A record crowd witnessed a battle between No. 2 Wake Forest and No. 1 Duke – Wake Forest Athletics

The 3,761 fans were the most for a home game in program history, breaking the previous record of 3,000 set on October 27, 2000. Additionally, 1,095 Wake Forest students were in attendance to support the women’s soccer program.

In the early stages of the contest, both teams showcased their talented squads as the score remained 0-0 at the half-time break. However, Duke scored twice in the second half to claim a 2-0 victory.

Wake Forest’s offense created chances in the second half, including a strike in the 54th minute Emily Colton which hit the crossbar before To Emily Murphy the second chance went to the right of the frame.

in goal Valentina Amaral recorded two saves as a back line as a senior Laurel Ansbrough, Zara Chavoshi, Christine Johnson and a redshirt freshman Sierra Site all passed the full 90.

It marked the fourth straight game that these four have gone the full 90 together and the sixth time this season.

Record crowd at Spry

Wake Forest saw its largest crowd in program history Sunday night with 3,761 fans in attendance for the two top-ranked teams in the country facing off against Winston-Salem.

 

ACC Tournament draw after Sunday
1. Duke – X (25)
2. North Carolina – X (21)
3. Virginia Tech – X (20)
4. Wake Forest (19)
5. State of Florida (19)
6. Stanford (16)
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Still on the hunt
Notre Dame (16)
mud (13)

The Demon Deacons need just a point Thursday against NC State to earn their second straight ACC Tournament appearance.

How it happened

• After a matchup between the two top-ranked teams proving their elite talents in the first 15 minutes, Jr. Kaia Hanks recorded Wake Forest’s first shot of the night with an attempt from outside the 18 in the 17th minute that was saved.
• Wake Forest almost struck on a perfectly executed counter as the ball would find Hanks before she cut it back to the senior Nikayla Malka whose blow was parried.
• Senior Emily Colton poked a 31st-minute attempt just over the bar as Wake Forest got on the front foot in the first half.
• The two sides went into the break tied at 0-0, with Duke holding a 4-3 edge in shots, each scoring one goal.
• Wake Forest was awarded a free kick in a very dangerous spot just outside the 18, but Colton’s direct attempt in the 49th minute went over the bar.
• Duke scored in the 52nd minute to take a 1-0 lead.
• Colton continued to pressure the Duke goalkeeper for Deeks’ opening goal after a shot in the 54th minute rattled the post.
• The Blue Devils doubled their lead in the 70th minute before securing a 2-0 win.

Demon Deacon Note details

• The Demon Deacons are currently ranked No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches poll, the highest ranking in program history.
  

  • Additionally, Wake Forest is sixth in the RPI and second in the TopDrawerSoccer poll.

• Entering the game, the Demon Deacons held the program record for longest home unbeaten streak at 15 games.

  • It was the second-longest active home unbeaten streak in the ACC, behind only Florida State’s 25.
  • Wake Forest has posted a stellar 16-3-6 record at home since the start of 2022.

• The Deacs entered the game ranked in the ACC’s top five in multiple categories, including first-down goals against average (.600), fifth in shots per game (18.33) and fourth in corners per game (6.53).
• On a seven-game unbeaten streak, Wake Forest was on its longest ACC unbeaten streak in program history at seven games entering Sunday’s contest.
• Laurel Ansbrough and Kaia Hanks both won their 50th career starts.
• Sierra Site began his tenth career.

Next up
The Demon Deacons will prepare for their final regular season game of the season, facing another Big Four foe, NC State, on Thursday, October 31st.

The match is scheduled for 19:00 and will be broadcast live ACC network Extra.

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