Wake Forest Set to Open 2024 NCAA Tournament Against Morehead State

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Entering as the second-highest seed in program history, the No. 2-seeded Wake Forest women's soccer team will host OVC runner-up Morehead State in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Spry Stadium on Friday, Nov. 15.

The match is slated for 6:00 p.m. and will be shown live on ESPN+.

Tickets are starting at $5 for the hill, $10 for general admission and $15 for reserved chair back.

Accessibility Information
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NCAA Tournament - First Round
Morehead State (9-7-6) at (2) Wake Forest (12-3-3)
Friday, Nov. 15, 2024 - 6:00 PM - ESPN+
Winston-Salem, N.C. – Spry Stadium

Deacs in the NCAA Tournament

Wake Forest will be making its 23rd appearance in the NCAA Tournament, with 22 of them coming under the helm of Tony da Luz.
- The Demon Deacons have made three of the last four tournaments, just missing out last year with a record of 10-3-5 and a sixth-place ACC finish.
The Deacs' best-ever finish came in 2011 when they made the first College Cup in program history with the likes of Katie Stengel leading the line and Aubrey Bledsoe in goal.
Wake Forest holds an overall record of 22-21-1 in the tournament, including a 14-2-1 mark in Winston-Salem.
- The Deacs have advanced to the round of 32 on 15 occasions, with the most recent coming in 2021.

Historic Regular Season

Last week, five members of the Wake Forest women's soccer team were selected for 2024 All-ACC honors, headlined by a First-Team selection for junior forward Caiya Hanks.
- A senior trio of midfielder Emily Colton, forward Emily Murphy and defender Zara Chavoshi tabbed second-team nods, while redshirt-freshman goalkeeper Valentina Amaral earned third-team honors.
- Five players earning All-ACC nods is the most in program history. Additionally, Hanks became the 10th Wake Forest player to be tabbed All-ACC First Team and first since Aubrey Bledsoe in 2013.
The Demon Deacons are currently ranked No. 3 in United Soccer Coaches Poll. This season, they were ranked as high as No. 2, the highest ranking in program history.
- Additionally, Wake Forest sits seventh in RPI and third in the TopDrawerSoccer poll.
Wake Forest finished with 22 points in ACC play as it finished second in the ACC, tied for the best finish in program history.
- 22 points and seven total wins in conference play is the most in program history.
On Sept. 19, the Demon Deacons claimed their first-ever win over a No. 1 team as they took down Stanford, 1-0.
- The Deacs became the first team in NCAA history to take down a No. 1-ranked team and a No. 2-ranked team in back-to-back matches after downing No. 2 Virginia in Charlottesville on Sept. 15.
Caiya Hanks has been producing at a very high level offensively this season.
- She has a team-best eight goals, seven assists and 23 total points, including a goal in four of the last six matches.
- Caiya Hanks ranks eighth in the ACC in total points (23) and ninth in goals (8) and assists (7).
  - Additionally, her 18 points in conference play ranked second in the ACC and her seven goals were tied for the most.
- She is now five points away from cracking the top 10 in program history for a single season.
Emily Colton has recorded at least one goal contribution in nine of her last 13 appearances for the Demon Deacons and is second on the team with 17 total points.
- She had a goal contribution in seven of Wake Forest's 10 ACC matches.
- Additionally, her five assists rank third on the team.
- Colton was recently ranked as the No. 2 player in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.
Emily Murphy has also been incredible over her last seven games, scoring four times, notching four assists and being involved in multiple other scoring opportunities for the Demon Deacons.
- She is now tied for first on the team with a career-high seven assists this season and ranks third in the squad with 15 total points.
- Additionally, she has 20 goals and 19 assists for her collegiate career, putting her at 59 points.
The Deacs currently have three top-10 wins this season, the most for the Deacs since 2012.
Wake Forest enters the match ranked in the top five of the ACC in multiple categories, including ranking first goals-against average (.659), fifth in shots per game (17.06), fourth in corners per game (6.22) and fifth in goal differential (+23).
In addition to posting the best goals-against average in the conference, the Wake Forest defense only conceded seven goals during ACC play, the fewest in the conference as well as the second-most clean sheets with five.
11 goals allowed in the regular season is the fewest in program history, beating last season's record by three goals.
In goal, Valentina Amaral is 8-3-1 for her career in games she's started and has only allowed eight goals over 1,215 minutes of action for a stellar .59 career goals-against average.
- This season, she has the fourth-best goals-against average in the ACC (.682).
The Demon Deacons have three players with double-digit points and eight players with five or more so far in 2024.
- Caiya Hanks - 23 points (8 goals, 7 assists)
- Emily Colton - 17 points (6 goals, 5 assists)
- Emily Murphy - 15 points (4 goals, 7 assists)
- Sierra Sythe - 9 points (3 goals, 3 assists)
- Nikayla Small - 9 points (3 goals, 3 assists)
- Anna Swanson - 7 points (3 goals, 1 assist)
- Hannah Johnson - 7 points (3 goals, 1 assist)
- Emily Morris - 6 points (2 goals, 2 assists)
Nikayla Small's opener against NC State was the fourth-fastest goal in program history at 61 seconds and was the fastest for the Deacs since 2006.
This season, Wake Forest had three players selected as an ACC Offensive Players of the Week with Caiya Hanks, Emily Colton and Emily Murphy all garnering the honors over the last two months.
The Deacs also placed three on the TopDrawerSoccer Top 100 list with Emily Colton (#2), Emily Morris (#45) and Zara Chavoshi (#64).

Last Time Out

Despite an 83rd-minute equalizer from senior midfielder Emily Morris and multiple huge saves from redshirt-freshman Valentina Amaral, the No. 2-seed Wake Forest women's soccer team bowed out of the 2024 ACC Tournament in the semifinal round to Florida State 3-1 in penalty kicks.
After Wake Forest held its 10th-straight opponent scoreless in first half action, Florida State would strike first in the 53rd minute. Fighting back from the deficit, Wake Forest would find the leveling goal it was seeking when Morris collected a cross from senior defender Kristin Johnson to bury her second goal of the season.
In goal, redshirt-freshman Valentina Amaral stood tall and logged a career-high five saves. The All-ACC honoree has been exceptional this season and her brilliance was on display, particularly in the second overtime period as she stopped two potential Florida State game-winners.
This season, Amaral holds the best goals-against average in the ACC (.690), which would rank as the best in program history for a single season.
In front of Amaral, Wake Forest went with a senior centerback trio of Laurel Ansbrow, Zara Chavoshi and Kristin Johnson, with Morris and redshirt freshman Sierra Sythe pushing up as wing backs. All but the goal-scorer went the full 110 and defended well throughout the match, limiting Florida State to just six shots on goal.

Scouting the Eagles

Morehead State finished runner-up in the OVC Tournament and qualified for the NCAA Tournament due to champions Lindenwood not being eligible for postseason play.
The Eagles entered the match at 9-7-6 and posted a 4-3-2 record in conference action, earning a fifth-placed OVC finish in the regular season.
- They hold a 6-3-4 record on the road this season.
This will mark Morehead State's fifth NCAA Tournament appearance with previous appearances coming in 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2023.
The Eagles are led by sophomore forward Hedda Ornberg, who finished first in the OVC in goals (10) and total points (22).
- The Swede has scored in five of her last six matches and had a hat trick earlier this year against Eastern Illinois.
In goal, freshman Lilly Bailey has contributed to five clean sheets this season and posted a goals-against average of 1.00, the third-best in the conference.
- Bailey also holds the second-best save percentage in the OVC at .818 and earlier this season recorded a 10-save shutout in the 1-0 victory over UT Martin.

Series History vs. Morehead State

The two sides have only met twice before, both in the first round of the NCAA Tournament and both resulting in 2-0 Wake Forest victories.
The first meeting came in 2008, where goals from Jill Hutchinson and Bess Harrington saw the Deacs advance.
- Laura Morse tallied five saves en route to a clean sheet.
The two schools met again five years later as Courtney Owen and Riley Ridgik both tallied goals and Aubrey Kingsbury recorded two saves in the shutout.

Up Next
The winner of the match will take on the winner of No. 7-seed Georgia and Colorado. The Deacs are in line to host the second and third rounds next weekend at Spry Stadium if they defeat the Eagles on Friday. The second round would take place on Friday, Nov. 22 with the third round following on Sunday, Nov. 24.

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Wake Forest Set to Open 2024 NCAA Tournament Against Morehead State

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Valentina Amaral

Laurel Ansbrow

Zara Chavoshi

Emily Colton

Caiya Hanks

Hannah Johnson

Kristin Johnson

Emily Morris

Emily Murphy

Nikayla Small

Anna Swanson

Sierra Sythe

Wake Forest Athletics

Wake Forest Set to Open 2024 NCAA Tournament Against Morehead State

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Valentina Amaral

Laurel Ansbrow

Zara Chavoshi

Emily Colton

Caiya Hanks

Hannah Johnson

Kristin Johnson

Emily Morris

Emily Murphy

Nikayla Small

Anna Swanson

Sierra Sythe

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