Wake Forest Primed for Big Ten Road Test at Rutgers

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Coming off of an impressive 1-0 road victory against Army West Point, the Wake Forest women's soccer team will look to continue its perfect start to the season as it takes on Rutgers at Yurcak Field in Piscataway, N.J. on Sunday, Aug. 18.

The contest will be streamed live on Big Ten Plus with live stats available here.

Need to Know - Game 2
Wake Forest (1-0-0) at Rutgers (1-0-0)
Sunday, Aug. 18, 2024 - 1 PM - Big Ten Plus
Piscataway, N.J. – Yurcak Field

Series History vs. Rutgers

The Demon Deacons lead the all-time series against the Scarlet Knights, 2-0.
The previous two meetings came in the mid-90's, with the first coming in 1995, where the Deacs earned a 2-0 home victory.
In 1996, the two sides met again in Piscataway for the Rutgers Classic. A brace from Liz Burnette, including a goal in the 88th minute to take the lead, saw the Deacs go home with a 4-2 win.

Scouting The Scarlet Knights

Rutgers opened the season with a 1-0 road victory over NJIT following an 85th-minute winner from senior Emily Mason on the end of a corner kick.
- The Scarlet Knights outshot the opponents, 27-to-8, and won 15 corners and conceded just five.
- Nine Rutgers players made their Scarlet Knight debut in the opener.
The Scarlet Knights return 19 players that helped the squad qualify for their 12th-consecutive NCAA Tournament in 2023.
- Key returners include 2023 All-Big Ten Second Team honorees forward Riley Tiernan and defender Emily Mason.
- Defender Kassidy Banks joined Mason and Tiernan on the Big Ten Players to Watch List.
- Tiernan is the leading returning point scorer for Rutgers, as she tallied three goals and four assists last season.
  - She enters her final season tied for 4th all-time at Rutgers with 23 career assists and seven away from setting a new all-time record
The team brought in 12 new players for the 2024 campaign, including four transfers and eight freshmen, highlighted by 2023 Gatorade State Player of the Year from Washington Shaela Bradley.

Quick Hitters

Wake Forest was one of 11 ACC schools to win its season opener on Thursday night following a 1-0 victory at Army.
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.
The Scarlet Knights were picked seventh in the Big Ten in the preseason poll.
Following the victory against Army, Wake Forest have also now won seven-consecutive non-conference openers and have not lost one since 2016.
- Zara Chavoshi made her 50th-career appearance while Laurel Ansbrow logged her 40th.
- Additionally, it marked Ansbrow's 36th-consecutive start, the longest streak on the team.
Hannah Johnson's goal in the opener was the fifth of her career as Ansbrow picked up her second-career assist.
- It was the second time in Johnson's career where she scored the first goal of the season for the Demon Deacons, with the first coming in her Wake Forest debut in 2022 against Milwaukee.

Last Time Out

Thanks to a 41st-minute goal from junior Hannah Johnson, the Wake Forest women's soccer team opened the 2024 campaign with a 1-0 victory over Army West Point Thursday evening at Malek Stadium.
The lone goal came after a clever dummy from senior Nikayla Small on a ball from Laurel Ansbrow, Johnson then took a perfect touch with her back to goal to enter the box and knock it past the keeper.
The Demon Deacons dominated the contest, as they outshot the Black Knights, 29-to-1 (15-to-1 on goal), won 13 corners and controlled 68 percent of possession Thursday evening.
Star midfielder Emily Colton earned the start and made her Wake Forest debut. She tallied 74 minutes and played a major role in the Deacs' dominance throughout the contest.
After missing the entirety of her freshman season, forward Sierra Sythe made her collegiate debut in the 63rd minute.
The veteran center back pairing of Zara Chavoshi and Ansbrow went the full 90 minutes and helped limit Army to just one shot throughout the match.
In goal, Payton Cahill kept her fifth-career clean sheet in just nine games. The senior improved to 5-1-3 for her career and now holds a stellar .555 goals-against average. Despite only being forced into one save, the keeper limited Army's opportunities and cut off potential chances.

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.

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 the match against Rutgers, the Demon Deacons will return to Winston-Salem for the home opener against Temple on Thursday, Aug. 22 at 6 p.m..

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Players Mentioned

Laurel Ansbrow

Dempsey Brown

Chloe Burst

Payton Cahill

Zara Chavoshi

Emily Colton

Amaya Dawkins

Caiya Hanks

Hannah Johnson

Emily Murphy

Josie Noble

Paige Nurkin

Lola Ressler

Nikayla Small

Sierra Sythe

Wake Forest Athletics