No. 19 Wake Forest Downs USF, 1-0

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Highlighted by a goal directly from a corner kick by redshirt sophomore Sierra Sythe, the No. 19 Wake Forest women's soccer team (4-1-0, 0-0-0 ACC) earned its fourth-straight home shutout victory with a 1-0 win over the USF Bulls (1-4-0, 0-0-0 American) Thursday night at Spry Stadium.

Both teams battled heavily during the opening stages of the match, with Wake Forest maintaining 65 percent possession through the first 45. The Bulls recorded the first shot of the contest during the ninth minute, but redshirt sophomore standout keeper Valentina Amaral was there to make the stop. Amaral earned her 60th career save in the 37th minute, to ensure both teams went into the break goalless.

Overall, the Oviedo, Fla., native notched three saves on the night to earn her fourth clean sheet on the season and the 11th of her career. Through the first five games of the season, Amaral has tallied 13 saves while maintaining a 0.40 goals against average and a 0.867 save percentage.

Sythe's olimpico broke the deadlock in the 69th minute as Wake Forest finally took the well-deserved lead. Over the 90 minutes, the Deacs outshot the Bulls 18-to-8 and controlled 62 percent of possession.

Senior midfielder Carly Wilson joined Sythe as the only two outfield players to go the full 90 for the Demon Deacons.

Since the 2020-21 season, Wake Forest is 18-0-2 at home against non-conference opponents in regular-season action. In those 20 games, the Deacs have outscored opponents 53-2.

How It Happened

The Demon Deacons battled the Bulls from the very beginning, as USF recorded the first shot of the contest in the 9th minute.
Wake Forest got their first look of the game in the 14th minute, as Sythe set up senior Hannah Johnson for a header that sailed just over the bar.
Freshman Kylie Maxwell recorded her first of five shots on the evening in the 21st minute, but it went wide.
The Demon Deacons recorded another stellar scoring opportunity in the 31st minute, as Maxwell's shot off of a corner was saved by the USF goalie.
Amaral recorded her 60th career save in the 37th minute to keep the Bulls off the board.
Wake Forest maintained 65 percent possession; however, both teams remained scoreless at the break.
Both squads continued to battle out of the break, with Wake Forest outshooting USF 3-1 inside the opening ten minutes of the half.
The Deacons recorded the breakthrough in the 69th minute as Sythe scored directly from the corner flag.
- This marked her fifth goal of her career and her second of the season.
Senior Taryn Chance saw another incredible scoring opportunity with a wide-open net in the 76th minute, but the USF defender stepped in to block the shot attempt.
The Demon Deacons kept heavy pressure on the South Florida keeper, recording three consecutive shot attempts in the 84th minute, but were unable to find the back of the net.
Despite a push from the Bulls in the final minutes, the Deacs held on for the 1-0 victory.

Demon Deacon Details of Note

Freshman Allie Flanagan made her first career start.
Sophomore Amaya Dawkins, freshman Kylie Maxwell, and senior Laine DeNatale made their fifth career start.
Senior Hannah Johnson made her 50th career appearance.
Freshman Rachael Wright made her fifth career appearance.
Senior Carly Wilson made her 15th career start.
Junior Addison Robberts made her fifth career start and first for the Deacons.
Redshirt sophomore Valentina Amaral reached 60 career saves.
Redshirt sophomore Sierra Sythe scored her fifth career goal.

From Coach da Luz
"We started slow, but we worked hard to gain control of the game midway through the first half. USF was tough defensively, so it was difficult to create clear chances. We eventually wore them down and created several good scoring chances as well as corner kicks. Sierra Sythe's olimpico goal was special, and she served our corners with quality. Our backline adapted well without Dempsey Brown tonight and held USF to a few chances. Four shutouts in five games is fantastic and I'm proud of the team for supporting each other and responding positively to our loss last game."

Up Next
Wake Forest heads south to face the College of Charleston on Thursday, Sept. 4th at Patriots Point Soccer Complex. The match will be streamed on FloCollege with stats available here.

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Team Stats

Sierra Sythe

Hannah Johnson

Kylie Maxwell

Allie Flanagan

Players Mentioned

Valentina Amaral

Dempsey Brown

Taryn Chance

Amaya Dawkins

Laine DeNatale

Allie Flanagan

Hannah Johnson

Kylie Maxwell

Sierra Sythe

Carly Wilson

Rachael Wright

Wake Forest Athletics