Sports > October 25, 2007
Spotlight: Austin da Luz
By Allison Lange | Asst. sports editor
Sophomore Austin da Luz has high expectations for this year’s men’s soccer team, but he is determined to help the team head down that path. As a freshman, da Luz played in 17 games and started 10 of them.
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Roger Kirkpatrick/Old Gold & Black
This year, he’s played in 12 out of 13 games and accumulated a total of seven assists. Da Luz was named to the All-ACC Freshman team last year and led the Wake Forest freshmen class in shots, with a total of 35. The Old Gold & Black’s assistant sports editor Allison Lange sat down with da Luz to talk about being a member of the No. 1 team in the nation, his dad coaching the women’s soccer team and his favorite class that he’s taken at Wake Forest.
On being the No. 1 team in the nation: Having the No. 1 ranking is nice because we know that we are going to get the best out of every team we play, they all want a piece of us. Other than that we try not to think about it too much and just concentrate on getting better every day.
On this year’s goals: We won’t be satisfied with anything less than a National Championship. Getting to the Final Four last year was a great achievement, but it’s in the past and this year we want to be the last team standing. Winning the ACC is also very important to us. There is a lot of pride at stake there.
On being anyone for a day: I’d be Sam Cronin, no doubt. He’s got it all. Corben Bone would be a close second, but Sam is just a little better looking.
On playing a sport other than soccer: I don’t know what I would play. I’ve never really played any other sports. I’m not very good at anything because I’m not too athletic. I think I would probably just surf or something.
On his favorite class at Wake: My favorite class was probably Chemistry 108 with Professor King. I took it this summer with five of my teammates. Professor King is awesome so it was a lot of fun and we learned a lot.
On this year’s freshman class: The freshmen have all contributed greatly to the success of the team this year. Obviously Corben Bone and Ike Opara have been great assets and have adjusted to the college game very well, but each freshman has brought something positive to the table and fit into our family seamlessly.
On having his dad coach at Wake: It’s great (to have my dad here). I get to see him everyday and he’s always around to support me both on and off the field. He knows when to be a dad and when to be a coach, and he is always trying to help me be a better player.