Demon Deacons Travel to East Lansing for Second Round of NCAA Tournament

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Coming off a stellar 2-1 victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks, the No. 7-seeded Wake Forest women's soccer team heads north to face the No. 2-seed Michigan State Spartans for round two of the 2025 NCAA Tournament on Thursday, Nov. 20 at DeMartin Stadium.

The match is slated for 6:00 p.m. and will be shown live on ESPN+.

NCAA Tournament - Second Round
(7) Wake Forest (11-4-4) at (2) Michigan State (13-3-6)
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025 - 6:00 PM - ESPN+
East Lansing, Mich. – DeMartin Stadium

Deacs in the NCAA Tournament

Wake Forest is in its 24th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, with the last 23 coming under the helm of Tony da Luz.
- The Demon Deacons have made four of the last five tournaments, highlighted by a national finalist runner-up finish in the 2024 College Cup.
  - Eight current Demon Deacons made appearances during last year's postseason run.
Prior to its incredible 2024 tourney run, the Deacs' best-ever finish came in 2011 when they made the first College Cup in program history, led by Katie Stengel on the frontline and Aubrey Bledsoe in goal.
Wake Forest holds an overall record of 27-22-2 in the NCAA Tournament, including a 18-2-1 mark in Winston-Salem.
- The Demon Deacons advanced to the round of 32 for the 16th time in program history and for the third time in the last five years.

Quick Hitters

The Demon Deacons completed the regular season ranked 28th on the NCAA RPI and received votes on the United Soccer Coaches poll.
Wake Forest entered the postseason with a 10-4-4 regular-season record and an unbeaten 8-0-3 mark at home.
- The Deacs' notable results include a 3-2 victory at No. 9 Duke and a 1-1 draw with No. 1 Notre Dame.
Three Demon Deacons earned All-ACC honors, highlighted by the All-ACC Freshman of the Year selection for Kylie Maxwell.
- Maxwell also earned a spot on the Third Team and Freshman Team, joined by redshirt-sophomore Valentina Amaral on the third team and freshman Allie Flanagan on the freshman team.
Redshirt-sophomore Sierra Sythe remains a standout piece of Wake Forest's backline, starting all 19 contests for the Deacs and totaling over 1,700 minutes on the pitch, the most of any player in the outfield.
- Sythe broke into the record book with her nine assists this season and is currently sixth among the program for most assists in a single season.
Between the posts, redshirt sophomore Valentina Amaral ranks fifth in the conference both with a .783 save percentage and 72 total saves.
- The Oviedo, Fla., native has helped the Deacs post a .785 team save percentage that ranks fourth in the ACC.
The Deacs featured a varied roster of goal contributors with 13 different players and four freshmen supplying the Deacs' offense. Of note, freshmen have accounted for 14 of the Deacs' 32 goals this campaign (44 percent).
This Thursday marks the first matchup between the two head coaches.

Last Time Out (vs. South Carolina)

The Wake Forest women's soccer team (11-4-4, 4-3-3 ACC) defeated the South Carolina Gamecocks, 2-1 in the first round of the NCAA tournament (10-5-5, 4-2-4 SEC) Friday night at Spry Stadium.
Wake Forest pressured South Carolina into their zone in the opening stages of the match.
Senior forward Alex Wood tagged the Deacs' first on-target attempt of the night in the 7th minute.
Freshman forward Kylie Maxwell gave the Deacs the lead in the 15th minute.
- The ACC Freshman of the Year cut through chaos in front of the net to tap the ball in for her sixth of the year.
In the 17th minute, freshman forward Allie Flanagan launched a shot but the Gamecock keeper was there for the save.
Redshirt-sophomore goalkeeper Valentina Amaral dove wide to grab her first save of the night in the 24th minute.
- Amaral deflected the ball off her foot to collect her second save in the 28th minute and keep the Demon Deacons in the lead.
Senior forward Brooke Miller had an incredible opportunity on the right side of the box in the 44th minute but sent the ball just wide of the net.
Wake Forest entered the break with a 1-0 lead, with both teams tied at three shots apiece.
Both squads battled hard out of the half, each recording just one shot in the first 15 minutes of the second.
Off a corner set up by redshirt-sophomore Sierra Sythe, junior defender Sammi Wiemann found space in front and netted the ball to put the Deacs up 2-0 in the 60th minute.
South Carolina cut the deficit in half in the 64th minute.
In the 78th minute, the Deacs peppered the Gamecock keeper with five shot attempts in thirty seconds to keep pressure on the South Carolina defense.
Wake Forest defeated South Carolina, 2-1 to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

To the Maxx

In just her first year with the Demon Deacons, freshman forward Kylie Maxwell has already shown veteran skill. The 2025 All-ACC Freshman of the Year has totaled six goals, five assists, and a team high 17 points in her first year. With her assists during the 3-2 victory over the No. 9 Duke Blue Devils, the rookie is tied fifth in program history in single-season assists for a freshman. Also named to the All-ACC Freshman and Third Team, Maxwell scored the opening goal in the round one victory over the South Carolina Gamecocks. The Langhorne, Pa.-native has started all but one contest this season and has gone the full 90 minutes four times this season, most recently at Clemson. Maxwell leads the Deacs with her 17 and six goals in strikes and sits second behind Sythe in assists.

Defense on Lock

After seeing little action in the 2024 season, senior defender Laine DeNatale has been a standout feature on the Deacons' backline. The Locust Valley, N.Y.-native made starts in all 18 regular-season appearances, and went the full 90 in eight of them, totaling 1,425 minutes. On her opposing shoulder, redshirt-sophomore Sierra Sythe has also been a key factor in Wake Forest's defense. The defender recently reached 1,600 minutes in the outfield, the most of any Deac this season. Beyond her defensive presence, Sythe has totaled nine assists on the season, which leads the team and ranked fifth in the conference at the completion of the regular season. Additionally, Sythe broke into the Wake Forest record books this past season and is now sixth among Wake Forest program history for single-season assists.

Full Force Flanagan

With five goals and 11 points to her name, freshman forward Allie Flanagan has settled her way into being a key member of the Wake Forest frontline. Tabbed No. 19 on the TopDrawerSoccer Midseason Top 100 Freshmen, Flanagan has started 15 of her 17 appearances after an early-season setback. The Round Hill, Va.-native scored her first career goal in her second game as a Demon Deacon, and notched her first career assist during the Deacs' 2-1 victory over the Pitt Panthers. With her efforts on the Wake Forest frontline, Flanagan was named to the 2025 All-ACC Freshman Team.

Nothin' in Net

Tabbed to the All-ACC Third Team, redshirt-sophomore Valentina Amaral has once again shown unbelievable skill in net for the Deacs. The Oviedo, Fla-native has totaled 72 saves and six clean sheets in the 2025 campaign, and reached her 20th career win in the 2-1 win against the Virginia Tech Hokies. Amaral wrapped the regular season ranked fifth in the conference with a .784 save percentage and reached the 100-career-save milestone in the Deacs' 2-1 win over Pitt.

Series History vs. Michigan State

Thursday marks just the second matchup between the two programs and the first postseason occurrence.
- Wake Forest is 1-0-0 against the Spartans, with their first meeting on Sept. 7, 2017.
- The Deacs took a 4-1 victory over the Spartans at DeMartin Stadium with goals from Estelle Laurier and Bayley Feist.
The Demon Deacons are 2-1-1 in the state of Michigan with road wins against Michigan State, Michigan and Oakland dating back to 2017.

Scouting the Spartans

The Spartans are led by head coach Jeff Hosler, who is in his fifth season at MSU with a 55-16-14 mark with the program.
- Hosler is 6-3 in NCAA tournament play.
- This year marks the fourth straight tournament appearance and eighth overall in MSU history.
Michigan State completed the regular season with a 10-3-5 mark overall and a 7-1-3 record at DeMartin Stadium. Additionally, the squad finished No. 9 on the most recent United Soccer Coaches poll and No. 13 on TopDrawerSoccer.
Prior to its NCAA tourney berth, MSU advanced to the final round of the Big 10 Championship to face No. 13 Washington, but ultimately fell in penalty kicks.
In the first round of the NCAA Tournament, Michigan State defeated 2025 Horizon League champs, the Milwaukee Panthers, 4-1 on home turf.
Offensively, the Spartans average 2.36 goals per game with 52 goals on 337 total shots this season.
- Junior forward Kennedy Bell leads the attack with 11 goals, six assists and a team-high 28 points. Bell was named Big Ten Forward of the Year with 10 goals and 25 points during the regular season, of which led the conference.
Defensively, the Spartans have conceded 23 goals (1.05 per match) while allowing 206 shot attempts.
- Senior defender Maggie Illig anchored the Spartan backline with over 1,700 minutes in the back field as well as three goals and an assist for seven points. Additionally, Illig was named to the Preseason Mac Hermann Watchlist.
In net, freshman Noelle Henning has made 18 starts and holds an 11-3-4 mark entering the contest, with 21 goals allowed. The MSU keeper has totaled seven shutouts and a .747 save percentage.

Up Next
The winner of the match will take on the winner of No. 3-seed Colorado and No.6-seed Xavier on Sunday, Nov. 23.

Demon Deacons Travel to East Lansing for Second Round of NCAA Tournament

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Players Mentioned

Valentina Amaral

Laine DeNatale

Allie Flanagan

Kylie Maxwell

Brooke Miller

Sierra Sythe

Sammi Wiemann

Alex Wood

Wake Forest Athletics

Demon Deacons Travel to East Lansing for Second Round of NCAA Tournament

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Players Mentioned

Valentina Amaral

Laine DeNatale

Allie Flanagan

Kylie Maxwell

Brooke Miller

Sierra Sythe

Sammi Wiemann

Alex Wood

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