Sunday, August 25
Winston-Salem, N.C.
7 p.m.
Wake Forest University
vs
Central Arkansas
No. 15 Wake Forest Concludes Opening Weekend Hosting Central Arkansas
8/24/2024 8:07:00 AM | Men's Soccer
The Demon Deacons will host the Sugar Bears looking for their first win of the campaign.
Winston-Salem, N.C. – The No. 15 ranked Wake Forest men's soccer team will close out the opening weekend of the 2024 season on Sunday evening with the Demon Deacons' first-ever matchup against Central Arkansas.
Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the match will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
Fan Information
Parking is encouraged in lots A, B, Q, W1 & W2. A complete parking map of campus is here.
Gates open one hour prior to kickoff for all home matches.
Wake Forest Athletics is committed to providing the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina within a safe and fan-friendly environment. The first 100 students at Sunday's match will receive food vouchers for the stadium concession stands.
Ticket Information
2024 Wake Forest soccer season and single game tickets are on-sale now giving fans the opportunity to witness The Best Fan Experience In North Carolina from a number of unique seating options!
Adult season tickets start as low as $70 for general admission and $50 for youth while reserved chairbacks are $130 for fans and $110 for Wake Forest University faculty and staff.
Fans can catch all of Demon Deacon home action this fall as well by purchasing combo season tickets to see both men's and women's soccer starting as low as $90 for general admission and $180 for reserved chairbacks for fans and $150 for Wake Forest University faculty and staff.
Accessibility Information
Wake Forest Athletics strives to provide content at games, social media and on GoDeacs.com that is accessible to all people. In the continued effort to improve accessibility of the technology and digital content at tomorrow's game, fans can access closed captions here for the public address announcer and in-venue content.
Wake Forest Athletics is always open to learning about new ideas and ways we can improve. Please report accessibility challenges, identify content you find inaccessible, or give us general feedback at pantagw@wfu.edu.
The Matchup
Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the match will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
Fan Information
Parking is encouraged in lots A, B, Q, W1 & W2. A complete parking map of campus is here.
Gates open one hour prior to kickoff for all home matches.
Wake Forest Athletics is committed to providing the Best Fan Experience in North Carolina within a safe and fan-friendly environment. The first 100 students at Sunday's match will receive food vouchers for the stadium concession stands.
Ticket Information
2024 Wake Forest soccer season and single game tickets are on-sale now giving fans the opportunity to witness The Best Fan Experience In North Carolina from a number of unique seating options!
Adult season tickets start as low as $70 for general admission and $50 for youth while reserved chairbacks are $130 for fans and $110 for Wake Forest University faculty and staff.
Fans can catch all of Demon Deacon home action this fall as well by purchasing combo season tickets to see both men's and women's soccer starting as low as $90 for general admission and $180 for reserved chairbacks for fans and $150 for Wake Forest University faculty and staff.
Accessibility Information
Wake Forest Athletics strives to provide content at games, social media and on GoDeacs.com that is accessible to all people. In the continued effort to improve accessibility of the technology and digital content at tomorrow's game, fans can access closed captions here for the public address announcer and in-venue content.
Wake Forest Athletics is always open to learning about new ideas and ways we can improve. Please report accessibility challenges, identify content you find inaccessible, or give us general feedback at pantagw@wfu.edu.
The Matchup
- Wake Forest and Central Arkansas will meet for the first time in their respective program histories on Sunday night.
- The Demon Deacons enter the match ranked No. 15 in the United Soccer Coaches' preseason poll and are looking to bounce back following a 2-1 defeat to VCU in their season opener on Thursday.
- Wake Forest took the lead in the 21st minute of that match following a perfectly placed free kick by sophomore Jose Perez, but were unable to maintain their one goal advantage over the Rams.
- Central Arkansas opened their season with a 3-0 victory on Thursday over NAIA school Evangel (Mo.).
- The Sugar Bears outshot Evangel 22-0, including placing 11 shots on frame.
- Senior Devonte Richards recorded assists on two of Central Arkansas' three goals on Thursday night.
- Following Thursday night's match, Central Arkansas will travel to Memphis to take on the Tigers on Sunday, September 1.
- Wake Forest opened the 2024 season on Thursday evening, falling to VCU by a final of 2-1.
- Despite taking a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute off a perfectly placed direct free kick from Jose Perez, the Rams were able to equalize shortly after in the first half before scoring the game-winning goal in the 83rd minute.
- Earning his 55th career start, Trace Alphin made three saves in the contest.
- Three Demon Deacons made their first-ever starts in the contest, as Julian Kennedy, Jose Perez and Dylan Borso were featured in the starting XI.
- In addition to Borso, fellow freshmen Amoni Thomas, Daniel Krueger, Pariss Mitchell, Ryan Belal, Joel Torbic and Will Jackson made their collegiate debuts, as they combined for 217 minutes of action.
- Since head coach Bobby Muuss' arrival in 2015 along with the coaching staff of associate head coaches Dane Brenner and Steve Armas along with assistant coach Ade Taiwo, Wake Forest ranks No. 1 nationally in home wins (102), 16 more than any other program nationally during that span and 19 more than any ACC program.
- Over the last nine seasons, the Deacs have won at least eight of their matches at Spry Stadium including a double-digit win total seven of those seasons.
- Wake Forest's home winning percentage of 81.9 percent since 2015 also ranks fourth nationally, behind only Indiana, New Hampshire and Denver.
- Sunday's encounter will be the first matchup against the Sugar Bears in program history.
- Under head coach Frank Kohlenstein, Central Arkansas finished the 2023 season with a 4-9-4 record, picking up victories against Air Force, North Florida, and Queens twice.
- Junior forward Pietro Fontana was named to the 2024 Preseason All-ASUN Team.
- Fontana was one of the top goal scorers in the country last season, netting 12 goals for the Sugar Bears to earn first-team All-ASUN honors in 2023.
- The Sugar Bears made their lone appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 2017.
- The Demon Deacons will hit the road for the first time in 2024, facing current No. 19 UCF on Saturday, August 31 in a colossal matchup between two of the top-ranked teams from the 2023 season.
- It will be the first matchup between the two schools since the Deacs defeated the Knights 1-0 at Spry during the 2022 season. This will also mark the first matchup between the two schools away from Winston-Salem.
- Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
Players Mentioned
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
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