Wake Forest Hosts Florida State for Annual Pink Match

Thursday, October 15

Winston-Salem, N.C.

6 p.m.

Wake Forest University

No. 24 Florida State

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The Deacons’ game against the Pittsburgh Panthers on Thursday, October 23, 2025 at Spry Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC / Wake Forest Athletics

Photo by: BryceMitchell

Wake Forest Hosts Florida State for Annual Pink Match

10/14/2026 12:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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In 2024, the Deacs defeated Florida State 4-1 to end the Seminoles’ 32-game winning streak at Spry en route to the National Championship.

By: Kaitlyn Stocum

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The top-ranked Demon Deacons are back home to face reigning national champions, No. 24 Florida State this Thursday, Oct. 15th at Spry Stadium.

The contest is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. and will be streamed nationally on ACCN with live stats available here.

Need to Know - Game 13
No. 4 Wake Forest (10-1-1) vs. No. 24 Florida State (5-1-3)
Thursday, Oct. 15 2026 - 6 PM - ACCN
Winston-Salem, N.C. – Spry Stadium

Fan Information
Bidding for the game-worn jerseys in Thursday night's match will remain open until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday. The proceeds raised will go to Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist's Cancer Health Equity Patient Care Fund.

The pregame coin toss will be held in honor of 1987 Wake Forest alum, Beatrice Hair who lost her battle with breast cancer this past December. Beatrice was a member of the women's club soccer team, and a driving force behind the club's transition into a full Division 1 sport. Her husband, Randy Hair will take part in the pregame toss in honor of his late wife.

Giveaways include pink pom poms for all fans and pink rope hats for early arriving students.

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.

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 maddenr@wfu.edu

Last Time Out

Battling hot temperatures, the No. 4 Wake Forest women's soccer team (10-1-1, 3-1-1 ACC) collected a point on the road against the Miami Hurricanes (8-3-2, ACC 3-2-1), Saturday afternoon at Cobb Stadium.
Action hung around the midfield, with neither team recording a shot until the 12th minute.
- Sophomore midfielder Amaya Dawkins pushed around the Miami defenders and put a shot on goal through traffic.
Three minutes later, graduate student forward Henley Tippins recorded a shot on traffic.
The Hurricanes looked to get on the board in the 29th minute, but redshirt-junior goalkeeper Valentina Amaral pulled out of net to block the shot and deflect out of play.
Miami was awarded a red card in the 38th minute, providing a free-kick opportunity for the Deacs.
- The Hurricanes blocked redshirt-junior defender Sierra Sythe's shot and cleared from the attacking zone.
Wake Forest and Miami were drawn at the half, with possession 58-42 and shots 2-1 in favor of the Deacs.
In the 49th minute, senior Sammi Wiemann looked for a chance off a corner, but the Miami keeper collected the save.
Despite the Hurricanes' attempts to move towards the net, the Deacs' defense held tight, with defender Taylor Maxwell and midfielder Amaya Dawkins recording back-to-back blocks.
Miami put a high-danger chance on net, but hit the post to remain scoreless.
Sophomore forward Allie Flanagan found a great spot in the 64th minute, but shot high off the crossbar.
Wake Forest kept pressure on the Hurricanes' defense, recording off-target attempts in the 75th and 76th minutes.
Senior forward Kaitlyn Sasadeusz looked to put the Demon Deacons ahead in the 77th minute, but her goal was ruled offside.
Sophomore forward Riley Cross fired a shot on net in the 86th minute.
Wake Forest drew with Miami, 0-0.

Sythe of All Trades
Whether it's on offense or defense, redshirt-junior Sierra Sythe has been a commanding piece, guiding the Demon Deacons to a 7-0 record before conference play. The captain has gone the full 90 all but one game this season, still recording 82 minutes in the game. Sythe ranks fourth nationally and first in the conference with five-game winning goals, while also topping the offensive categories for the Deacs.
With seven goals and 15 points, she held a four-game scoring streak prior to ACC play. Her consistency has shown up in other categories, converting 4-of-4 penalty kicks for the Deacs. Sythe's efforts this season have earned her three ACC Player of the Week awards, and a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer Player of the Year Leaderboard. Most recently, she was named on the Mac Hermann Midseason Trophy Watch List for the first time in her career.

Department of Defense
Wake Forest's defense has proven itself as one of the top defenses' in the country. Redshirt-junior Sierra Sythe and senior Sammi Wiemann continue to be secure pieces to the defense, with Sythe now on a 47-game start streak. Beyond her defensive skill, Sythe also leads the Deacs offensively across three categories. Sophomore Tahlia Zadeyan has settled into her role as centerback, bringing added height to the line. Sophomore Taylor Maxwell has been unstoppable in conference play and at the conclusion of non-con, helping to limit the Florida Gators to two shots on goal this past September. With the combined skills across the backline, Wake Forest limited No. 10 Virginia to three shots on goal in their ACC opener. The Deacs are 10th in the country and 1st in the ACC with a .875 save percentage, between the skills of the backline and efforts in goal. Additionally, the Demon Deacons are first in the conference and fifth in the nation with a team 0.417 goals against average.

Finder's Keepers
Beyond the efforts of the Wake Forest defense, the Deacs' anchors remain a shining element to the Demon Deacons' game. Redshirt-junior Valentina Amaral continues to dominate in goal, leading the ACC across multiple categories. She ranks first in the conference with 0.458 goals against average, 0.861 save percentage and six shutouts, while also being in the top-20 nationally in GAA and SV%. Additionally, the All-American is third in Wake Forest program history with 19 career individual shutouts, behind NWSL Pros Kaitlyn Parks and Aubrey Kingsbury (Bledsoe). In September, she was named to the Mac Hermann Trophy Midseason Watch List, college soccer's highest individual honor. Redshirt-freshman Lizzie Thornton earned her first career start this past August, facing five shots and tallying three saves against Old Dominion. Thornton launched high to make a save in the 82nd minute, securing not only the 1-0 victory but her first career shutout.

Quick Hitters

Wake Forest remained at the top of the nation in recent polls, staying at No. 4 on United Soccer Coaches and No. 8 on TopDrawerSoccer. Their RPI ranks fourth in the nation.
The Demon Deacons completed the non-conference schedule 7-0-0 and one goal allowed on the road.
- Redshirt juniors Valentina Amaral and Sierra Sythe have amassed numerous accolades already this season, including spots on the Mac Hermann Midseason Watch List.
  - Sythe has been named ACC Defender of the week three times, while Amaral was named Goalkeeper of the week twice.
  - Additionally, Sythe sits on the TopDrawerSoccer Player of the Year Leaderboard.
Head Coach Tony da Luz is in his 30th season with the program, with a 340-206-68 (.609) record in his time with the Deacs.
The Demon Deacons have one player with double-digit points and five players with five or more so far in 2026.
- Sierra Sythe - 15 points (7 goals, 1 assist)
- Lola Ressler - 9 points (4 goals, 1 assist)
- Kylie Maxwell - 8 points (3 goals, 2 assists)
- Henley Tippins - 8 points (3 goals, 2 assists)
- Allie Flanagan - 7 points (2 goals, 3 assists)
- Riley Cross - 6 points (1 goals, 4 assists)

Series History vs. Florida State

This marks the 37th all-time meeting of the two programs.
The Demon Deacons are 14-14-6 against the Seminoles with a 11-2-2 mark at home.
- The two programs met for the first time ever on Oct. 30, 1995, where the Deacs defeated the Noles at Spry Stadium, 4-1.
Wake Forest last faced Florida State on the road, where they recorded a 4-1 loss in Tallahassee.
Games hosted at Spry Stadium have historically given an advantage, as the Deacs are 7-2-1 in home games against Florida State in the past 10 years.
- Additionally, Wake Forest has played a ranked Seminole-squad at home in all but three of 15 games in program history.
- In 2024, the Deacs defeated FSU 4-1 at home.

Scouting the Seminoles

The Seminoles are led by head coach Brian Pensky, who is in his fifth season with the program.
- Florida State is 5-1-3 and 1-0-2 in the ACC, with a 4-1-1 record on the road.
The Noles have notable victories on the road at Georgia and NC State.
Offensively, Florida State averages 1.89 goals per game and over six shots on goal.
Junior Sam Erbach leads the attack with four goals and four assists for a team-best 12 points. The 2025 Big East Midfielder of the Year averages 1.33 points a game, ranking top-15 in the conference.
Additionally, junior Wrianna Hudson matches Erbach with four goals and two game-winners.
Defensively, the Noles have conceded eight goals (.89 per match). Sophomore Kate Ockene anchors the backline, starting eight of nine contests this season. In her second year for the Seminoles, Ockene has 0.89 goals against average, as well as a .778 save percentage.

Up Next
This Sunday marks a 2024 College Cup Final rematch, as No. 4 Wake Forest will face No. 1 North Carolina this Sunday, Oct. 18th at Spry Stadium. Action will be streamed nationally on ACCN, with kickoff at 3:30 p.m.

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