Wake Forest Set to Host Second-Round Clash With Colorado

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Coming off of a dominant 4-0 victory over Morehead State in the opening stage, the No. 2-seeded Wake Forest women's soccer team will now host Colorado in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament at Spry Stadium on Friday, Nov. 12.

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

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 - Second Round
Colorado (12-4-5) at (2) Wake Forest (13-3-3)
Friday, Nov. 12, 2024 - 6:00 PM - ESPN+
Winston-Salem, N.C. – Spry Stadium

Deacs in the NCAA Tournament

This will mark the Deacs' 16th all-time appearance in the Round of 32 and second in the last four seasons (2021).
The Demon Deacons have made the Round of 16 on five occasions, with the most recent coming in 2018.
Wake Forest is in the midst of 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 23-21-1 in the tournament, including a 15-2-1 mark in Winston-Salem.

Historic Regular Season

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.
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.
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.
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).
The Deacs currently have three top-10 wins this season, the most for the Deacs since 2012.
This week, Wake Forest placed six on the CSC Academic All-Region Team (Hanks, Ansbrow, Colton, Murphy, Chavoshi, Morris).
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.
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.

The Flyin' Hawaiian

Following her two-goal, two-assist performance in the opening round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament against Morehead State, Caiya Hanks moved into the top 10 in program history in points (29), goals (10) and assists (9) for a single season.
- Her four goal contributions and six points are a career-high as she became the first Demon Deacon to record six points in a single game since Shayla Smart did so against Loyola Maryland on Sept. 2, 2021.
Her 29 points this year is also the most for the Deacs since 2011 and her nine assists are the most since 2009. Additionally, she has six games this season with multiple goal contributions, including three braces.
Heading into the weekend, Hanks ranks sixth in the ACC in total points, seventh in goals, and eighth in assists.
- Additionally, her 18 points in conference play ranked second in the ACC and her seven goals were tied for the most.
With one more assist, she can become just the fifth player at the D1 level this season to reach 10 goals and 10 assists, and third to do so in program history, joining Anne Shropshire (1998) and Kaley Fountain (2009).

Emily+Emily+Emily=Success

Emily Colton has recorded at least one goal contribution in 10 of her last 14 appearances for the Demon Deacons and is second on the team with 19 total points.
- In the tournament opener, she recorded the first multi-assist game of her career.
- She had a goal contribution in seven of Wake Forest's 10 ACC matches.
- Additionally, her seven assists are tied for second on the team.
- Colton was recently ranked as the No. 2 player in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.
With her strike in the first half against Morehead State, Emily Murphy continued her incredible eight-game stretch, scoring five times and notching four assists.
- She is second on the team with a career-high seven assists this season and ranks third in the squad with 17 total points.
- Additionally, she has 21 goals and 19 assists for her collegiate career, putting her at 61 points.
Emily Morris has also been a crucial part of Wake Forest's success this season. She is one of four players to have started and played every match so far this year.
- She was named to the ACC All-Tournament team following her equalizer against Florida State in the semifinals.
- It marked her second goal of the year, with her first also coming against the Seminoles in the 4-1 victory at Spry Stadium earlier in the season.

Brick Wall Amaral

While the Wake Forest backline has been exceptional this season, the defensive success of the Deacs can also be accredited to the work between the sticks.
Her .654 goals-against average this season is the best in the ACC and currently ranks as the lowest in program history.
- Additionally, her five clean sheets in conference play ranked as the second-most in the ACC.
In her first full season, Amaral started all 10 ACC matches and has only allowed seven goals, the fewest in the conference.
She came up with a huge penalty save in the victory over No. 6 Florida State and logged a career-high four saves in the historic 1-0 win against No. 1 Stanford.

Last Time Out

For the second time in the last four seasons, the No. 2-seeded Wake Forest women's soccer team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament following a dominant 4-0 victory over Morehead State in the opening round Friday night at Spry Stadium.
The Demon Deacons immediately opened their postseason on the front foot, as Anna Swanson recorded her fourth goal of the season just 107 seconds after the opening kickoff.
The lead quickly jumped to 3-0 by the 15th minute, as All-ACC first-team selection Caiya Hanks logged two quick goals in succession. In the 26th minute, team captain Emily Murphy extended the lead to 4-0.
- Hanks moved into the top 10 in program history in points (29), goals (10) and assists (9) for a single season. Her four goal contributions and six points are a career-high as she became the first Demon Deacon to record six points in a single game since Shayla Smart did so against Loyola Maryland on Sept. 2, 2021.
- The Hawaiian's 29 points this year is also the most for the Deacs since 2011 and her nine assists are the most since 2009. Additionally, it was the All-ACC First Team selection's sixth game with at least two goal contributions this season and third brace.
Fellow All-ACC honoree Emily Colton logged assists on both of Hanks' goals as she now has seven on the year in addition to a career-high 19 points. The senior standout has recorded at least one goal contribution in 10 of her last 14 matches. It marked the first multi-assist game of her career.
Wake Forest finished the night with sizable advantages in shots (30-5), shots on goal (13-1), corner kicks (11-0) and possession (76 percent), showcasing the overall dominant performance by the Demon Deacons.
Four goals is the most for the Deacs in the NCAA Tournament since the 4-0 victory over Georgia Southern in 2012.
In goal, Valentina Amaral and Paige Nurkin combined to earn Wake Forest's 10th clean sheet of the season.

Scouting the Buffaloes

Colorado finished ninth in the Big 12 with a 4-2-5 conference record and head into Friday's match holding a 12-4-5 overall mark.
After opening the season 10-1-1, the Buffaloes went just 1-2-4 in the month of October, with the lone win coming against Utah in the Big 12 Tournament on Oct. 30.
- Colorado fell to TCU in the following round.
In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Buffaloes earned a come-from-behind victory to defeat seventh-seeded Georgia in Athens.
- Trailing 2-1 heading into halftime, goals from Hope Leyba (54') and Shyra James (63') lifted Colorado to the second round.
Leyba leads Colorado offensively with eight goals and two assists on the year for a team-best 18 points.
- The sophomore has scored in three-consecutive matches heading into the weekend.
In goal, junior Jordan Nytes was named 2024 Big 12 Goalkeeper of the Year.
- Her 11 clean sheets on the year rank as the sixth most in the nation and second-most in the Big 12.
- She also has the best save percentage in the Big 12 (.832) as well as the fourth-most saves (94).

Series History vs. Colorado

This will mark just the second-ever meeting between the two schools, with Colorado winning the first, 2-1 at Spry Stadium on Sept. 10, 2004.
It's the first time Wake Forest will be taking on a Big 12 school since the second round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament, where the Deacs advanced past West Virginia on penalty kicks in Morgantown after a 2-2 draw.
- This was also the last time Wake Forest won a second-round match.

Up Next
The winner of the match will take on the winner of No. 3-seed Ohio State and No. 6-seed Auburn on Sunday at 2 p.m. The match between the Buckeyes and Tigers will be played at Spry Stadium at 2 p.m. on Friday.

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Wake Forest Set to Host Second-Round Clash With Colorado

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Valentina Amaral

Zara Chavoshi

Emily Colton

Caiya Hanks

Emily Morris

Emily Murphy

Paige Nurkin

Nikayla Small

Anna Swanson

Wake Forest Athletics

Wake Forest Set to Host Second-Round Clash With Colorado

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Valentina Amaral

Zara Chavoshi

Emily Colton

Caiya Hanks

Emily Morris

Emily Murphy

Paige Nurkin

Nikayla Small

Anna Swanson

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