Wake Forest Set to Kick-Off 2024 Campaign Against Army

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Following a highly-successful spring and preseason, the Wake Forest women's soccer team is set to open the 2024 regular season against Army at Malek Stadium in West Point, N.Y. on Thursday, Aug. 15.

The contest will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live stats available here.

Need to Know - Game 1
Wake Forest (0-0) at Army (0-0)
Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024 - 6 PM - ESPN+
West Point, N.Y. – Malek Stadium

Returning Production

The Wake Forest women's soccer team will be bringing back 84.4% of its goal production (27 of 32) and 100% of its assists (22 of 22) from last season.
The team will be made up of 19 seniors, including two veteran transfers in Emily Colton (midfielder from UNC) and Pagie Nurkin (goalkeeper from Columbia) that will make an instant impact. 19 seniors is believed to be the most in NCAA D1 in 2024.
- 29 total returners is the second-most in NCAA D1 and most in the ACC.
Just a few of the key returners include:
- Senior defender Laurel Ansbrow has been the leader of the defense over the last two seasons and has led all outfield players in minutes during that span.
- Junior Forward Caiya Hanks led the team with 16 points last campaign with six goals and four assists.
- Senior forward Emily Murphy finished tied for the team lead with six goals in addition to two assists for 14 total points in her first season in the Old Gold & Black.
- Junior goalkeeper Payton Cahill finished her first true regular season with a record of 4-0-3 and allowed just four goals in seven starts.
- Senior midfielder Nikayla Small's seven assists was a career-high and finished the regular season fifth in the ACC and 40th nationally. Additionally, seven assists ranks tied for the eighth most in a single season in Wake Forest history.
- Freshman defender Dempsey Brown was a crucial part of the Demon Deacon's backline and midfield throughout the season. She has started 16 of Wake Forest's 18 games and has played the full 90 minutes in 12 matches. She led all freshmen on the team with 1,355 minutes played en route to an ACC All-Freshman Team selection.

Meet The Newcomers

The Demon Deacons welcome six new players to the roster for the 2024 campaign, including four freshman and two veteran transfers. TopDrawerSoccer has the Demon Deacons with the No. 17-ranked recruiting class.
- Emily Colton (North Carolina)
  - Joins her sister, Abbie, on the Wake Forest women's soccer team after three successful seasons with the Tar Heels. She started all 67 possible games over the last three seasons and has been stellar in the midfield. She finished 2023 with two goals and one assist. In 2022, she ranked fourth on the team and 13th in the ACC in total assists (6), including three in a single game against Baylor. She was named to the ACC All-Freshman team in 2021 after leading the Tar Heels in goals (7) and finished second on the team in total points (15). She was called up to join the U.S. Under-20 Women's Youth National Team to compete in the Concacaf Women's Championship and the four-team Sud Ladies Cup in 2022. Colton was one of four Americans named to the Concacaf Women's U-20 Championship Best XI Team, leading the USA in assists in the tournament with five and helped the US win its seventh Concacaf U20 title and earn a spot in the Women's U20 World Cup.
- Paige Nurkin (Columbia)
  - In 2023 for Columbia, Nurkin started 18 games and allowed just 13 goals all season for a 0.75 goals against average. She totaled 61 saves for an 82.4 save percentage and finished the season with a 10-5-3 record including seven shutouts. Her performances saw her named First Team All-Ivy League and Academic All-Ivy. She played a major role in helping Columbia lead the nation in goals against average, save percentage and shutout percentage at points during the season. Nurkin tallied four saves to help lead Columbia past Rutgers for the first NCAA Tournament win in program history.
- Chloe Burst (Mount Carmel Academy)
  - Burst played on varsity as an eighth grader at Mount Carmel Academy and was named to the All-State First Team. The following year as a freshman, she won the Louisiana High School State Championship and was named MVP while once again earning All-State First Team. She played for 2007 TDPElite Boys and 2006 ECNL Girls from 2021-23 and was invited to USYNT ID Camps in 2021, 2022 and 2023. She comes in as the No. 58-ranked recruit by TopDrawerSoccer.
- Amaya Dawkins (Wylie East)
  - As a midfielder for Wylie East, Dawkins was named District MVP in back-to-back seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24, as well as named to the Texas All-State First Team. She was also named District Midfielder of the Year during her freshman and sophomore campaigns. In 2022-23, she earned Texas All-State Tournament Team Honors. For FC Dallas she was tabbed ECNL Texas First Team All-Conference in 2020-21 and Second Team in 2021-22. She joins Wake Forest as the No. 80-ranked recruit by TopDrawerSoccer.
- Lola Ressler (Montverde Academy)
  - Ressler was a 2024 Florida Class 3A State Champion and earned State Championship MVP Honors before coming to Wake Forest. She was named to the 2024 All-Area First Team and tabbed ECNL Southeast All Conference First Team honors twice. Ressler also garnered Southeast All-Conference First Team honors. She comes to Winston-Salem as a top-200 recruit by TopDrawerSoccer.
- Josie Noble (New Trier)
  - For New Trier Township High School, Noble was named Central Suburban League All-Conference twice and earned Illinois All-State honors. She was a three-time Illinois State Champion, Central Suburban League Offensive Player of the Year and Naperville Invitational MVP. Noble played club for Eclipse Select SC.

Chao's Reunion

Army head coach Tracy Chao played for Wake Forest from 1999-2002, as the Deacs accumulated a 49-31-6 record during her career. Chao helped lead the Demon Deacons to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 1999.
During the 2000 campaign, Chao was named Wake Forest's Most Valuable Player as she went 9-8-2 with three shutouts, a 1.41 goals-against average and a .746 save percentage in goal after transitioning from defender.
After her playing career, Chao continued to serve Wake Forest, working for the Demon Deacons' women's basketball program as the director of basketball operations.

Quick Hitters

The Demon Deacons enter the season receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches poll and were picked to finish ninth in the ACC this season after bringing back 29 players, including 19 seniors.
Wake Forest has not lost a non-conference opener since 2016 and is currently on a six-match winning streak in non-conference season openers.
Last season, the Deacs downed App State 1-0 at home thanks to a goal from forward Liv Stowell.
Army will be looking to win its first season opener since 2020.
Wake Forest will have two sets of twins on the team this season, one of just three schools in Division I with multiple, with Abbie and Emily Colton in addition to Nadia and Olivia DeMarinis.

Scouting The Black Knights

Army was picked first in the Patriot League preseason poll, grabbing 13 of the 20 first place votes.
The Black Knights also saw goalkeeper Sage Strohman named Patriot League Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year. Last season, Strohman earned Second Team All-Patriot League Honors.
In addition to Strohman, Kaelan Bradley, Brigid Duffy and Keira Vesy all earned a spot on the Preseason All-Patriot League Team.
Bradley and Duffy led the team in points last with 17 apiece. Duffy led the team with seven goals and Bradley led with seven assists.
Army is looking to win the Patriot League regular season title for the third-consecutive season as six of the eight who landed on the 2023 All-Patriot League teams are returning to a roster that is led by the two-time defending Patriot League Coach of the Year, Tracy Chao.

Series History vs. Army

Last season marked the first-ever meeting between the Black Knights and Demon Deacons, as the two sides battled to a 1-1 draw in Winston-Salem in the second game of the 2023 campaign.
- The Demon Deacons 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 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.

Home Ticket Information
To experience The Best Fan Experience in North Carolina, single game bleacher general admission for non-conference action starts at $5 while reserve chairbacks are $10. For all ACC action, bleacher general admission is $10 with reserve chairbacks at $15.

To order, visit godeacs.com/tickets or call the Wake Forest Ticket Office at 336.758.3322.

This year, Demon Deacon women's soccer will host 2023 National Champion Florida State, 2023 National Championship runner up Stanford, 2023 NCAA Tournament team Mississippi State and Big Four foes Duke and NC State in a loaded home slate.

Up Next
Following Thursday's clash with Army, the Demon Deacons will head to Piscataway, N.J. for a battle with Big Ten foe Rutgers on Sunday, Aug. 18 at 1 p.m. The match will be streamed live on Big Ten Plus with live stats available here.

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Wake Forest Set to Kick-Off 2024 Campaign Against Army

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Laurel Ansbrow

Dempsey Brown

Chloe Burst

Payton Cahill

Emily Colton

Amaya Dawkins

Olivia DeMarinis

Caiya Hanks

Emily Murphy

Josie Noble

Paige Nurkin

Lola Ressler

Nikayla Small

Liv Stowell

Wake Forest Athletics

Wake Forest Set to Kick-Off 2024 Campaign Against Army

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Laurel Ansbrow

Dempsey Brown

Chloe Burst

Payton Cahill

Emily Colton

Amaya Dawkins

Olivia DeMarinis

Caiya Hanks

Emily Murphy

Josie Noble

Paige Nurkin

Lola Ressler

Nikayla Small

Liv Stowell

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