Dec. 8, 2007

Wake Forest Headed Back to College Cup for Second Straight Season

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Austin da Luz's goal with 3:21 remaining in the first sudden victory overtime ended a scoreless tie between No. 2 seed Wake Forest and No. 10 seed Notre Dame, sending the Demon Deacons back to the College Cup for the second straight year.

Wake Forest (20-2-2) will face ACC foe Virginia Tech in one semifinal Friday in Cary, N.C., at 5 p.m.

Notre Dame ends its season with a record of 14-5-5 and is winless against the Demon Deacons in four tries.

In the overtime period, the teams traded possession with no scoring opportunities until Deacon forward Marcus Tracy gathered the ball and streaked down the right side of the penalty box, racing past Notre Dame defenders. Tracy dribbled toward the back line then found da Luz on the opposite side of the box. Da Luz took the pass, spun around an Irish defender, turned and hit a shot that skipped by diving goalkeeper Chris Cahill and into the bottom left corner of the net.

Hokies Advance to First-Ever College Cup

STORRS, Conn. - A key defensive play by midfielder Charlie Campbell and Patrick Nyarko's 31st career goal helped the No. 11 seed Virginia Tech men's soccer team earn its first-ever College Cup birth with a 1-0 win at No. 3 seed Connecticut Saturday afternoon at Morrone Stadium in Storrs, Conn.

The Hokies are now 14-3-5 overall and 4-2-4 on the road. With its fourteen win, Tech ties its single season record for wins. Tech is also 7-0-0 in day matches, and 8-1-1 in non-conference action this season.

Tech is 3-2-2 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with four appearances since 2002. The Hokies have reached the national semifinals for the first time in school history in their third consecutive national tournament appearance.