The Demon Deacons journeyed south of the border to Clemson, S.C., looking for their third conference win, but found the Tigers to be untamable. Wake Forest faced off against the nationally ranked conference foe on Oct. 17 hoping to break back into the top 10.

Ninety minutes later, the Deacons ended with a 2-1 loss, recording their first defeat in the conference. The loss was disappointing for the Deacs, who currently sit atop the conference standings.

"We didn't execute the pre-game plan as well as we should have, creating some trouble," sophomore midfielder Lauren Claytor said. "It was our first loss in the ACC, which is disappointing, especially since we could have beaten Clemson, but not back breaking."

The offenses of both teams found their rhythm early, scoring all three goals by the end of the first half. Clemson scored first and early and did not relinquish the lead.

In the eighth minute Sara Turner pushed the ball up field, eluding the Deacon defense, and found an open Paige Ledford. Ledford crossed the ball into the penalty box to forward Heather Beem. Beem had perfect positioning 10 yards out and sent a bullet shot into the goal, recording her eighth of the season.

The Deacons, however, were not fazed by deficit. Two minutes later, the Deacs evened the score at 1-1. Senior midfielder Katie Johnson controlled the ball at midfield and sent a cross into the center. Junior forward Alena Thom received the pass around the 35-yard line, sending a curving shot into the back of the goal.

It appeared the 1-1 tie would stand at the half, but in the waning minutes Lindsay Browne found Deliah Arrington on the left side of the field. Arrington controlled the pass just inside the penalty area and scored the game-winning goal as her shot found its way past senior goalkeeper Erin Regan.

The Deacons returned to Winston-Salem and the friendly confines of Spry Stadium on Oct. 20 to face Colorado College. The Deacons recognized the necessity of a victory to start another win streak.

"We looked at the Colorado College game as the NCAA tournament because we have a week to recover," Claytor said. "This game was big for us because we have a hard schedule from here out. We need to start a run of wins so that we can have momentum going into the next three home ACC games."

Defending their home field, the Deacs shutout Colorado College, 4-0, logging their 12th victory of the season.

Junior forward Katherine Winstead scored the first of the four goals off a cross from sophomore forward Sara Creighton. With less than six minutes remaining in the half, freshman midfielder Sarah Kozey gave the Deacs some breathing room.

A shot by senior Tracy Chao hit the crossbar and Kozey gathered the rebound and scored the goal.

The Deacons continued the offensive attack in the second half. At the 62:16 mark, sophomore defender Meagan Mullins controlled a deflected ball in the box and immediately sent the shot back into the goal.

Mullins' second goal of the season was added insurance, but the Deacons weren't quite finished scoring.

Freshman defender Melanie Schneider received a pass from Kozey, scoring her second goal of the season and the fourth of the game for the Deacons.

The Demon Deacons will continue conference play on Oct. 26 against the Virginia Cavaliers.

The Virginia game begins a three game home stand against conference opponents, as the Deacs look to defend their position at the top of the conference.