Wake Forest and Duke played two classic women's soccer games this season, with each team winning once. The rubber match will be tonight at 7:30 in the second semifinal of the NCAA College Cup in Kennesaw, Ga.
The Deacons (18-3-4) will be making their first appearance in the College Cup. The Blue Devils (21-3-1) will be making their second, having also gone in 1992, when they lost to North Carolina in the championship game.
"We know each other inside and out, so from a preparation standpoint and scouting the game, we've already done that a couple of times," coach Tony da Luz of the Deacons said.
Alisha Woodson, one of the stars of the Deacons' back line, said that knowing the Blue Devils so well will come in handy in such an important game.
"They know us just as well as we know them," Woodson said. "I think we have something special because we just started hitting our stride, which is fantastic for us. We're ready to bring that something special out in the College Cup."
Having climbed the mountain to get to the College Cup, da Luz said he's excited to get the chance to go for a national championship.
"Here we are — and it only took us 15 years to get here," da Luz joked.
Coach Robbie Church, in his 11th season with the Blue Devils, has a team built much like Wake Forest with a lot of firepower (51 goals scored) and a solid defense (11 goals allowed).
Freshman Kelly Cobb, from Alaska, leads the Blue Devils in scoring with 11 goals and eight assists; Kaitlyn Kerr, a sophomore midfielder, has 10 goals and five assists.
"I think over the last few years we've both been on a steady climb," da Luz said, comparing his program with Duke. "A kid like Kelly Cobb puts them on another level, and we have Katie (Stengel) and I think our freshmen this year have raised our level as well."
Freshman Kim Marshall, one of the Deacons' top defenders, said that knowing the Blue Devils so well should be an advantage.
"I think it makes it a little more personal," Marshall said. "We know them so well. We want to go out there and beat them because we've played them so many times. We know the girls on the other team very well."
The Blue Devils beat the Deacons 2-0 at Spry Stadium — but Stengel, a high-scoring forward, was out because of a knee injury. The Deacons, with a healthy Stengel, won 2-1 in the ACC tournament semifinals.
Since that loss to the Deacons, Church said his Blue Devils, the regular-season ACC champions, have banded together and have been more aggressive.
"I thought in the first game against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem we were really aggressive early and that kind of carried us, but then in Cary they were the aggressor and that helped them get a two-goal lead," Church said.
Church said he has great respect for da Luz.
"I think for both of us, we've been building for this through the years but we know how tough the conference is," Church said.
In the other semifinal, ACC champion Florida State (18-6-1) will take on Stanford (23-0-1), giving the ACC a record three teams in the College Cup. All four schools in the College Cup were No. 1 seeds in their regions.
The ACC has had at least one team in the College Cup in 29 out of the 30 NCAA tournaments that have been played.
"We play Duke a third time and if we win and Florida State wins, we'll play them for a third time," da Luz said. "So, I think we all kind of get along in the ACC as coaches and I think the league has been building to this point over the last three years, where there is more parity and more and more success across the board."
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