Monday, September 22
Winston-Salem, N.C.
7 p.m.
Wake Forest University
5-1-3, 0-1-1
7
vs
0
Liberty
4-2-2, 0-0-0
1
2
F
Liberty
0
0
0
Wake Forest
3
4
7
Flax Hat-Trick Propels No. 1 Demon Deacons to Dominant Victory Over Liberty
9/22/2025 10:05:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Bidding for tonight’s game-worn green jerseys will remain open until midnight on Wednesday.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Highlighted by a first-career hat trick for senior midfielder Cooper Flax, the No. 1 Wake Forest men's soccer team (5-1-3, 0-1-1 ACC) returned to winning ways Monday night as it defeated Liberty (4-2-2, 0-0-0 OVC) at Spry Stadium in the team's annual We Are Wake mental health awareness green match.
Flax opened his account on the year as he converted from the spot in the second and 16th minutes after freshman forward Chandler Young forced the Liberty keeper into two fouls in the box.
He completed the hat-trick in the 68th minute with a beautiful free kick from just outside the box to make it 6-0. This marked the 31st hat-trick in program history, the fourth under head coach Bobby Muuss and first since Roald Mitchell accomplished the feat against Furman on Sept. 4, 2023.
The senior also added an assist on a goal in the 60th minute following his corner, making him the first Deac with seven points in a game since Mitchell did so against Winthrop on Sept. 6, 2022.
The preseason MAC Hermann Watch List honoree now has 15 goals and 13 assists in a Wake Forest uniform after leading the team with nine a season ago. It also marked his second-career game with multiple goals with his first coming against Virginia in the ACC semifinal last season (Nov. 14, 2024).
This marked the third-consecutive game that a Demon Deacon recorded multiple goals following braces from Tate Lorentz (Sept. 16 vs. UNCW) and Basit Umar (Sept. 19 at Virginia).
In the 24th minute, sophomore forward Harvey Sarajian scored his first goal in a Wake Forest uniform after taking a great touch and firing a powerful shot into the bottom left corner following a great ball from sophomore defender Amoni Thomas.
Thomas leads the team with four assists on the year and now has seven over his two years with the Deacs. Junior midfielder Tate Lorentz picked up the secondary assist on the goal, bringing him to three on the season.
Less than five minutes into the second half, Young got his well-deserved goal after he pressured the Liberty keeper to launch it from 40 yards out of his own net, which then deflected off of the freshman and went into the back of the net. It marked the first goal of Young's career.
Lorentz added to the scoring in the 60th minute, converting a beautiful half volley off a Flax corner kick to make it 5-0. The Winston-Salem native now has a team-high five goals this season, as well as a team-best 13 points.
Junior Ethan Subachan tacked on the seventh goal for the Deacs in the 69th minute, as he stole the ball off a Liberty defender before slotting it into the bottom left corner for his second goal of the season.
This marked the first seven goal game for the Demon Deacons since they defeated Loyola (MD) 7-0 during the 2021 season.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Jonah Mednard contributed to the Deacs' fifth clean sheet of the season in just nine games and finished the contest with three saves. He is now tied for the ACC lead with 26 saves this season.
The team wore special green jerseys on Monday night in honor of mental health awareness and will be auctioned off in support of the Trinity Center.
A Winston-Salem based organization, the Trinity Center is dedicated to meeting the needs of our community with the mission to improve lives by providing exceptional care with openness, hope and faith.
The proceeds from the auction will support Trinity Center's Financial Aid program, which provides low-cost therapy for people who are uninsured and underinsured. Fans are able to bid until midnight Wednesday and can do so here.
How it Happened
Man of the Match - Cooper Flax
Demon Deacon Details of Note
National Leader In Wins
Total Wins Since 2015
The Spry Advantage
Home Wins Since 2015
Home Winning Percentage Since 2015
From Coach Muuss
"First off, today was a great occasion with our We Are Wake Green Game. I hope we raised plenty of money. Every jersey was bid on before the game, so hopefully bids continue until the time the auction closes. We got a couple of goals early. Coming off the result from this weekend, we really wanted to ride the second half momentum from Friday. We started on the front foot. Being able to be up 3-0 at half was great. I'm extremely happy with that. Midweek games prior to a big ACC rivalry are always tough to stay focused. I'm proud of the guys. They took care of business from start to finish. I thought we gave up too many shots in the game for my liking, especially for a 7-0 match, because they wanted to push and score more. I commend them. It was a hard weekend and to come back and get a good result at home was important. Hopefully we can get this place rocking on Friday night for what I think is the best college soccer rivalry over the last 15 years. I hope we're well rested and didn't grind ourselves down. We'll start tonight to get ready for Clemson."
Up Next
Wake Forest will now return to ACC play as it takes on rival Clemson at Spry Stadium on Friday, Sept. 19. The match against the Tigers is slated for 6 p.m. and will be shown live on ESPNU.
This will be a rematch of last season's ACC championship in which the Deacs claimed their third ACC crown under head coach Bobby Muuss.
Flax opened his account on the year as he converted from the spot in the second and 16th minutes after freshman forward Chandler Young forced the Liberty keeper into two fouls in the box.
He completed the hat-trick in the 68th minute with a beautiful free kick from just outside the box to make it 6-0. This marked the 31st hat-trick in program history, the fourth under head coach Bobby Muuss and first since Roald Mitchell accomplished the feat against Furman on Sept. 4, 2023.
The senior also added an assist on a goal in the 60th minute following his corner, making him the first Deac with seven points in a game since Mitchell did so against Winthrop on Sept. 6, 2022.
The preseason MAC Hermann Watch List honoree now has 15 goals and 13 assists in a Wake Forest uniform after leading the team with nine a season ago. It also marked his second-career game with multiple goals with his first coming against Virginia in the ACC semifinal last season (Nov. 14, 2024).
This marked the third-consecutive game that a Demon Deacon recorded multiple goals following braces from Tate Lorentz (Sept. 16 vs. UNCW) and Basit Umar (Sept. 19 at Virginia).
In the 24th minute, sophomore forward Harvey Sarajian scored his first goal in a Wake Forest uniform after taking a great touch and firing a powerful shot into the bottom left corner following a great ball from sophomore defender Amoni Thomas.
Thomas leads the team with four assists on the year and now has seven over his two years with the Deacs. Junior midfielder Tate Lorentz picked up the secondary assist on the goal, bringing him to three on the season.
Less than five minutes into the second half, Young got his well-deserved goal after he pressured the Liberty keeper to launch it from 40 yards out of his own net, which then deflected off of the freshman and went into the back of the net. It marked the first goal of Young's career.
Lorentz added to the scoring in the 60th minute, converting a beautiful half volley off a Flax corner kick to make it 5-0. The Winston-Salem native now has a team-high five goals this season, as well as a team-best 13 points.
Junior Ethan Subachan tacked on the seventh goal for the Deacs in the 69th minute, as he stole the ball off a Liberty defender before slotting it into the bottom left corner for his second goal of the season.
This marked the first seven goal game for the Demon Deacons since they defeated Loyola (MD) 7-0 during the 2021 season.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Jonah Mednard contributed to the Deacs' fifth clean sheet of the season in just nine games and finished the contest with three saves. He is now tied for the ACC lead with 26 saves this season.
The team wore special green jerseys on Monday night in honor of mental health awareness and will be auctioned off in support of the Trinity Center.
A Winston-Salem based organization, the Trinity Center is dedicated to meeting the needs of our community with the mission to improve lives by providing exceptional care with openness, hope and faith.
The proceeds from the auction will support Trinity Center's Financial Aid program, which provides low-cost therapy for people who are uninsured and underinsured. Fans are able to bid until midnight Wednesday and can do so here.
How it Happened
- Wake Forest took the lead early, as Young won a penalty in the second minute of play and Flax converted from the spot for his first goal of the season.
- The Demon Deacons stayed on the front foot with Lorentz and Young both getting good looks at goal in the first 10 minutes.
- The Flames registered their first shot of the evening in the 15th minute with a weak low-driven attempt from distance which Mednard handled with ease.
- It was deja vu in the 16th minute, as Young drew another foul in the box and Flax buried the penalty to double the advantage.
- Sarajian made it three for the hosts as he took a touch and fired it home following a good ball from Thomas into the box.
- It marked Sarajian's first goal for the Demon Deacons.
- Mednard made two massive saves in the 25th and 35th minutes to maintain the three goal advantage for the Deacs.
- Wake Forest went into the break leading, 3-0.
- The Demon Deacons controlled 57 percent of the ball and held an 8-to-3 shots advantage over the first 45 minutes, scoring with all three shots on target.
- Mednard finished the first half with three saves.
- Lorentz had the first chance of the second half in the 49th minute, but the Liberty keeper kept his attempt out.
- The fourth goal came a minute later, however, as great effort from Young pressured the visiting keeper to fire it off of the freshman from 40 yards out and back into the net.
- It marked the first collegiate goal for Young.
- Lorentz extended his team-leading goal tally in the 60th minute as he rocketed a shot into the back of the net off a corner from Flax.
- Flax completed his hat trick in the 68th minute as his free kick bent into the top left corner, making it 6-0.
- Subachan tacked on a seventh goal for Wake Forest only 14 seconds later, as he picked the pocket of a Liberty defender before slotting his shot past the keeper.
- The Demon Deacons held onto the clean sheet to earn a 7-0 win over the Flames.
- Redshirt freshman Owen Barnett made three saves across the final 22 minutes of play.
Man of the Match - Cooper Flax
- With two penalties and a beautiful free kick, Flax recorded the 31st hat-trick in program history, the fourth under head coach Bobby Muuss and first since Roald Mitchell accomplished the feat against Furman on Sept. 4, 2023.
- The senior rounded out his performance with an assist on a goal in the 60th minute following a corner, making him the first Deac with seven points in a game since Mitchell did so against Winthrop on Sept. 6, 2022.
- He is the eighth Wake Forest player to win man of the match this season:
- August 24 vs. UCF: Jeffrey White
- August 28 vs. Oral Roberts: Jose Perez
- August 31 vs. St. John's: Jonah Mednard
- September 5 vs. Lipscomb: Basit Umar
- September 9 vs. Campbell: Mason Sullivan
- September 12 vs. North Carolina: Cristian Escribano
- September 16 vs. UNCW: Tate Lorentz
- September 22 vs. Liberty: Cooper Flax
Demon Deacon Details of Note
- Sarajian scored his first goal for Wake Forest in the 24th minute.
- The 2024 Sun Belt freshman of the year now has five collegiate goals.
- Young scored the first goal of his collegiate career in the 50th minute.
- Thomas picked up the primary assist on the Sarajian strike and now leads the team with four this season.
- With a goal and an assist Monday night, Lorentz now has five goals and three assists for a team-high 13 points on the season.
- Subachan tallied his second goal in a Wake Forest uniform.
- Vlad Walent and Jeffrey White both made their 50th career appearance for the Demon Deacons, becoming the third and fourth active Wake Forest players to reach that mark, joining Cooper Flax (67) and Cristian Escribano (60).
- Basit Umar made his 60th collegiate appearance.
- Daniel Krueger made his first start of the season.
- Since 2015, Muuss has led the Deacs to a stellar 95-16-10 record against non-conference opponents including a 5-0-2 mark this season.
- Additionally, Wake Forest is 109-17-11 during that time against unranked opposition.
- The Demon Deacons are unbeaten in their last 19 matches at Spry Stadium with wins in 10 of the last 12.
- The Deacs hold a 14-0-5 home record dating back to Aug. 25 of last year.
- Wake Forest has recorded five clean sheets in the first nine matches this campaign.
- The Deacs are first in the ACC with 33 saves with 26 from Jonah Mednard and seven from Owen Barnett.
- 11 separate Demon Deacons have contributed to the 23 goals scored so far this season.
National Leader In Wins
- 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 157 total wins ranks No. 1 nationally, six more than any program and 12 more than any other ACC program.
- Wake Forest also leads the nation in wins over the last quarter-century (362).
Total Wins Since 2015
| Rank | Team | Total Wins Since '15 |
| 1. | Wake Forest | 157 |
| 2. | Indiana | 151 |
| 3. | Clemson | 145 |
| 4. | Georgetown | 137 |
| 5. | Stanford | 133 |
The Spry Advantage
- Since Muuss' arrival in 2015, Wake Forest ranks No. 1 nationally in home wins (116), 18 more than any other program nationally.
- Wake Forest's home winning percentage of 82.55 percent since 2015 also ranks third nationally, behind only Indiana and Denver.
Home Wins Since 2015
| Rank | Team | Total Home Wins Since '15 |
| 1. | Wake Forest | 116 |
| 2. | Clemson | 98 |
| 3. | Indiana | 97 |
| 4. | Virginia | 89 |
| 5. | Georgetown | 87 |
| Rank | Team | Home Winning Percentage Since '15 |
| 1. | Indiana | 83.46% |
| 2. | Denver | 83.33% |
| 3. | Wake Forest | 82.55% |
| 4. | Missouri State | 79.79% |
| 5. | Georgetown | 79.66% |
From Coach Muuss
"First off, today was a great occasion with our We Are Wake Green Game. I hope we raised plenty of money. Every jersey was bid on before the game, so hopefully bids continue until the time the auction closes. We got a couple of goals early. Coming off the result from this weekend, we really wanted to ride the second half momentum from Friday. We started on the front foot. Being able to be up 3-0 at half was great. I'm extremely happy with that. Midweek games prior to a big ACC rivalry are always tough to stay focused. I'm proud of the guys. They took care of business from start to finish. I thought we gave up too many shots in the game for my liking, especially for a 7-0 match, because they wanted to push and score more. I commend them. It was a hard weekend and to come back and get a good result at home was important. Hopefully we can get this place rocking on Friday night for what I think is the best college soccer rivalry over the last 15 years. I hope we're well rested and didn't grind ourselves down. We'll start tonight to get ready for Clemson."
Up Next
Wake Forest will now return to ACC play as it takes on rival Clemson at Spry Stadium on Friday, Sept. 19. The match against the Tigers is slated for 6 p.m. and will be shown live on ESPNU.
This will be a rematch of last season's ACC championship in which the Deacs claimed their third ACC crown under head coach Bobby Muuss.
Team Stats
LU
WFU
Goals
0
7
Shots
12
15
Shots on Goal
6
8
Saves
1
6
Corners
3
3
Fouls
15
9
Scoring Plays
Cooper Flax (1)
WFU Cooper Flax PENALTY KICK GOAL.
01:26
Cooper Flax (1)
WFU Cooper Flax PENALTY KICK GOAL.
15:13
Harvey Sarajian (1)
Assisted By: Amoni Thomas , Tate Lorentz
GOAL by WFU Sarajian, Harvey Assist by Thomas, Amoni and Lorentz, Tate.
23:39
Chandler Young (1)
GOAL by WFU Young, Chandler.
49:33
Tate Lorentz (5)
Assisted By: Cooper Flax
GOAL by WFU Lorentz, Tate Assist by Flax, Cooper.
59:53
Cooper Flax (1)
GOAL by WFU Flax, Cooper.
67:47
Ethan Subachan (2)
GOAL by WFU Subachan, Ethan.
68:01
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
4
SOG
3
Goals
3
Assists
1
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
1
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's SoccerMidfielder/Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's SoccerMidfielder/Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Forward
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Defender
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Men's SoccerMidfielder/Forward
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