Thursday, August 21
Winston-Salem, N.C.
8 p.m.
Wake Forest University
vs
Maryland
No. 6 Wake Forest to Open the 2025 Season Against Maryland
8/20/2025 10:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
The 2024 ACC Championship trophy will be on display at Spry Stadium Thursday night.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Following the program's fourth ACC title a year ago, the No. 6 ranked Wake Forest men's soccer team will begin the 2025 campaign on Thursday night hosting former ACC foe Maryland at Spry Stadium.
The match will be the second of a doubleheader with women's soccer hosting Villanova at 5 p.m. Kick-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the contest will air nationally on ACC Network.
Team Hadley
At Thursday's match, Wake Forest Soccer will be supporting Hadley Walters, a brave 4-year-old from Winston-Salem who is currently undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) at Brenner Children's Hospital.
A donation table will be set up at Spry Stadium beginning in the second half of the women's match against Villanova and will remain open until the 70th minute of the men's match against Maryland. All proceeds will go directly to support Hadley and her family during her treatment journey. Fans who contribute at least $15 will be provided a free t-shirt to support Team Hadley.
Fans who wish to contribute online can do so here.
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.
Season Ticket Information
2025 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
Consecutive Seasons With 10+ Victories
The Spry Advantage
Home Winning Percentage Since 2015
Consistent Threat In The Toughest Conference In The Country
Looking Ahead
The match will be the second of a doubleheader with women's soccer hosting Villanova at 5 p.m. Kick-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. and the contest will air nationally on ACC Network.
Team Hadley
At Thursday's match, Wake Forest Soccer will be supporting Hadley Walters, a brave 4-year-old from Winston-Salem who is currently undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) at Brenner Children's Hospital.
A donation table will be set up at Spry Stadium beginning in the second half of the women's match against Villanova and will remain open until the 70th minute of the men's match against Maryland. All proceeds will go directly to support Hadley and her family during her treatment journey. Fans who contribute at least $15 will be provided a free t-shirt to support Team Hadley.
Fans who wish to contribute online can do so here.
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.
Season Ticket Information
2025 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
- Since 2000, Wake Forest (357) and Maryland (348) are the two winningest programs in the nation.
- Wake Forest has won the season opener in 35 out of its 44 seasons and seven out of 10 times under the helm of Bobby Muuss.
- The Demon Deacons enter the match ranked No. 6 in the United Soccer Coaches' preseason poll, No. 2 in the TopDrawerSoccer poll and No. 4 in the College Soccer News poll.
- Maryland is receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches' preseason poll.
- Wake Forest was recently picked to finish second in the ACC preseason poll and held the most first-place votes (5).
- Thursday will mark the 41st all-time meeting between Wake Forest and Maryland.
- The Demon Deacons lead the all-time series 19-15-6 and are unbeaten (4-0-2) against the Terrapins dating back to 2011.
- Last year, the two sides met in the second round of the NCAA Tournament as Wake Forest advanced to the Sweet 16 behind Cooper Flax's 63rd-minute winner.
- Wake Forest is 12-5-0 all-time against Maryland at home and haven't lost to the Terrapins at Spry since 1998.
- Under Muuss, Wake Forest is 2-0-1 against Maryland and have outscored the Terps, 5-1 across the three matches.
- Maryland is coming off of a 9-6-5 season, including a 5-3-2 record in Big Ten play that saw them earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the 23rd time in the last 24 years.
- The Terrapins fell to the Demon Deacons in the second round, 2-1.
- The Terrapins were selected second in the Big Ten Preseason Poll and landed three players on the Big Ten Preseason Players to Watch List:
- Luca Costabile, senior defender
- Leon Koehl, junior midfielder
- Sadam Masereka, senior forward
- Maryland is bringing back 76 percent of their goal production from last season, including three of its top four goal scorers in 2024 in Leon Koehl (seven), and Colin Griffith (six) and Sadam Masereka (four).
- The Terps also returned their starting goalkeeper, sophomore Laurin Mack, who earned Big Ten All-Freshman honors last year.
- Mack started all but one of Maryland's 20 matches in 2024, posting a 1.48 goals-against average and a 9-6-1 record with three clean sheets.
- Cooper Flax
- United Soccer Coaches Midfielder to Watch
- ACC Preseason Player to Watch
- TopDrawerSoccer Top 100 Players - No. 11
- TopDrawerSoccer Best XI - First Team
- Harvey Sarajian
- United Soccer Coaches Midfielder to Watch
- TopDrawerSoccer Top 100 Players - No. 38
- Travis Smith Jr.
- TopDrawerSoccer Best XI - Second Team
- TopDrawerSoccer Top 100 Players - No. 32
- The Demon Deacons claimed their fourth ACC Championship and third under 10th-year head coach Bobby Muuss in a thrilling 7-6 PK result against Clemson on Nov. 17. This came after Wake Forest opened the ACC Tournament with a comeback victory against Syracuse, erasing a late 2-0 deficit against SMU to advance in PKs and then tallying the largest victory over Virginia in program history with a 5-1 result in the semifinals.
- Wake Forest extended its conference-best mark for ACC regular season victories since 2015 to 55 with four wins this season. The Deacs' 55 ACC regular season victories are nine more than any other program.
- The Demon Deacons will be the only program with more than 100 home victories since the start of the 2015 season, finishing the 2024 campaign with nine wins at Spry.
- The Deacs' 152 victories over the last decade are also most in the country, leading Indiana (145) and Clemson (141).
- A talented group of seniors and graduates left behind a legacy on and off the field, as the group helped lead the Demon Deacons to 63 victories, including four-straight NCAA Tournament appearances and the 2023 ACC Atlantic Division title while extending nationally-best marks for total wins, home wins and ACC regular season wins for the program over the last decade.
- The 2023 ACC Atlantic Division title marked Wake Forest's fifth during the 10-year divisional format, most in the ACC.
- Between September and October, the Demon Deacons rattled off a seven-match unbeaten stretch with ACC victories over Syracuse, Boston College and Virginia Tech along with non-conference wins against ETSU and UNCW. During that stretch, Wake Forest also recorded 0-0 draws with Wofford and then-No. 16 Duke.
- The 2-1 comeback victory over Syracuse marked the first time either program has won on the road in the all-time series, as the Deacs scored in the 78th and 80th minutes.
- The shutout against Duke's high-octane offense marked the first time the Blue Devils were held scoreless at home since a 2-0 decision against Clemson on Nov. 6, 2022.
- Wake Forest registered its first comeback victory being down 2-0 for the first time since Sept. 3, 2006, as the Demon Deacons erased a two-goal halftime deficit to defeat Central Arkansas 3-2 on Aug. 25.
- Wake Forest is now 10-0-0 in Genna Wiley Memorial Matches under head coach Bobby Muuss, as the Demon Deacons defeated Virginia Tech 2-1 on Oct. 19.
- The Deacs wore special pink jerseys with $3,355 raised to benefit the Cancer Health Equity Patient Care fund at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist.
- Wake Forest brings back 19 players from a season ago, including 67 percent (24 of 36) of goals and 57 percent (16 of 28) percent of assists.
- Notable Returners:
- Cooper Flax, Midfielder, Senior
- The only field player to start all 24 matches during the 2024 season, leading the Demon Deacons in points (19), goals (nine) shots (63) and shots on goal (26).
- 2024 United Soccer Coaches Third-Team All-American
- 2024 United Soccer Coaches First-Team All-South Region
- 2024 ACC All-Tournament Team Selection
- 2024 All-ACC Second-Team Selection
- 2024 TopDrawerSoccer Top 100 Players (No. 42)
- Basit Umar, Midfielder, Senior
- Appeared in 22 matches with 16 starts, recording 10 points from four goals and two assists in 2024.
- Led the Deacs with three-game-winning goals.
- Started the final 16 matches of the season.
- Ryan Belal, Forward, Sophomore
- Appeared in 19 matches with one start in 2024.
- Finished tied for second on the team in goals (four).
- Travis Smith Jr., Defender, Junior
- Appeared in 22 matches with 21 starts in 2024.
- Played numerous positions on the Deacs' backline.
- Recorded 1,718 minutes of action.
- Played 90 or minutes nine times and contributed to six Demon Deacon clean sheets.
- Amoni Thomas, Defender, Sophomore
- Appeared in 20 matches with 13 starts in his debut season.
- Recorded 1,310 minutes of action and logged three assists against Elon.
- Started four postseason matches including Wake Forest's ACC Tournament Championship against Clemson.
- Cristian Escribano, Defender, Graduate
- Returning for sixth season after missing most of last season due to injury
- Team captain for third-straight year
- Cooper Flax, Midfielder, Senior
- New to the roster this season are 7 freshmen and three transfers, as Wake Forest's 2025 incoming class ranked No. 10 nationally in TopDrawerSoccer's final recruiting rankings.
- Transfers In: 3
- Harvey Sarajian, Midfielder/Forward, Sophomore (From Georgia Southern)
- Appeared in every match for the Eagles and started in 16 of them
- Tied for second on the team with four goals
- Led the team in assists and tied for third in the Sun Belt with six assists
- 2024 United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region Second-Team Selection
- 2024 Sun Belt Freshman of the Year
- 2024 All-Sun Belt First-Team Selection
- 2024 TopDrawer Soccer Top 100 Freshman (No. 22)
- 2024 TopDrawerSoccer Freshman Best XI Second-Team
- Ethan Subachan, Forward, Junior (From Louisville)
- Appeared in 16 of 17 matches his sophomore year, starting 15 of them
- Logged three goals and three assists in 2024 with the Cardinals
- Tate Lorentz, Midfielder/Forward, Junior (From North Carolina)
- Winston-Salem native, attended Mount Tabor High School.
- Harvey Sarajian, Midfielder/Forward, Sophomore (From Georgia Southern)
- Freshmen: 7
- Alfred Debah, Midfielder (No. 79)
- Chandler Young, Midfielder/Forward (No. 161)
- Copeland Berkley, Defender (No. 179)
- John Di Stefano, Goalkeeper
- Lorenze Currie, Defender
- David Nguema, Midfielder
- Bret Russsell, Defender/Midfielder
- Named the fourth head coach in program history prior to the start of the 2015 season, Bobby Muuss' Demon Deacon squads have built on the longstanding and rich 45-year history of the program.
- Since 2015, Wake Forest's 152 total wins ranks No. 1 nationally, seven more than any program and 11 more than any other ACC program. During that span, Wake Forest is also joined only by Indiana as the only Division I programs to have won at least 10 matches every season.
- Additionally, Wake Forest and Indiana are the only two programs of the 211 programs nationally to hold double-digit NCAA Tournament appearance streaks.
| Rank | Team | Total Wins Since '15 |
| 1. | Wake Forest | 152 |
| 2. | Indiana | 145 |
| 3. | Clemson | 141 |
| 4. | Georgetown | 133 |
| 5. | Stanford | 126 |
Consecutive Seasons With 10+ Victories
| Rank | Team | Consecutive seasons with 10+ wins |
| 1. | Wake Forest | 13 |
| 2. | Indiana | 11 |
| 3. | Georgetown | 8 |
| T4. | Clemson, Missouri State, Marshall | 6 |
| 7. | Denver, Duke | 4 |
The Spry Advantage
- Since Muuss' arrival in 2015, Wake Forest ranks No. 1 nationally in home wins (111), 17 more than any other program nationally.
- Over the last 10 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 82.4 percent since 2015 also ranks third nationally, behind only Indiana and Denver.
| Rank | Team | Total Home Wins Since '15 |
| 1. | Wake Forest | 111 |
| 2. | Clemson | 94 |
| 3. | Indiana | 93 |
| 4. | Virginia | 86 |
| 5. | Georgetown | 84 |
| Rank | Team | Home Winning Percentage Since '15 |
| 1. | Indiana | 83.8% |
| 2. | Denver | 83.5% |
| 3. | Wake Forest | 82.4% |
| 4. | Georgetown | 80.4% |
| 5. | New Hampshire | 80.2% |
Consistent Threat In The Toughest Conference In The Country
- Recognized annually as the toughest soccer conference in the country from top to bottom, the ACC has placed the most teams in the NCAA Tournament each of the last 12 seasons and has had at least five teams earn a bid 24-straight seasons.
- During the 2024 NCAA Tournament, the ACC earned nine bids including seven national seeds.
- Wake Forest has received an NCAA Tournament bid 14-straight seasons, eight years more than any other ACC program.
| Rank | Team | Consecutive NCAA Tournament Appearances |
| 1. | Wake Forest | 14 |
| T2. | Clemson & Pitt | 6 |
| 4. | North Carolina | 5 |
| 5. | Duke | 4 |
| T6. | Virginia, Stanford & SMU | 3 |
Looking Ahead
- Wake Forest will conclude the opening weekend of the season on Sunday, hosting UCF at Spry Stadium.
- Kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the match will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.
- The Demon Deacons are currently unbeaten all-time against the Knights (4-0-1) and a perfect 4-0-0 at home.
- Last season, the two sides battled to a 1-1 draw in Orlando.
Players Mentioned
Forward
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Defender
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Defender
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Midfielder
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Goalkeeper
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Defender
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Midfielder
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Midfielder/Forward
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Midfielder
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Midfielder/Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
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Forward
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Defender
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Midfielder
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Midfielder/Forward
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