No. 13 Wake Forest Set to Host No. 1 Stanford in Conference Home Opener

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- In a battle of two of the ACC's best, the No. 13-ranked Wake Forest women's soccer team will host No. 1 Stanford this Thursday, Sept. 19 at Spry Stadium.

The match is slated for 7 p.m. and tickets are available for purchase here. Free Taco Mama will be handed out to students while supplies last. This will mark the sixth time in program history that the Deacs will be welcoming a top-ranked team to Spry.

For those unable to attend, the match will be shown live on ACC Network Extra with live stats available here.

Need to Know - Game 10
No. 1 Stanford (8-0-0, 0-0-0 ACC) at No. 13 Wake Forest (6-2-1, 1-1-0 ACC)
Thursday, Sept. 19, 2024 - 7 PM - ACC Network Extra
Winston-Salem, N.C. – Spry Stadium

Quick Hitters

The Demon Deacons enter the weekend ranked 13th nationally in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, the highest ranking for Wake Forest since 2013.
- This comes after the historic 3-0 victory over No. 2 Virginia on Sunday afternoon.
- It marked the highest-ranked victory for Wake Forest since the 2-1 win at No. 2 Duke on Oct. 31, 2021.
- Of note, it was also the largest win for the Deacs over a top-five opponent since the 3-0 victory against No. 5 Florida State in 2009.
This will mark the 18th time in program history that Wake Forest will be taking on a top-ranked team and first since the 1-1 draw against No. 1 Virginia on Sept. 20, 2019.
- A win would mark the first in program history over a No. 1-ranked team.
The Demon Deacons rank fourth in the conference and 18th nationally with 19.67 shots per-game.
- Additionally, they rank fourth in the ACC in corners per-game and 15th nationally with 7.67.
Spry Stadium has been a fortress for the Demon Deacons over the last three seasons, as Wake Forest has posted a stellar 14-2-5 record at home since the start of 2022 and is currently on a 12-game unbeaten stretch.
With her assist against Virginia, Emily Colton has recorded at least one goal contribution in three of the last four outings.
Wake Forest has five players with five or more points so far in 2024.
- Caiya Hanks - 9 points (3 goals, 3 assists)
- Sierra Sythe - 8 points (3 goals, 2 assists)
- Emily Colton - 7 points (2 goals, 3 assists)
- Anna Swanson - 6 points (3 goals)
- Hannah Johnson - 5 points (2 goals, 1 assist)
In goal, Valentina Amaral recorded her second-career clean sheet and first of the season last time out at Virginia..
- She has only conceded one goal in over 400 minutes for her career with a .900 save percentage.

Historic Win Over No. 2 Virginia

Powered by three first-half goals, the Wake Forest women's soccer team earned a dominant, 3-0 victory on the road against No. 2 Virginia Sunday afternoon at Klöckner Stadium.
The Demon Deacons opened the scoring in the 17th minute, as senior forward Emily Murphy received the ball at midfield and made an excellent, darting run into the box before slipping it to junior forward Caiya Hanks for the finish. It marked Murphy's 15th-career assist and third this campaign.
After a few more half-chances, Wake Forest doubled its lead in the 35th minute as senior defender Zara Chavoshi played a dangerous ball into the box before it fell to redshirt freshman Sierra Sythe in front of goal, who put it away for her first-career ACC goal.
Sythe has been phenomenal in her first collegiate season with three goals and two assists across the first nine games. Chavoshi, who went the full 90 for the seventh time this season, recorded her third-career assist while also being stellar in one-on-one defending against the Virginia attack.
The third goal of the afternoon came just three minutes later, as senior midfielder Emily Colton played a perfectly-weighted through ball and set Hanks free on goal. The junior made no mistake and finished with ease.
It marked the first-career brace for Hanks as she brought her season points tally to nine with three goals and three assists. Over the last two seasons, Hanks leads all Wake Forest players with 25 total points on nine goals and seven assists.
The Demon Deacons handed the Cavaliers their first loss of the 2024 campaign as Wake Forest has now won back-to-back games over Virginia for the first time since 2011-2012.
With the 2-0 victory at Spry Stadium last season, it also marked the first-time in program history the Deacs have recorded consecutive clean sheets against the Cavaliers.

Scouting the Cardinal

No. 1 Stanford enters the match as one of four teams in the country with an unblemished record, joining Auburn, Kentucky and Utah State, all of which are 8-0-0.
The Cardinal have recorded a clean sheet in six of their opening eight matches, putting them third in the conference and ninth nationally with a .750 shutout percentage.
- Additionally, they are seventh in the country with a .250 goals-against average, having only conceded twice all season.
They are led by Andrea Kitahata, who has a team-high five goals and three assists for 13 points across eight games.
In goal, Haley Craig has started all eight games and has made 18 saves to just two goals allowed for a .900 save percentage, which ranks fourth in the conference.
- Craig's five complete game shutouts rank first in the ACC and sixth nationally.

Series History vs. Stanford

Wake Forest leads the all-time series against Stanford, 2-0-1 dating back to 1997.
In the inaugural match of the series, Wake Forest earned a 2-1 defeat over No. 11 Stanford in California on Sept. 21, 1997.
The second meeting came in the Santa Clara Classic in 2000, where the teams battled to a 2-2
2006 was the last time the two sides met, as the Demon Deacons claimed another 2-1 victory over the Cardinal following an overtime winner from Megan Upchurch.
This will be the first meeting between the two schools in Winston-Salem.

Home Ticket Information
To experience The Best Fan Experience in North Carolina, single game 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.

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.

Up Next
Following the match, the Demon Deacons will remain at home for a clash against another one of the ACC's newest additions, Cal, on Sunday at noon. The match will be shown on ACC Network.

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No. 13 Wake Forest Set to Host No. 1 Stanford in Conference Home Opener

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Valentina Amaral

Zara Chavoshi

Emily Colton

Caiya Hanks

Hannah Johnson

Emily Murphy

Anna Swanson

Sierra Sythe

Wake Forest Athletics

No. 13 Wake Forest Set to Host No. 1 Stanford in Conference Home Opener

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Valentina Amaral

Zara Chavoshi

Emily Colton

Caiya Hanks

Hannah Johnson

Emily Murphy

Anna Swanson

Sierra Sythe

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