Soccer Gameday: No. 1 Wake Forest vs. No. 8 NC State

Gameday Central \| No. 1 Wake Forest vs. No. 8 NC State
Game 4	Saturday, Sept. 7, 7:00 p.m.
Coverage	Live Stats \| ACC Network Extra
Location	Winston-Salem, N.C. (Spry Stadium) - Facility Info \| Tickets: $5 \| Weather
Information	Wake Forest Notes \| @WakeMSoccer

The Matchup
• The top-ranked Demon Deacons open ACC play by taking on in-state rival No. 8 NC State on Friday at 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
• Friday's game is presented by Alarm South, the official security partner of Wake Forest Athletics.

Last Time Out
• Wake Forest scored four second-half goals en route to a 4-1 victory over Presbyterian on Tuesday to remain unbeaten and untied.
• Bruno Lapa continued his hot start to the season by tallying a pair of goals and an assist. He already has five goals and four assists through four games, career-highs in each category.
• Justin McMaster and Omir Fernandez also added goals while Alistair Johnston notched a pair of assists and Machop Chol distributed one.
• Andreu Cases Mundet made three saves to earn the victory in goal.

Quick Kicks
• Wake Forest was ranked No. 5 in the nation in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll and moved up to No. 1 in the first weekly poll. The Deacs have been ranked in the top five in 23 consecutive polls dating back to the middle of the 2016 season - 21 more weeks than any other program (Duke, Michigan State - 2).
• The Deacs were picked to repeat as the ACC Atlantic Division champion in the ACC preseason poll. North Carolina is projected to win the Coastal Division and overall title.
• Wake Forest has a lot of new faces after sending seven into the MLS ranks following the 2017 season. Still, the Deacs brought in the No. 2 recruiting class in the country, headlined by top-50 recruits Isaiah Parente, Kyle Holcomb, Koby Carr and Aristotle Zarris.
• Since the start of the Bobby Muuss era in 2015, Wake Forest has a 59-8-7 overall record. That win total is the most of any Division I program.

Opponent & Series History
• Wake Forest leads the all-time series against NC State, 26-11-5. The Deacs are unbeaten in the last 13 meetings (10-0-3), with the last loss coming in 2005. The Deacs have outscored the Wolfpack 34-10 in those 13 games.
• NC State took down William & Mary in double overtime on Monday to remain unbeaten and untied. The Wolfpack is off to its best start since 2012, when it won its first six games.
• NC State is led by sophomore forward Manny Perez who has a goal and four assists in four games, and totaled five goals last year, but he will miss this game while competing with the U.S. U-20 National Team. Gabriel Machado was named the National Player of the Week after scoring game-winners against No. 2 Akron and Presbyterian.

Up Next
• The Demon Deacons close their three-game homestand on Tuesday against Georgia Southern.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Koby Carr

Andreu Cases Mundet

Machop Chol

Omir Fernandez

Kyle Holcomb

Alistair Johnston

Bruno Lapa

Justin McMaster

Isaiah Parente

Aristotle Zarris

Wake Forest Athletics