Sports > November 6, 2008

By Steven Johns | Staff writer

The Wake Forest women’s soccer team entered the ACC tournament on a high note after a win Nov. 2 over Virginia. That win gave them the sixth seed in the tournament, and as the seeding would have it, the Deacs met the Cavilers in the first round just three days after their previous match up.

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Senior midfielder Amanda Lebo beats a defender in a game earlier this season. While the Deacs defeated Virginia in their final regular season game they fell to them in the first round of the ACC tournament. (Mary Kate Wagner/Old Gold & Black)

However, the Deacs were unable to capture their momentum as they suffered an overtime loss to the Cavaliers at WakeMed Soccer park in Cary, N.C.

In the 16th minute senior Amy Smerdzinski gave the Deacs an early 1-0 lead.

Smerdzinski’s goal was the lone one of the half in which Virginia out shot the Deacs 11-3.

Junior keeper Laura Morse had seven saves in the period.

The Cavaliers notched two unanswered goals in the second half when Sarah Senty found the back of the net in the 48th minute and Alli Fries beat Morse in the 75th minute.

With only two minutes remaining, redshirt senior midfielder Kristina Hanley tied the score at 2-2 sending the match into overtime.

Neither team scored in the first overtime as Morse saved two Cavalier shots on goal.

In the 104th minute Virginia ousted the Deacons from the ACC tournament when Sinead Farrelly scored on a pass from Senty.

The Nov. 2 game against the Cavaliers in Charlottesville, Va., was a defensive battle that allotted only 10 total shots between the two teams.

The Demon Deacons were able to put one of their three shots in the back of the net to record a 1-0 win over the No. 8-ranked Cavaliers.

“The kids executed the game plan to a tee,” Head Coach Tony da Luz said. “They did exactly what we asked them to do, as far as trying to control Virginia from a defensive side. They just followed the game plan.”

The offensive hero of the game was Smerdzinski, who took a pass from junior Allie Sadow and netted a goal in the 60th minute of the game. This goal gave Smerdzinski five goals on the year.

The Deacons were able to hold Virginia to seven shots, and only one of those was on goal. Morse has been the most reliable goalie for the Deacons as she has accumulated 40 saves over the season. The defense kept the Cavaliers to only three shots in the first half and only four in the second half to shut out Virginia.

“(The defense) prevented a lot of things from happening before it happened. The team pressure up in the midfield before it got to our defensive third or close to our goal was excellent,” da Luz said.

“The early team pressure just prevented Virginia’s from creating any real dangerous chances.”

This marked the 10th shut out of the year for the Deacons.

The leading scorer for the Demon Deacons on the season was junior forward Jill Hutchinson with nine goals and six assists on the season.

The Deacons finished the season with a record of 12-6-0 (5-5-0 ACC).

Junior defender Kaley Fountain along with Smerdzinski were named to the 2008 All-ACC Second Team.

Both Fountain and Smerdzinski earned All-ACC honors last season as well. In 2007 Fountain was a first team selection, while Smerdzinski earned second team honors.

Fountain started 14 games for the Deacs and has scored two goals on the season and added four assists.

Smerdzinski, a Chantilly, Va., native, who has started every game this season, has five goals on the season to go along with two assists.

The lady Deacs will now wait to see where and what team they will play in the NCAA tournament.