After loss to Wake Forest, women's soccer says revenge isn’t on mind

Eleven months ago today, the Terrapins women's soccer team walked off the field at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C., having just lost the ACC Tournament final on penalty kicks to Wake Forest.

The loss denied the Terps their first-ever ACC Championship, stopped a five-game winning streak and marked yet another loss to the Demon Deacons.

But that doesn't mean tomorrow night's game at Ludwig Field has a revenge factor.

"We haven't talked about it and, honestly, in my mind, there's not a ton," coach Brian Pensky said. "Unfortunately for us, Wake won the ACC Championship. Winning Saturday doesn't change that."

The No. 17 Terps start the second leg of their ACC schedule with the No. 5 Demon Deacons, a game that has enough significance to begin with for the players. The matchup doesn't need to be more than what it already is.

"It's the ACC final, it's tough to get there and just to lose on [penalty kicks] is unfortunate," forward Jasmyne Spencer said. "But it's no different than any other team in the ACC. Every game is like a rival game."

A win tomorrow would be the Terps' marquee victory to date, but history is as much an opponent as Wake Forest itself. The Terps (8-2-3, 2-2-1 ACC) haven't defeated the Demon Deacons (11-1-1, 4-0-1) since 2005, Pensky's first season at the helm in College Park.

"Our kids are very aware of that, especially our older kids who have been around for some of those tough losses to Wake," Pensky said. "Certainly, Wake's a team we'd like to beat."

And despite Wake Forest's high ranking, it's the team, not a number, that motivates the Terps.

"Right now Wake is No. 5, but if you look two weeks ago, we were No. 3, so every game at this point is just a big game," Spencer said. "You're just competing with the best teams in the country at all times."

Added forward Hayley Brock: "I think that always motivates people. It's always easier to get up for a game against a UNC, BC, Wake Forest than an N.C. State game or a Clemson game just because [of] who they are, no disrespect."

Wake Forest boasts some of the ACC's top talent, particularly forward Katie Stengel, who leads the conference in goals per game (1.0) and points per game (2.31). Goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe, who stifled the Terps in the ACC Championship almost a year ago, ranks third in the conference in goals against average, allowing 0.45 per game.

But despite the stars on the other side of the ball, the Terps know they have talent and an advantage they haven't had in quite some time: rest. The Terps last played Sept. 29, giving them over a week between games and allowing them to actually practice instead of simply preparing and recovering for games.

"I think people are starting to smile again, to be honest," Pensky said.

The Terps appeared to get their offense jump-started in a 2-1 win against Clemson, but Pensky and the players still see room for improvement. While revenge seems to be far from the minds of some players, the hunger for a win remains.

"Even though we got the win last week, some of us didn't really feel like it felt like a win," Brock said. "I think this time off is really going to help us re-focus and join together. I think we also needed the rest. I just feel like we're going to do good things on Saturday."

dgallen@umdbk.com