Demon Deacons Take Down No. 1 North Carolina

Sunday, October 18

Winston-Salem, N.C.

3:30 p.m.

Wake Forest University

11-2-1, 4-2-1

No. 1 North Carolina

12-2-0, 5-1-0

Team	1	2	Final F
North Carolina	1	0	1
Wake Forest	2	1	3

PDF Box Score

Photo by: Ethan Bissinger / Wake Forest Athletics

10/18/2026 7:59:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score PDF Box Score Season Stats

Back-to-back goals from Tippins and Flanagan overcame the early deficit in the first half before Maxwell added an insurance goal in the second.

By: Kaitlyn Stocum

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Despite going down a goal in the opening 15 minutes, the No. 4 Wake Forest women's soccer team (11-2-1, 4-2-1 ACC) battled back and took down No. 1 North Carolina (12-2-0, ACC 5-1-0), 3-1, Sunday night at Spry Stadium.

The Tar Heels got on the board in the opening stages of the match, with the Demon Deacons searching for an answer. Graduate student forward Henley Tippins found the equalizer in the 21st minute with a header off a corner.

Less than a minute later, sophomore forward Allie Flanagan capitalized on an empty net opportunity to put the Deacs up 2-1 in the first half. With an assist on both first-half goals, sophomore midfielder Riley Cross now leads the Demon Deacons with six assists this season.

Sophomore forward Kylie Maxwell extended the Deacs' lead 57 seconds into the second half, picking up her own rebound and draining the ball into the net. While the offense provided the Demon Deacons with a lead, the backline and efforts in net sealed the victory.

Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Valentina Amaral played a crucial role in the victory, with six saves against North Carolina. Alongside Amaral, the Demon Deacons' backline was key in holding off the Tar Heels.

This marks just the second time in program history that the Demon Deacons have taken down a No. 1 ranked team. In 2024, the Deacs made history as they defeated the No. 1 Stanford Cardinal at Spry Stadium.

Women's soccer is believed to be one of seven programs in Wake Forest history to knock off the No. 1 team in the country along with Baseball, Field Hockey, Men's Basketball, Men's Soccer, Men's Tennis and Women's Golf.

Also to note, four of the previously mentioned programs have defeated a No. 1 opponent twice in two years: Women's Soccer (Sept. 2024 and Oct. 2026) Baseball (Apr. 23 and 24, 1977), Men's Tennis (Apr. 3 and 24, 2016) and Women's Golf (Apr. and Sept. 2025).

Known Wake Forest Wins Over No. 1

Date	Sport	Opponent	Location	Score
Oct. 18, 2026	Women's Soccer	North Carolina	Winston-Salem, N.C.	3-1
March 22, 2026	Men's Tennis	Virginia	Winston-Salem, N.C.	4-3
Sept. 17, 2025	Women's Golf	Stanford	Lake Bluff, Ill.	3-2
April 18, 2025	Women's Golf	Stanford	Greensboro, N.C.	3-2
Feb. 18, 2025	Men's Tennis	TCU	Dallas, Texas	4-3
Sept. 19, 2024	Women's Soccer	Stanford	Winston-Salem, N.C.	1-0
April 24, 2016	Men's Tennis	Virginia	Winston-Salem, N.C.	4-3
April 3, 2016	Men's Tennis	Virginia	Winston-Salem, N.C.	4-3
Nov. 1, 2012	Men's Soccer	Maryland	Winston-Salem, N.C.	4-2
Jan. 28, 2009	Men's Basketball	Duke	Winston-Salem, N.C.	70-68
Sept. 27, 1998	Men's Soccer	Washington	Seattle, Wash.	2-1
Feb. 23, 1992	Men's Basketball	Duke	Winston-Salem, N.C.	72-68
Sept. 23, 1991	Men's Soccer	Virginia	Charlottesville, Va.	2-0
Jan. 21, 1989	Men's Basketball	Duke	Greensboro, N.C.	75-71
Jan. 21, 1982	Men's Basketball	North Carolina	Chapel Hill, N.C.	55-48
Apr. 23, 1977	Baseball	Clemson	Clemson, S.C.	5-4
Apr. 24, 1977	Baseball	Clemson	Clemson, S.C.	22-9
Jan. 3, 1975	Men's Basketball	NC State	Greensboro, N.C.	83-78

*Records based on known wins in record books. Wake Forest encourages fans to submit other known games.

The Spry Advantage
The Deacs have posted a stellar 34-4-9 record at home since the start of 2022, with just two losses over the past three seasons.

Brick Wall Amaral
Across 55 appearances and 51 starts, redshirt-junior Valentina Amaral has positioned herself as one of the top goalkeepers in the country. Her performances in net have led to 19 individual career shutouts, six combined shutouts and 33 wins. In 2024, she finished the season with the best goals-against average in program history at 0.69 and her results since then have spoken for themselves. This season, Amaral leads the conference with a 0.62 GAA, 0.843 save percentage.

Player (Year Played)	Career Goals Against Average
Valentina Amaral (2023-present)	0.79
Aubrey Bledsoe (2010-13)	0.91
Laura Morse (2006-09)	0.94
Amanda Barasha (2007-10) Kaitlyn Parks (2020-23)	1.01

Wins Over Top-Five Opponents (All-Time)

Date	Opponent	Score
10/27/2000	#5 North Carolina	W, 1-0
10/1/2004	#3 Virginia	W, 2-1 (OT)
10/8/2009	#5 Florida State	W, 3-0
9/15/2011	#3 Florida State	W, 2-0
11/4/2011	#3 Duke	W, 2-1
9/20/2012	#4 Boston College	W, 2-0
8/24/2017	#3 South Carolina	W, 3-2
9/2/2018	#5 Penn State	W, 1-0
10/31/2021	#2 Duke	W, 2-1
9/15/2024	#2 Virginia	W, 3-0
9/19/2024	#1 Stanford	W, 1-0
10/18/2026	#1 North Carolina	W, 3-1

How It Happened

The Tar Heels took an early lead, scoring the opening goal of the match in the 13th minute.
Wake Forest began knocking on the door, drawing a corner in the 20th minute.
The Demon Deacons found the equalizer in the 21st minute.
- Graduate student forward Henley Tippins knocked in the header off a corner set up by sophomore midfielder Riley Cross and redshirt-junior defender Sierra Sythe.
Less than two minutes later, Wake Forest took control of the contest, with a goal from sophomore forward Allie Flanagan.
- Sophomore midfielder Riley Cross and redshirt-junior defender Sierra Sythe recorded assists on the goal.
Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Valentina Amaral kept the Tar Heels at bay with a save in the 23rd minute.
The Deacs entered the locker room with the lead, as North Carolina held possessions in their favor at 63 percent.
Less than a minute out of the break, the Demon Deacons extended their advantage with a strike from Kylie Maxwell.
- Senior forward Kaitlyn Sasadeusz put a cross net front for Maxwell who's first shot was saved by the Carolina keeper.
  - Maxwell picked up the rebound and drained it for her fourth goal of the season and 10th of her career.
North Carolina responded with pressure in the 60th minute, holding the ball in the Deacs' defensive zone.
- Sophomore defender Tahlia Zadeyan helped keep Wake Forest ahead with a block in the box.
The Tar Heels called Amaral into action in the 61st, with the keeper recording her fourth save of the night.
In the 71st minute, Carolina looked to put another chance on net, but the ball was blocked and cleared by Zadeyan.
Wake Forest stayed aggressive as the clock winding down, with Sythe clearing the ball from a UNC forward and out of danger.
Amaral stayed composed, with a leaping save in the 79th minute.
- She followed with another two minutes later from a Tar Heel corner.
Wake Forest defeated North Carolina, 3-1.

Demon Deacon Details to Note

Sophomore forward Kylie Maxwell recorded her 10th career goal.
Redshirt-junior defender Sierra Sythe recorded her 40th career point.
Graduate student forward Henley Tippins recorded her 24th career goal, fourth for Wake Forest and 10th point as a Deac.
Sophomore forward Allie Flanagan made her 30th career start.
- With her goal, she reached 20 career points.
Senior forward Kaitlyn Sasadeusz made her first start for the Demon Deacons.
Defenders Sammi Wiemann, Tahlia Zadeyan and Sythe went the full 90.

From Coach da Luz
"I am incredibly proud of our team. We showed incredible resilience and character today, and the collective fight and commitment was impressive. The front three of Kylie, Henley, Allie finished clinically. Our team's defensive effort shined, and Valentina was fantastic! Now, we need to regroup and prepare for VT."

Up Next
The Deacs are back on the road to battle the Virginia Tech Hokies on Thursday, Oct. 22nd in Blacksburg, Va. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m., with streaming available on ACCNX.