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Women's soccer team continues perfection
By Margaret McKenzie
Old Gold and Black Reporter

Perfection — a simple word that the Demon Deacon women’s soccer team is growing accustomed to hearing this season. Taming their opponents was on the agenda as the Deacs easily controlled the Georgia Bulldogs and the Davidson Wildcats. The victories garnered the Deacs a national ranking of 13 and a flawless record of 5-0.

In the season’s first home game, the Deacons christened Spry Stadium with a convincing 3-1 victory over Georgia. Wasting no time, the Deacs set the tone early as junior defender Katherine Winstead scored the first goal of the game in the opening minutes. Winstead scored with the help of junior forward Alena Thom and sophomore midfielder Alli Hunt at the 8:33 mark. Feeling the rush and excitement from the first goal, Winstead decided to try it once again. In the waning moments of the first half, Thom connected with Winstead a second time. The junior’s shot hit the back of the net with less than five minutes till halftime, giving the Deacs a 2-0 advantage. The first half shutout was thanks to the stifling Deacon defense that dominated over Georgia, allowing only one shot compared to 13 for the Deacs.

As the second half opened, the Deacs continued to control the tempo. At the 50:31 mark, Winstead decided that she was not quite done with the scoring. Winstead controlled a long ball on the left side of the field and crossed it in front of the goal. Georgia freshman goalkeeper Nicole DiEnna dove out of the net in an attempt to deflect the ball, leaving the right side of the goal open. Sophomore forward Sarah Creighton scored the third and final goal for the Deacs when she drove the pass into the open net.

Winstead may have scored for the Deacs, but credits her teammates for the goals.

"Alena Thom deserves a whole lot of credit," Winstead said. "She did the dirty work and really created the goals. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. But scoring certainly helps boost your confidence and just being ahead in games takes a bit of the pressure off."

Three minutes later junior midfielder Ashley King began a rally for the Bulldogs. King received a pass from freshman forward Geneil Newborn and used her breakaway speed to get the step she needed. Slipping past the last line of Deacon defenders, King drilled a shot into the back of the net. The Deacons never counted the Bulldogs out and some trouble possessing the ball allowed Georgia a chance. But the comeback ended there for Georgia. The defense responded by not allowing another goal as senior goalkeeper Erin Regan tallied five saves.

"Before the game, we knew that the best defense was to possess the ball and attack. That was part of our original game plan," Winstead said. "Ultimately, though, Georgia did create some dangerous opportunities, but our defenders made some great plays, and Erin Regan came up huge in the goal."

The Deacs entered the Tuesday, Sept 10 match-up at Spry Stadium against Davidson with one agenda, to protect their perfect record. The play was tight throughout the game as neither team was able to take control of the game in the first half. Neither team was moving effectively off the ball, seeming to play sluggishly for the first period. Yet with under 30 minutes left in the half, Davidson broke the scoring drought.

Senior midfielder Tara Maloney centered a corner kick into the middle of the box for the Wildcats at the 15:27 mark. Confusion resulted as Davidson attacked the goal and junior forward Leigh Anne Hoskins managed to control the corner. Hoskins sent the ball just over the outstretched hands of sophomore goalkeeper Kenna Healy and the leaping senior defender Joline Charlton. But the shot was perfectly placed in the upper-right corner of the goal and Davidson took the lead 1-0. The Deacons controlled play for the next 10 minutes, but the offensive attack was filled with near misses. The 13 shots Wake Forest took in the first half all looked as if they might find the back of the net, but it wasn’t until the 24:56 mark that the Deacs tied the score. Playing aggressively, the defense was pushed up field, trying to catch the Wildcats off-guard. Senior defender Gabi Lieb sent the ball to the right side of the goal where junior defender A.B. Robbins headed a spectacular shot into the goal. For the remainder of the first half, neither team could find any offensive spark and the close calls continued for both offenses. The 1-1 tie stood at halftime.

As the second half opened, neither the Deacs nor the Wildcats could find any offensive groove. The defense shined, as both teams made several miraculous saves, but neither could score. With less than 15 minutes to play, Wake Forest broke the tie and would never trail again. Winstead plucked a Davidson goal kick at midfield, heading it to junior forward Thom. Thom controlled the pass and found streaking freshman midfielder Sarah Kozey. Kozey beat the defense, going right, and placed a perfect shot of her own into the left corner, giving the Deacs a 2-1 advantage. Winstead and Thom combined one more time to add an insurance goal with 10 minutes left. Winstead received a pass on the right line, dribbling towards the corner. She out-maneuvered two Davidson defenders and crossed the ball inches in front of the goal. Thom headed the ball into the goal, to give the Deacs their third and final goal.

The defense shone for the Demon Deacons in the contest as Kenna Healy recorded three saves on eight Davidson shots and senior defender Melissa Murray-Hobbs made several goal-saving plays.

The strong start is not a surprise to the Deacons. "It’s very exciting to start the season so well." Winstead said. "Simply looking at the quality of our team, we knew we had the potential to get off to a great start, so we’re very pleased that we’ve actually been able to do it."

Wake Forest will look to continue the perfect season this weekend as they host the Adidas Invitational Sept 13-15. The four-team tournament will pit the Deacons against Loyola Marymount, Southern California and Vanderbilt. The tournament will be the final preparation before conference play begins against Maryland on Sept. 20.