Wake Women’s Soccer Remains Unbeaten After a Win and a Draw This Weekend

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons women’s soccer team (3-0-1) continued their strong start to the season against a pair of solid teams this past week, earning a 1-0 victory over Georgia (2-2) on Thursday, then following that up with their first ranked game of the season, taking a draw from No. 11 Auburn (2-0-2). They were a pair of scrappy, cagey, physical games for Wake, but the Deacs looked prepared for that kind of play in both contests, matching up very well against teams that thrive on physicality. They were both gritty, necessary results that kept Wake undefeated through two weeks heading into a five game road trip.

Wake opened the week with a doubleheader, with both the men’s and women’s soccer teams playing on Thursday. The women’s team opened things up in the evening, and they would pick up a big result against the Georgia Bulldogs in a cagey affair. It was sloppy on both sides, especially in the first half, but there weren’t a whole lot of chances either way. Wake’s press was giving Georgia’s backline all kinds of trouble, but when they won the ball up the field they just couldn’t find the right sequence of passes that would lead to a chance. There was one huge chance that fell to Liv Stowell in the first half, however, with a ball flashing across goal seemingly right to her feet with a wide open net to shoot at. A Georgia defender looked to have deflected it on the way to Stowell, though, as she failed to get even a slight touch on the ball to send it into the goal, leaving the two teams all square heading into the second half.

Nothing changed in the second 45 minutes, with Wake continuing to look the better of the two teams, but not by much, with both sides failing to create any substantive chances. The game seemed destined to end in a scoreless draw when lightning finally struck for the Deacs in the 77th minute. Caiya Hanks took a corner kick, swinging it in at the near post toward Tyla Ochoa, who would flick it on the volley off of the underside of the bar and in to give Wake the lead. It was a stellar finish from Ochoa for her first goal at the college level, and it would turn out to be the game winner, as the Deacs would see this one out in relative comfort to move to 3-0 on the season. In my opinion, Ochoa was the clear player of the match in this one, having been strong defensively and, of course, netting the game winner. Coach da Luz was also impressed with Ochoa’s performance, saying this about her efforts: “I’m super proud of her because the first three games or two games and the scrimmages she was a little in and out, not believing in herself. And for her to step in with Sophie gone and play 90 minutes and still be active in the last two minutes and being a part of it, I’m really proud of her just from a mental standpoint. She really hung in there and played tough.”

Ochoa’s wasn’t the sole performance that impressed Coach da Luz, who had this to say about his backline: “I loved our backline today, absolutely they did exactly what we wanted to do. We had to contain their number 28 on the right [Mallie McKenzie], who is a really good player, and I just don’t think she was very effective in the game, which is good for us to be able to take a big player and minimize their impact on the game.” Coach da Luz also had this to say of the freshman class that has come in this year and taken up a lot of minutes, especially up front: “They just keep popping up like somebody new, you know, in training. All of a sudden they pop up and you see something different from them. So I think it’s just getting a little bit more comfortable, and these are great games for them, development games. You play a really good big power five conference team, those are really good games. That’s gonna really prepare us for the ACC. This is an ACC level type of opponent. So I couldn’t be happier with the freshmen. They just don’t seem to be phased by what’s going on.” In the end, a good win and solid performance for Wake to continue their momentum going into a huge Sunday afternoon game.

On Sunday, Wake hosted the Auburn Tigers, a team that has shot up the United Soccer Coaches Poll rankings after a road draw at defending national champions and then No. 2 team in the country Florida State. With the Deacs playing at home, it was a huge opportunity to add a statement win to their résumé. Early on, it looked like they would push to do just that, as they would get some opportunities on the counter and put the Auburn backline under some pressure. However, they would get sucked into the kind of game that Auburn wanted to play, which was a very chippy, stop-start kind of game. The center official blew her whistle for 25 fouls during the game, with the most consequential of these coming in the 41st minute, when Giovanna DeMarco was judged to have bowled over an Auburn player in the area, giving the Tigers a chance to take the lead from the penalty spot. Anna Haddock stepped up for Auburn, but she sent her penalty into the knees of a diving Kaitlyn Parks, who then would swallow up the rebound to keep the score level. After the game, Parks had the following to say about her penalty kick save and how she approaches spot kicks: “I just get into more of an analytical spot, like reading her body language, her eyes, where she’s looking, her foot, just hopefully making an educated guess and I guessed the right way today.”

That was the biggest chance of the game, and although Auburn would get a couple of half chances, mostly from set pieces, in the second half, there would be no goals from either side. Coach da Luz had some mixed feelings about the game after the 90 minutes had finished: “I think the result was fair. We had our chances, but it wasn’t our day. I think if we can continue to focus on our soccer and not get into that, fouling and that kind of thing, we can outplay a lot of teams. The game didn’t have a lot of rhythm in the second-half. I thought we had an unbelievable start. The first 30 minutes or so we were really good. The soccer was fantastic. Created some good, really good chances in that first 30 minutes, and we could’ve put them away then, but it’s just a typical second game of the weekend and two tough SEC teams, you know, they’re both, both physical teams.So naturally, Sunday is gonna be a little bit ragged. But you know, the competition level is good for us. We fought. So this is a great preparation weekend for us when we get into ACCs.” Kaitlyn Parks echoed Coach da Luz’s sentiments about the kind of team that Auburn is and how that factored into the way the game was played: “I mean, that’s every SEC team. They’re very athletic, very physical, which is a bit different than the ACC, so something you haven’t gotten to see a lot of. I think this is a really good competitive atmosphere for us to move forward in the conference.”

Coach da Luz still had some glowing reviews for his backline, particularly surrounding Laurel Ansbrow and Tyla Ochoa, who have both come to be starters in the last few games: “She was outstanding with the ball, Laurel. She was really good, calm coming out of the back. And then Tyla, both games Georgia and today, defensively, a rock. She got forward pretty well and attacked well. So she’s playing with good confidence. You know our backline was really solid, really a strength for us today. So I’m stoked that we can have, on a weekend like this, two shutouts.” He also had great things to say about Emily Morris, who has come to be a great starter in the middle in the absence of Nikayla Small: “Yeah, she’s built on her spring performances. She was really solid. She just gives us tempo, and she’ll settle the game down when we need it to be settled down. She had a really good feed, got a couple shots today and was playmaking a little bit. She’s definitely made incredible progress. I think she’s still got a lot of upside, and I like what I see from her for sure.” Overall, though, I would say that the clear player of the match was Kaitlyn Parks, who had one of her best games in a Wake Forest jersey against Auburn. Coach da Luz had nothing but positive things to say about her performance: “She was really good. I mean, we had to defend a lot of some pieces because that’s what that team thrives on is just putting the ball in your box. So we prepared and made them aware of that. KP and our back four did a really good job of dealing with first and second balls.” In the end, it was a result that Wake can’t be too unhappy with against one of the top teams in the nation right now.

Wake is now going to be away for a long while, as the Deacs embark on their first game in a five game road trip on Thursday at High Point (0-2-2). The Panthers are the reigning Big South champions, but are off to a bad start this season, drawing their first two games and losing their last two. It’s a game that Wake will certainly be expected to win, and it’s one that they’ll likely need to win to keep their momentum going in a positive direction. They’ll follow this game up with a trip to Oakland University, where they’ll take on the 2-0-2 Golden Grizzlies. Oakland was picked to win the Horizon League this season, and shot out to a 2-0 start with a pair of shutouts on the road, but have tied both of their home games thus far. They have experience against a Power 5 team this season, taking a scoreless draw at home against Northwestern, but Wake will be looking to take advantage of a team that has scored only three goals in four games. Wake will have to play these games without some key starters, however, as Sophie Faircloth and Nikayla Small are both out. Coach da Luz stated that Small is likely redshirting this season after receiving surgery for a foot injury she suffered while with the Canada U-20 team. Small was one of Wake’s two All-ACC selections last season (All-Freshman Team) and one of their best players, so losing her for the season is a huge development. Sophie Faircloth, on the other hand, is expected to return this year after suffering a knee injury against Rhode Island. Her timeline for return was expected to be four to five weeks, but this news was released prior to a second visit with doctors on Monday. They’re crucial losses to Wake’s team, but the Deacs have persevered so far, and hopefully they will continue to do so.

FULL TRANSCRIPT TO INTERVIEWS:

Georgia 8/25

Coach da Luz:

“We absorbed some pressure in the first half and then in the second half I thought that we got the game back.We wore them down as the game went along, so, it was really good. You know, that’s that team’s gonna get better and better as they go and that’s a really mature team. Now you look at the roster, they got a bunch of juniors, a bunch of seniors, some 5th year transfers, and you know, we’ve got tons of freshmen and sophomores. That was my main concern is how we were going to adapt to that physical maturity and the way they play. But I thought we did a really good job.”

“I mean on the counter attacks I thought we got a couple chances here and there, but this is the most challenging team we’ve had so far. We were comfortable in both of the first games and we didn’t really have to worry too much about the opposition.”

“[Sophie Faircloth]’s got a little knee problem that Doc said we couldn’t play her. So she’s getting evaluated tonight and then they’re gonna be with the doctor again on Monday and see what the plans with her are. So she’ll be out on Sunday, she’s gonna be out Sunday for sure.”

“Laurel was gutsy, her and Zara. You know it’s been a while because Zara was with Canada on that long trip in Costa Rica. She only played one game when she was down there, so it’s been a while for her. They both, they both just, they were, they rocked. They were solid, really solid. Laurel had a great spring and really established herself in the spring. She’s all ready to go. Hopefully she’ll be able to recover by Sunday.”

“[Freshmen] just keep popping up like somebody new, you know, in training. All of a sudden they pop up and you see something different from them. So I think it’s just getting a little bit more comfortable, and these are great games for them, development games. You play a really good big power five conference team, those are really good games. That’s gonna really prepare us for the ACC. This is an ACC level type of opponent. So I couldn’t be happier with the freshmen. They just don’t seem to be phased by what’s going on.”

“I’m super proud of [Tyla] because the first three games or two games and the scrimmages she was a little in and out, not believing in herself. And for her to step in with Sophie gone and play 90 minutes and still be active in the last two minutes and being a part of it, I’m really proud of her just from a mental standpoint. She really hung in there and played tough. I loved our backline today, absolutely they did exactly what we wanted to do. We had to contain their number 28 on the right, who is a really good player, and I just don’t think she was very effective in the game, which is good for us to be able to take a big player and minimize their impact on the game.”

Auburn, 8/28

Coach da Luz:

“[Kaitlyn Parks] was really good. I mean we had to defend a lot of some pieces because that’s what that team thrives on is just putting the ball in your box. So we prepared and made them aware of that. KP and our back four did a really good job of dealing with first and second balls. They have a lot of size, and they’re older.”

“I think the result was fair. We had our chances, but it wasn’t our day. I think if we can continue to focus on our soccer and not get into that, fouling and that kind of thing, we can outplay a lot of teams. The game didn’t have a lot of rhythm in the second-half. I thought we had an unbelievable start. The first 30 minutes or so we were really good. The soccer was fantastic. Created some good, really good chances in that first 30 minutes, and we could’ve put them away then, but it’s just a typical second game of the weekend and two tough SEC teams, you know, they’re both, both physical teams. So naturally, Sunday is gonna be a little bit ragged. But you know, the competition level is good for us. We fought. So this is a great preparation weekend for us when we get into ACCs.”

“She was outstanding with the ball, Laurel.Was really good, calm coming out of the back. And then Tyla, both games Georgia and today, defensively, a rock got forward pretty well and attacked well. So she’s playing with good confidence. You know our backline was really solid, really a strength for us today. So I’m.I’m stoked that we can have, on a weekend like this, two shutouts.”

“[The competition up front is] pretty fierce. I mean, the kids that start out have a little bit of an edge in goal scoring. The difference in them starting is they, Liv Stowell, Caiya [Hanks] and Alex [Wood], they pressure, really well. Defensively they do a really good job without the ball. So that gives a little bit of an edge right now. They can create. But it’s going to continue to be competitive as the season goes on, you know, some of the reserves get more hungry and get their time to prove themselves. We’re going to have a really solid rotation up front, yeah, and in midfield because we’ve got Lyndon Wood back now. She’s healthy and ready to go. Carly [Wilson] has done a good job.So we’ve got some really good alternatives to get us through two game weekends.”

“Yeah, [Emily Morris has] built on her spring performances. She was really solid.And.She just gives us.Tempo and you know she’ll.Settle the game down when we need it to be settled down. She had a really good feed, got a couple shots today and was playmaking a little bit. She’s definitely made incredible progress. I think she’s still got a lot of upside, and I like what I see from her for sure.”

Kaitlyn Parks:

“I think just having short term memory is important. I just saved the PK, but the game keeps going on and there are going to be shots that come, so just staying mentally focused and just forgetting the past and moving forward.”

“I just get into more of an analytical spot, like reading her body language, her eyes, where she’s looking, her foot, just hopefully making an educated guess and I guessed the right way today.”

“I mean, that’s every SEC team. They’re very athletic, very physical, which is a bit different than the ACC, so something you haven’t gotten to see a lot of. I think this is a really good competitive atmosphere for us to move forward in the conference.”

On what she brings as a returning player:

“I mean I think just trust to be honest, like I know we have a very young team, but. Trusting that they’re going to do their job and you know what they need to do to attack the entire team. So trust, communication, all that.”