BLACKSBURG -- In Oliver Weiss' office, there is a hat proclaiming North Carolina the 2001 NCAA men's soccer champion.

Weiss, an assistant on that UNC team who is now at the helm of Virginia Tech, has a chance to pick up a new hat -- and a trophy -- this weekend. The Hokies play today in the College Cup, soccer's version of the final four.

Two wins away from the school's first NCAA team championship in any sport, the Hokies will first have to beat an ACC rival it tied two months ago. The 11th-seeded Hokies (14-3-5) meet second-seeded Wake Forest (20-2-2) at 5 p.m. in Cary, N.C., with a berth in Sunday's final at stake.

Tech tied Wake 3-3 in Blacksburg on Oct. 5.

"I was really amazed when our team got three goals on them," Tech forward Patrick Nyarko said. "I don't think we're going to score three goals on them again."

While that tie snapped the Hokies' six-game losing streak in the series, Tech is still looking for its first win over the Demon Deacons in 10 years.

Wake coach Jay Vidovich isn't putting much stock in the past, though.

"We're confident in our game, ... but this is soccer. It's a more humbling sport than any other athletic event," Vidovich said. "Sometimes a team that can dominate can lose a game because a goal is so difficult to score in soccer. It's not like football. It's not like basketball. It's very difficult to score a goal. You make one mistake, you can pay the price."

Wake led Tech 2-0 at halftime in the October meeting. Tech forward Robert Edmans, who had been suspended for the first half for a violation of team rules, scored his second goal of the match to cut the lead to 3-2 in the 74th minute. Nyarko tied it up in the 86th minute.

"We know them, but they know a lot about us," Tech midfielder Charlie Campbell said. "When we played Cal [in the second round], they knew nothing about Patrick. [The Demon Deacons] know how to defend us and what our strengths and weaknesses are.

"We have to pressure the ball more. We need to rush the ball more and make them make bad decisions."

The Demon Deacons lead the nation in scoring offense at 2.63 goals per game.

"They're magicians around the ball," Weiss said. "They move up the ball fantastically.

"Don't allow them to get spaces. We've got to stay tight together defensively. We probably want to bother them in their own end so they can't start that passing rhythm they have.

"Last game, we started out being a little bit tentative -- boom, 2-0 down. ... We became aggressive after halftime. Some of the best football we've played this year was in that second half."

Nyarko and the 6-foot-6 Edmans share the Tech lead in goals with seven. Nyarko accounted for the goals in the Hokies' 1-0 wins in the third round and quarterfinals.

"They have a very good balance, a partnership, between Edmans and Nyarko," Vidovich said. "We're going to have to contain those two individuals. ... They're two different type of players.

"You have the pace and one-on-one abilities of a Patrick Nyarko and the size and air game of an Edmans."

This weekend might mark the Tech swan song of Nyarko, a junior who could be picked in the Major League Soccer draft next month.

Nyarko said he plans to return next season but is "open to all options."

Nyarko is one of 15 semifinalists for the Hermann Trophy, which goes to the national player of the year. Wake also boasts a semifinalist, defender Julian Valentin.

All-ACC forward Cody Arnoux leads Wake with 15 goals.

The Demon Deacons' lineup also includes All-ACC midfielder Sam Cronin, who scored two goals in the October meeting; midfielder Corben Bone, the ACC freshman of the year; and All-ACC goalie Brian Edwards, who has 55 saves.

"There's a potential between these two teams to get a good number of goals. I hope for our sake it's not happening," Weiss said.

"They're the best team in the country."

Wake topped one or both major national polls off and on for nine weeks this season, and was ranked No. 1 in the final coaches poll before losing to Boston College in the ACC title game.

The College Cup is being held near the North Carolina State campus, at SAS Soccer Park, where Tech went 1-1 at the ACC tournament last month.

Wake reached the Cup for the first time last year, losing in the semifinals. The rest of the field, including fifth-seeded Ohio State and unseeded Massachusetts, are Cup newcomers.