Wake Forest Athletics
Demon Deacons Open Training for 2016 Season
8/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
By Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeMSoccer)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Wake Forest men's soccer, led by eight seniors and second-year head coach Bobby Muuss, opened practice for the 2016 season Wednesday morning on campus at Water Tower Field. The practice was moved from Spry Stadium due to rain in the area the last few days that has affected field conditions.
This season, Wake Forest is looking to improve upon the team's 2015 season in which it went 17-3-2, earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and made a run to the Elite Eight as the ACC regular-season champion.
"It's a process to mold our young guys (and) to get our old guys back on the same page after they've been off doing individual stuff developing and playing and competing," Muuss said. "Ultimately, today was a building block to try to be successful against Saint Louis. It might not have been our best soccer but the effort was there and that's what we want is working hard toward getting better each day."
In 2016, Wake Forest returns eight starters from a season ago and welcomes 11 new faces into the fold. Though the Deacs lose their leading scorer from 2015 in Jack Harrison, they return senior captains Jacori Hayes, Ian Harkes and Alec Ferrell and the team is working hard leading up to the season opener to ensure depth will be at a premium with the nationally-ranked recruiting class making an immediate impact.
"We've been here for a couple weeks running in the morning (and) playing pickup," said junior forward Jon Bakero. "I feel like the young guys are doing a great job. They're great players -- great kids -- and hopefully we can get them to help us much as possible this year."
The Demon Deacons are set to open the regular season on Friday, Aug. 26, at 7 p.m. against Saint Louis. The contest marks the first of six straight games at Spry Stadium to open the season for Wake Forest. Prior to the opener, the Deacs will compete in two exhibition matches against Southern Conference power Furman and Colonial Athletic Association contender UNCW. The match against Furman will be played Sunday, Aug. 14, in Greenville, South Carolina, and the Deacs will welcome the Seahawks to Winston-Salem for a 7 p.m. matchup on Saturday, Aug. 20.
"We're all really excited to be back," Bakero said. "We've been waiting for this since the Stanford game. It's been a long summer working out, running in the morning and everyone trying to get fit for (practice) and to be ready for the season.
Tickets to all soccer games at Spry Stadium for the men's and women's programs are on sale now. Fans can visit WakeForestSports.com to purchase season passes, which are good for all home men's and women's regular-season home games, and single-game tickets.
