After a quick one-two combination pass, senior Jamie Franks found the net crossing the ball from the left side to the right post in the 22nd minute to tie the game at 1-1.

Senior Evan Brown, who was pushing up from his back position all match long, got a rebound and pounded it into upper right corner of the net to give the Deacs a 2-1 lead with six minutes left in the first half.

With 22 minutes left, the Deacs’ methodical style of play wore down the Wolfpack. Junior Cody Arnoux was fouled in the box and senior captain Sam Cronin capitalized on the penalty kick. This gave the Deacs the momentum.

Just three minutes later, Wake Forest put the game out of reach and made it 4-1. Senior Michael Lahoud played a ball over the top that found senior Lyle Adams in the corner. Adams crossed it back up the field to sophomore Corben Bone, who buried the ball in the back of the net.

Down early, the Deacs never panicked. They out shot the Wolfpack 21-10. Six of those shots were on goal for the Deacs. The Deacons played their game and as a result were able to advance to the semifinals where they will face Virginia.

Wake Forest (17-0-1, 7-0-1 ACC) capped off the regular season when they traveled to Virginia to take on the 9-7-1 Cavaliers. The potent Deacon offense jumped on the Cavaliers’ early scoring two goals in the first 20 minutes.

The two goals brought Wake Forest’s total to 62 on the season, 32 of which were scored in ACC play. The 32 goals ranks as the most ever in conference play by Wake Forest and the Deacs are eight goals shy of tying for the most goals in a season in program history.

The Deacs finish the regular season having allowed only 12 goals, posting a goal differential of a staggering 50 goals.

The Deacons out shot Virginia 14-9, including an 8-1 advantage in shots on goal. Just about the only edge the Cavaliers had was corner kicks, with eight corner kicks compared to five for Wake Forest.

In the sixth minute, Cronin played a cross from the right side to find a diving Arnoux.

Arnoux headed the ball into the right side of the net for his team-leading 14th goal of the season.

The Deacons added on to their lead 15:50 into the game.

Cronin collected a loose ball and fired one of his signature shots from just outside the 18-yard box that went inside the left post for his seventh goal of the season.

Tracy nearly extended the lead to three in the 32nd and 38th minute, but he was unable to beat the Cavalier keeper.

The Deacons continued to fire on goal while holding the Virginia offense in check, especially in the closing minutes as they tried to rally.

Cronin led the way offensively for the Demon Deacons with his goal and assist.

Wake Forest extends its unbeaten streak to 23 games, dating back to last season. The 23-game unbeaten streak is the longest in program history.

Wake Forest led all ACC schools with seven players named to the All-ACC team, including sophomore Ike Opara, who was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

Head Coach Jay Vidovich earned ACC Coach of the Year honors for the fourth time in his career after leading the Deacons to an unbeaten season following their 2007 national championship season.

Opara was named to the All-ACC First Team along with Arnoux, Bone, Cronin and Tracy.

The five first-team honorees marked the most for any one team since 1992, when Virginia placed five players on the first team.

Lahoud was named to the All-ACC Second Team.

Freshman defender Danny Wenzel was named to the All-ACC Freshman Team.

Duke’s Mike Grella was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, while Tony Tchani of Virginia picked up ACC Freshman of the Year honors.