Sports > September 6, 2007

By Alisha Talbot | Staff writer

The No. 19 Lady Deacons soccer team ended on a strong note Labor Day weekend in the San Diego Tournament. Although the team lost the first game 2-1 to the San Diego Torreros, the Deacs came back in true Demon Deacon spirit to defeat Pepperdine 2-0.

The Aug. 31 opener to the Torreros was a close game for the Deacs and although the team led in overall shots 12-6, they could not pull out the win. Junior Amy Smerdzinksi scored the only goal of the night with a penalty kick.

Despite the season opener upset, the Deacs came back to have a decisive victory over Pepperdine.

Although Wake shot a total of 13 shots, it was sophomores Caitlin Farrell and Allie Sadow that fired the two goals of the game.

Farrell scored the first goal of the game, giving the Deacs a lead in the first five minutes. Sadow was assisted by freshman Samantha Germano to score her seventh career goal and second goal of the game.

The Pepperdine Waves were only able to get a total of three shots thanks to the strong Deacon defense.

Amanda Barasha made an outstanding freshman debut against Pepperdine. Senior midfielder Kristina Hanely was invaluable to the shut out accomplished by the Deacs in the second game of the season.

The Lady Deacs next returned home to try and defend their 1-1 record against the Long Beach State 49ers.

The first half of the game started off slow with the Demon Deacons controlling the pace of the game for much of the first 45 minutes.

Wake Forest recorded nine shots in the first half and managed to keep the 49ers completely away from their own goal.

Despite the large number of shots, the Deacs were unable to score in the first half.

The second half of the game started off with Wake Forest reconciling the missed shots in the first half. Sophomore forward Jill Hutchinson found the back of the net off an assist by fellow sophomore forward Sarah Winslow.

The Deacons maintained the lead for the rest of the half winning the game 1-0 and moving to 2-1 on the season.

The Lady Deacs next face Loyola (Md.) Sept. 7.