Stengel Picks Up Where ’11 Ended With WFU Deacs

Wake Forest junior Katie Stengel got a late start this year with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.

She was halfway around the world, helping the United States win the 2012 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan.,

When she returned, there was no learning curve for scoring goals. She tied the school career goals record by finishing Wake’s goal in a 1-0 shutout of Miami.

Then in her third game back in a Demon Deacons uniform she scored both goals in a 2-0 upset of #4 ranked Boston College. Those were goals #37 and #38, and pushed her to 89 points on her career to jump past Jill Hutchinson (36 goals) and Sarah Kozey (86 points) on the WFU scoring charts.

From this point on, every goal she scores is a new school record. While she is one of the ACC’s all-time pure goalscorers, she gives a lot of credit to teammates for getting the ball to her.

“I think it just says a lot about how good our team is,” said Stengel. “The balls that Jackie (Logue) and Ally (Berry) played to me were perfect. Without these great players around me, I wouldn’t be able to do this.”

While she was away with the U.S. team, her Wake teammates stayed in touch.

“On every game day I’d have calls from my teammates (at Wake Forest) wishing me luck and saying they were going to watch the game,” said Stengel. “Knowing I have such a big support at home and at Wake is great, and being able to represent Wake Forest is an honor.

“It was awesome to see all our hard work after eight months (of preparation) finally pay off. To be able to say that you’re the best in the world is something that you’ll cherish forever.”