Wake Forest Athletics
Amaral and Sythe Earn ACC Player of the Week Honors
8/18/2026 1:05:00 PM | Women's Soccer
The combined work of the Wake Forest backline and Amaral in net led the Deacs to consecutive shutout victories to open the 2026 campaign.
CHARLOTTE – After opening the season with two dominant wins over SEC opponents, redshirt-juniors Sierra Sythe and Valentina Amaral have been named ACC Defensive Player of the Week and ACC Co-Goalkeeper of the Week, as announced by the league office on Tuesday.
This marks the first weekly nod for Sythe, and second for Amaral in the last two years. Both players played a crucial role in the victories against LSU and South Carolina this past week. Amaral logged five saves in the opening night match against the Tigers, and one this past Sunday versus the Gamecocks.
Meanwhile, Sythe was a member of the backline that allowed just five shots and one on target attempt against South Carolina. Wednesday and Sunday marked Amaral's 14th and 15th career shutouts, and 24th and 25th wins.
Valentina Amaral
Sierra Sythe
Up Next
The Demon Deacons return to action at Spry this Thursday at 5 p.m. against Big Ten opponent Iowa.
Follow The Deacs
Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | #GoDeacs
This marks the first weekly nod for Sythe, and second for Amaral in the last two years. Both players played a crucial role in the victories against LSU and South Carolina this past week. Amaral logged five saves in the opening night match against the Tigers, and one this past Sunday versus the Gamecocks.
Meanwhile, Sythe was a member of the backline that allowed just five shots and one on target attempt against South Carolina. Wednesday and Sunday marked Amaral's 14th and 15th career shutouts, and 24th and 25th wins.
Valentina Amaral
- Starting keeper for the 2024 College Cup National Finalist Team
- Called up to the U.S. U20 Women's National Team training camp in June
- Finished the 2024 season with the best goals-against average in program history at 0.69
- Allowed the fewest number of goals in conference play with seven
- Totaled five shutouts in ACC play, second most in the conference
- Recorded back-to-back clean sheet victories against No. 1 Stanford and No. 2 Virginia
- Played a vital role during the team's 2024 postseason run, logging three shutouts and holding strong during the penalty shootout that would send the Deacs to the 2024 College Cup finals.
- As a freshman, did not allow a goal all season and the team was a perfect 3-0 in games she appeared in
- Recorded a shutout in her collegiate debut
- 2025 All-ACC Third Team and All-American Third Team
- Finished second in the ACC in 2025 with 81 saves and fourth in the conference with a .794 save percentage
- Tallied six clean sheets as a redshirt-sophomore
Sierra Sythe
- Multiple call ups to the USYNT U-23 team
- Helped the Deacs to one of the best defensive records in the nation in 2024
- Started all 20 matches in 2025, totaling the most minutes of any outfield player
- Broke into the record book with nine assists and wrapped the previous year sixth among the program for most assists in a single season
- Finished second on the team with 15 points
- Recorded three goals across her appearances.
- Named No. 40 on TopDrawerSoccer Midseason Rankings in 2025
Up Next
The Demon Deacons return to action at Spry this Thursday at 5 p.m. against Big Ten opponent Iowa.
Follow The Deacs
Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | #GoDeacs
Players Mentioned
Goalkeeper
/ Women's Soccer
Defender
/ Women's SoccerTuesday, August 18
Tuesday, August 18
Tuesday, August 18
Tuesday, August 18