Wake Forest Battles to 1-1 Draw with Army

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Despite several near scoring opportunities, the Wake Forest women's soccer team battled to a 1-1 draw with Army Sunday evening at Spry Stadium.

The Demon Deacons (1-0-1) faced a 1-0 deficit after conceding the opening goal in the 76th minute, before sophomore forward Caiya Hanks received a through ball from junior midfielder Nikayla Small down the left wing.

Hanks then cut inside and fired a shot to the bottom right corner of the goal, marking her second-career tally and her first since the Deacs' 7-0 victory over High Point on Sept. 1, 2022.

Of note, Small's assist on the goal was the sixth of her career.

As a team, the Deacs outshot the Black Knights (0-1-1) 18-8 overall and 7-5 on goal, while also winning four corners to Army's three. Individually, Hanks and Small led the Demon Deacons with four shots apiece.

Defensively, freshman Demspey Brown and juniors Kristin Johnson and Laurel Ansbrow all played the full 90, anchoring the final third. Additionally, senior goalkeeper Maddy Howard notched four saves in goal for the Deacs, tying her career-high.

How It Happened

Army attempted the first shot of the match in the fifth minute when Keira Vesy thumped a header that just missed the frame.
Nikayla Small attempted Wake Forest's first shot two minutes later when she fired a shot from just outside the 18 that was corralled by Army goalkeeper Sage Strohman.
Wake Forest's best chance of the first half came when Wood took a shot from about five yards out that was saved.
- On the rebound, Liv Stowell had an opportunity for the Deacs but her attempt was also saved.
Minutes later, Dempsey Brown found Small streaking down the pitch. Small then eluded an Army defender, before attempting a shot that ricocheted off the right post.
- Seconds after, Anna Swanson fired a shot that was saved.
Wake Forest held an 8-2 shot advantage in the first half, with four of its attempts coming on target.
- Small and Wood led the Deacs in the first half with two shots apiece.
- Goalkeeper Maddy Howard was only called into action once in the opening 45 and registered a save.
Small attempted the Deacs' first shot of the second half but it went wide left.
Over the ensuing 10 minutes, both sides had several near scoring opportunities but neither side was able to take advantage.
- Howard laid out for a diving save to keep Army off the board in the 50th minute.
Army constantly pressured the Demon Deacons' backline for the next 12 minutes, before Jasmine Talley found the net on an assist from Elizabeth Oberhaus.
- The Deacs faced a 1-0 deficit with just under 15 minutes remaining in the contest.
With just over four minutes remaining, Hanks received a through ball from Small down the left wing. Hanks then cut inside and fired a shot to the bottom right corner of the goal to equalize.
Neither team scored over the final minutes of action, resulting in a 1-1 tie.

Demon Deacon Details of Note

Sophomore Caiya Hanks scored her second-career tally and her first since the Deacs' 7-0 victory over High Point on Sept. 1, 2022.
Junior Nikayla Small notched her sixth-career assist.
Junior transfer Emily Murphy made her first start as a Deac Sunday, logging 51 minutes at forward.
In her second-career appearance Dempsey Brown had several key tackles.
- Brown has now started and played the full 90 minutes in both of her appearances.

Standout Stat
Despite battling to a 1-1 draw, Wake Forest led Army in shots, shots on goal and corner kicks Sunday. Additionally, the Demon Deacons controlled possession (59%) for the majority of the contest. Of note, 25 percent of the Deacs' possession was in the final quarter of the field.

Tony Time with Coach da Luz
"I'm really proud of the entire team for the fight we showed up until the final whistle. It was a good performance by our team. We continue to get better every single game and today was a great lesson. We created a lot of chances. We're looking forward to compounding on the chances we had in the next game."

Up Next
The Demon Deacons will return to action Thursday, Aug. 24 when they host Idaho State at 1 p.m.Thursday's match can be streamed on ACC Network Extra.

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Team Stats

Caiya Hanks

Nikayla Small

Dempsey Brown

Liv Stowell

Players Mentioned

Laurel Ansbrow

Dempsey Brown

Caiya Hanks

Kristin Johnson

Emily Murphy

Nikayla Small

Liv Stowell

Anna Swanson

Wake Forest Athletics