Flanagan Hat Trick Leads No. 4 Wake Forest to Road Win Over Hokies

Thursday, October 22

Blacksburg, Va.

7 p.m.

Wake Forest University

12-2-1, 5-2-1

Virginia Tech

6-5-4, 2-4-1

Team	1	2	Final F
Wake Forest	2	2	4
Virginia Tech	0	1	1

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Photo by: Kaitlyn Stocum / Wake Forest Athletics

10/22/2026 11:19:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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This marked the first Wake Forest hat trick in ACC play since 1998.

By: Kaitlyn Stocum

BLACKSBURG, Va. - Spearheaded by a first career hat trick from sophomore forward Allie Flanagan, the No. 4 Wake Forest women's soccer (12-2-1, 5-2-1 ACC) recorded a 4-1 road victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies (6-5-4, 2-4-1 ACC) Thursday, Oct. 22 at Thompson Field.

With tonight's victory, the Demon Deacons move into first place in the ACC with 16 points.

In its highest-scoring game so far this season, the Deacs were unstoppable on offense. Flanagan opened the match in the sixth minute with help from sophomore midfielder Riley Cross and sophomore forward Kylie Maxwell.

The Hokies answered back with pressure on the defense, as redshirt-junior goalkeeper Valentina Amaral collected saves between the posts. Flanagan capitalized on a breakaway opportunity in the 41st minute and drained the ball deep, netting her first career brace.

Wake Forest held a 2-0 advantage at the half, but Virginia Tech would answer out of the break to make it 2-1 in the 51st minute.

Amaral continued to dominate in net before the Deacs' offense kicked back into action.

For the fifth time this season, the Demon Deacons looked to redshirt-junior defender Sierra Sythe, as Wake Forest earned a penalty kick in the 75th minute. Sythe converted for her eighth goal of the season, and extended Wake Forest's advantage to two goals.

The Deacs' backline was once again a prominent part of the victory, with senior defender Sammi Wiemann jumping into action and clearing a dangerous Hokie chance. Wake Forest sealed the win in the 86th minute, as Flanagan netted the Demon Deacons' second PK of the night to record her first hat trick.

Tonight marked the first Wake Forest hat trick since Sept. 2nd, 2021. Additionally, it marked just the second Wake Forest hat trick in ACC play and first since Oct. 16, 1998.

Brick Wall Amaral
Across 56 appearances and 52 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 0.65 GAA, 0.810 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

How It Happened

Wake Forest took the early lead, in the sixth minute, with sophomore forward Allie Flanagan netting the opener.
- Sophomores Riley Cross and Kylie Maxwell earned assists on the goal.
While the Demon Deacons had the lead, Virginia Tech kept pressure onto the Wake Forest offense.
The Hokies called redshirt-junior goalkeeper Valentina Amaral into action in the seventh minute.
Amaral kept the opponent scoreless with a save in the 41st minute.
Thirty seconds later, Flanagan struck again, for her first career brace.
- The forward had a breakaway opportunity, finding a path through multiple Virginia Tech defenders before she struck.
At the half, the Demon Deacons led 2-0, with possession 57 to 43 in favor of the Deacs.
- Shots were equal at eight a piece.
Virginia Tech cut into the Deacs advantage with a goal in the 51st minute.
Amaral settled the defense with saves in the 61st and 62nd minutes.
In the 75th minute, redshirt-junior defender Sierra Sythe extended the Deacs lead.
- Sythe converted her fifth penalty kick of the season to make it 3-1.
Flanagan recorded a hat trick in the 86th minute with a second Wake Forest penalty kick.
The Demon Deacons defeated Virginia Tech, 4-1.

Demon Deacon Details to Note

Sophomore forward Allie Flanagan recorded her first career brace and hat trick.
- She has now scored goals in two consecutive games.
Redshirt-junior defender Sierra Sythe recorded her fifth converted penalty kick of the season.
Sophomore forward Kylie Maxwell notched an assist in the sixth minute.
- She has two assists and one goal in the past two games.
Defenders Sierra Sythe, Tahlia Zadeyan and Sammi Wiemann went the full 90.

From Coach da Luz
"We played a tough Virginia Tech team on the road and came away with three critical ACC points. I'm proud of the team for refocusing after the big win over UNC. Once again, Valentina Amaral was outstanding in goal and made several massive saves. On defense, Sammi Wiemann and Tahlia Zadeyan blocked shots, while Sierra Sythe played end to end. Allie's hat trick was so well deserved, she was dangerous all night and led us to the win. Tonight is another step forward in a unified team performance."

Up Next
The Deacs head to Pittsburgh, Pa. for its final road contest of the regular season, to face the Pitt Panthers on Friday, Oct. 30th. The contest will be streamed on ACCNX, with kickoff at 7 p.m.