No. 5 Deacs Wrap Home Non-Con Slate Against Portland

Saturday, August 29

Winston-Salem, N.C.

7 p.m.

Wake Forest University

Portland

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8/28/2026 10:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer

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The Deacs are one of two teams in the country that are 4-0 and have yet to allow a goal.

By: Kaitlyn Stocum

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - In search of a perfect home non-conference slate, the No. 5 Wake Forest women's soccer team welcomes the Portland Pilots, this Saturday, Aug. 29 to Spry Stadium.

The contest is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will be streamed live on ACCNX with live stats available here.

Need to Know - Game 5
No. 5 Wake Forest (4-0) vs. Portland (1-2)
Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026 - 7 PM - ACCNX
Winston-Salem, N.C. – Spry Stadium

Fan Information
Saturday marks senior night one of three, as Wake Forest celebrates forwards MJ Osborne and Henley Tippins prior to the beginning of the match.

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.

Ticket Information
Non-conference games are $15 for reserved seating in Section 3, and general admission in any of the bleachered sections is priced at $10 for adults and $5 for youth (ages 4-18). Meanwhile, ACC games are $20 for reserved seating with general admission set at $15 for adults and $10 for youth.

Attendance on Walt Chyzowych Alumni Hill will remain free during all preseason and regular season action for both programs.

Ticket prices will increase by $5 on match days at the box office.

To secure your spot at Spry Stadium, visit godeacs.com/tickets (fees will be added for online purchases) or call the Wake Forest Ticket Office at 336.758.3322.

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

Behind a career first shutout for redshirt-freshman Lizzie Thornton, the Wake Forest women's soccer team (4-0-0, 0-0-0 ACC) extended its win streak to four games with a 1-0 victory over the Old Dominion Monarchs (1-3-0, 0-0-0 SBC) Sunday afternoon at Spry Stadium.
The Monarchs got an early attempt on net in the fourth minute, but redshirt-freshman goalkeeper Lizzie Thornton quickly covered the ball.
- This marked Thornton's first career save, as today also marked her first career appearance and start.
Sophomore forward Allie Flanagan called the ODU keeper into action in the eighth minute.
As the Monarchs pressured Wake Forest into the attacking zone, sophomore Kylie Maxwell made a decisive defensive move in the 15th minute to force the ball away from the attacking ODU forward.
A few minutes later, Flanagan sent the ball up to the top of the box to senior Dempsey Brown, but the midfielder's shot went right of the net.
Sophomore midfielder Riley Cross sent a beautiful ball towards the net in the 28th minute, but was off target.
Cross
At the half, Wake Forest led Old Dominion 15-2 shots, with possession 67 percent in favor of the Deacs.
The Demon Deacons wasted no time getting back in action, with Flanagan sending the ball high of the net less than two minutes out of the break.
- Cross followed a minute later, forcing the Monarch keeper to make the save.
Wake Forest maintained pressure in its offensive end, but couldn't find the back of the net.
The Demon Deacons finally broke through in the 68th minute after a foul at the top of the box placed the Deacs in perfect scoring position.
- Redshirt-junior defender Sierra Sythe netted the goal, her first of the season and seventh of her career.
Maxwell doubled the Deacs lead in the 79th minute, however after review the call was overturned and Wake Forest remained at 1-0.
Thornton made a key save in the 82nd minute, launching high to collect the shot.
The Demon Deacons defeated the Monarchs, 1-0.

Gola Ressler
Entering her third year as a Demon Deacon, midfielder Lola Ressler is an offensive threat on the field. The Winter Garden, Fla.-native has started all four contests, matching her career starts from 2025. Ressler struck just 46 seconds into last Thursday's contest against the Iowa Hawkeyes, marking the third fastest goal in program history. She netted third goal of the season in the 52nd minute, recording her second career brace. Ressler's performance earned the Deacs their first win over the Hawkeyes in program history. Already this season, the junior is one goal shy of matching her goal and point total from 2025.

Midfield Mania
Da Luz's carefully crafted midfield has seen incredible success in just the opening month of the season. The midfield has accounted for over 60 percent of the goals this season. Additionally, their offense makes up over half of the Deacs 26 shots on goal. Sophomore Riley Cross and Ressler have proved to be an offensive force to fear as they take the top two spots of four offensive categories. Cross leads the Demon Deacons with 13 shots and seven SOGs, adding a goal and two assists to her statline. Senior midfielder Dempsey Brown recorded her first career goal in the home opener against No. 16 LSU, earning her TopDrawerSoccer National Player of the Week. Yet to show up on the scoresheet but providing production in game are freshman Eva Forster, sophomore Sofia Atehortua and junior Amaya Dawkins. The three have tallied minutes in all four games, with Forster earning a start against LSU. Each of the Deacs have provided fluidity to the midfield, linking the backline to the front three.

Hold the Line
The Demon Deacons backline has shown veteran experience in four games, despite some new additions to the line. Redshirt-junior Sierra Sythe and senior Sammi Wiemann continue to be secure pieces to the defense, with Sythe now on a 39-game start streak. Sophomore Tahlia Zadeyan has settled into her role as centerback, bringing added height to the line. Sophomore Taylor Maxwell has found her role in the backline since transferring from Miami, showing speed and rapid response towards the attacking team.

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 started through the first three games, recording 14 saves and three shutouts. Her performance in net against the Iowa Hawkeyes last Thursday was key to the 2-0 victory, as Amaral made eight saves and saw 17 shots that night. This past Sunday, redshirt-freshman Lizzie Thornton earned her first career start against Old Dominion, facing five shots and tallying three saves against the Monarchs. Thornton launched high to make a save in the 82nd minute, securing not only the 1-0 victory but her first career shutout.

The Spry Advantage
The Deacs have posted a stellar 30-3-9 record at home since the start of 2022, with its lone loss over the past three seasons coming against No. 1 Duke in 2024. In 2025, Wake Forest finished the season with a 8-0-3 record at Spry, highlighted by a 1-1 draw with No. 1 Notre Dame to close the home regular season slate.

Quick Hitters

Wake Forest earned the No. 5 spot on United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll and No. 9 on TopDrawerSoccer. This marks the Deacs' highest ranking on United Soccer Coaches since December 10, 2024.
The Deacs are one of two teams in the country that are 4-0 and have yet to allow a goal. Additionally, they are the lone team in the ACC to have yet to allow a goal through four games. The No. 1 Stanford Cardinal are the only other conference team that have yet to allow a goal through three games.
- Redshirt-junior defender Sierra Sythe earned back-to-back ACC Defensive Player of the Week nods this past week.
  - Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Valentina Amaral earned ACC Co-Goalkeeper of the Week during week one of play. This past Wednesday, she was also one of eight keepers in the country to be named to the Mac Hermann Watch List.
- Senior midfielder Dempsey Brown earned TopDrawerSoccer's National Player of the Week during week one of the season, with Wake Forest named the team of the week.
The Deacs returned 14 players from 2025 and over 60 percent of starters. Meanwhile, Wake Forest added five transfers and welcomed six freshmen in the offseason.
Head Coach Tony da Luz enters his 30th season with the program, with a 334-205-67 (.606) record in his time with the Deacs.
Last Sunday marked the fourth-straight shutout of the season, and extended Wake Forest' s unbeaten record at home to 20 games, dating back to October 2024.

Series History vs. Portland

This Sunday marks the fourth all-time meeting of the two programs.
- The Deacs hold a 1-2-0 mark overall and a 0-1-0 record at home.
The two teams first met in Portland on Sept. 13, 1998 which saw the Pilots earn a 4-1 victory over Wake Forest.
The Deacs last met with Portland on Sept. 8, 2013 on the road where the Demon Deacons secured its first program win over the Pilots with a 3-2 victory.

Scouting the Pilots

Portland is led by Head Coach Michelle French, who enters her ninth season at the helm of the program.
- French was a former All-American defender at Portland, Olympic medalist, and U.S. Women's National team assistant coach.
- Since 2018, she's posted a 70-44-27 record and in 2022 qualified for the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2013.
In 2025, the Pilots competed for the WCC title and earned their highest conference finish since 2013. Additionally, Portland went undefeated on the road (4-0-5) for the first time in program history.
The Pilots were led offensively in their previous season by defender Violet Rademacher.
- The fifth year student was named All-WCC First Team in 2025, leading her team in multiple offensive categories. She tallied seven goals, one assist and fifteen points in 19 appearances.
- Rademacher recorded her first goal of the season in the 3-0 victory over Utah Tech this past Thursday.
Junior goalkeeper Sophia Hills has started in net for all three matches of the Pilots' season.
- In 2025, Hills was named to the All-WCC Second Team and posted a 0.59 goals against average, with 576 saves and 10 shutouts. Her accolades ranked her first in the conference and 11th nationally.
- So far, Hills has tallied one shutout and allowed three goals in three games.
Despite returning a number of players from the previous year, the Pilots have notable losses of seniors Keeley Dockter and Hailey Still.
- Dockter was the first Pilot named WCC Defensive Player of the Year since 2013 for her efforts her senior year.
- Still was second on the team with three goals and six points, as well as 25 shots.

Up Next
The Demon Deacons head to Tampa, Fla. for their first road match of the season against the South Florida Bulls on Thursday, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available here.

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