Demon Deacons Close Regular Season in Tallahassee

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Wake Forest women's soccer team (10-4-4, 4-3-3 ACC) concluded its regular season campaign on the road against No. 6 Florida State (10-2-3, 6-2-2 ACC) with a 4-1 defeat Thursday night at Seminole Soccer Complex.

The Seminoles took a 2-0 lead into the break and added a third in the 54th minute. Redshirt sophomore Sierra Sythe got one back for the Deacs with her third of the season two minutes later following a beautiful ball from senior Brooke Miller.

Sythe is now tied for the team lead in points with freshman Kylie Maxwell as the goal moved her to 15 on the year.

Additionally, Miller became the third Demon Deacon this season to reach five assists, joining Sythe (nine) and Maxwell (five).

Florida State added a fourth in the 62nd and closed out the scoring.

In net, redshirt sophomore Valentina Amaral surpassed a career high with 12 saves on the night. The Oviedo, Fla., native has now reached 69 saves this season, which ranks fifth in the ACC. Additionally, this marked the most saves in a single game for a Demon Deacon since Nonie Frishette had 12 against Penn State on Sept. 2, 2018.

Amaral is nearing the top 10 in program history for saves in a single-season, now just six shy of Erin Regan's 1995 season (75).

How It Happened

The Seminoles pressed hard into the Demon Deacons' backline in the opening stages of the match.
Florida State took the lead in the 10th minute off a free kick.
Redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Valentina Amaral made a diving save and Sythe followed that up with a block as the Deacs kept the Noles out of the net.
The Noles doubled their lead in the 21st minute off a penalty kick.
Freshman defender Tahlia Zadeyan got the Deacs' first on-target attempt of the night in the 22nd minute.
Florida State threw an attempt towards Amaral in the 28th minute, but the Oviedo, Fla.-native collected it with ease.
- This marked her 60th save of the season.
Just a minute later, freshman Allie Flanagan sent a ball soaring towards the net, but went high of the net.
Amaral closed out the half with another save in the 43rd minute,
The Deacs entered the locker room at a 0-2 deficit, with possession almost split at 48 for the Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest jumped out of the half with pressure in the Seminoles' zone.
Florida State fired back-to-back corners, but the Wake Forest backline cleared any Seminole attempts.
The Seminoles took a 3-0 lead in the 54th minute.
Two minutes later, redshirt-sophomore Sierra Sythe fired back to put the Deacs on the board.
- The strike marked Sythe's third of the season and sixth of her career.
- Senior Brooke Miller recorded her fifth career assist on the goal.
Despite two impressive save attempts from Amaral, the Noles extended their lead to 4-1 in the 62nd minute.
Amaral came up big in the 74th minute, swatting away at a Seminole attempt.
Wake Forest fell on the road 1-4 to the No. 6-ranked Florida State Seminoles.

Up Next
The Demon Deacons now turn their attention to the NCAA Tournament, beginning with the selection show on Nov. 10 at 3 p.m.

Team Stats

Sierra Sythe

Brooke Miller

Allie Flanagan

Tahlia Zadeyan

Players Mentioned

Valentina Amaral

Allie Flanagan

Kylie Maxwell

Brooke Miller

Sierra Sythe

Tahlia Zadeyan

Wake Forest Athletics