No. 3 Wake Forest Downs No. 10 Virginia in ACC Opener

Saturday, September 12

Winston-Salem, N.C.

7 p.m.

Wake Forest University

8-0-0, 1-0-0

Virginia

4-1-2, 0-1-0

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

Photo by: MattPedicano

No. 3 Wake Forest Downs No. 10 Virginia in ACC Opener

9/12/2026 11:52:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score PDF Box Score Season Stats

The Demon Deacons move to 8-0 on the season and 3-0 against ranked opponents.

By: Kaitlyn Stocum

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Fighting through rain and a weather delay, the No. 3 Wake Forest women's soccer team (8-0-0, 1-0-0 ACC) took down the No. 10 Virginia Cavaliers (4-1-2, ACC 0-1-0), Saturday night at Spry Stadium.

The Deacs move to 3-0 against ranked opponents this season, and mark their fifth win at home against the Cavaliers in the series' history.

The game-winner came in the 37th minute, soon after the return from weather delay. Sophomore forward Allie Flanagan crossed the ball to graduate student forward Henley Tippins, who sent it ahead to sophomore forward Kylie Maxwell for the goal.

Maxwell marks her third goal this season, and ninth of her career. Tippins earned her ninth career assist and first of the season, while Flanagan nabbed her second of the year. Additionally, Maxwell had four of the Deacs' five shots on goal of the night with junior midfielder Amaya Dawkins tallying the other.

The Deacs then turned to their keeper and backline after the half, as the Cavaliers looked for their equalizer. Senior defender Sammi Wiemann kept a heavy presence inside the box, with multiple blocks and headers to keep balls away from the net.

Behind her, redshirt-junior goalkeeper Valentina Amaral faced three shots on goal, recording all three saves for her fifth shutout of the season.

The Spry Advantage
The Deacs have posted a stellar 32-3-9 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.

Brick Wall Amaral
Across 49 appearances and 45 starts, redshirt-junior Valentina Amaral has positioned herself as one of the top goalkeepers in the country. Her performances in net have led to 18 individual career shutouts, six combined shutouts and 30 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 0.14 GAA, 0.952 save percentage and tied with two other ACC keepers with four individual shutouts.

Player (Year Played)	Career Goals Against Average
Valentina Amaral (2023-present)	0.75
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

The Cavaliers found early momentum with consecutive corners in the 8th minute.
- Virginia recorded an off-target shot a minute later.
Sophomore forward Kylie Maxwell ran up the slot for a shot on net in the 12th minute.
Wake Forest gained pace off a corner that same minute, as grad student forward Henley Tippins found senior defender Sammi Wiemann for a header, however the goal was offside.
The two teams battled throughout the first half, as the Deacs kept pressuring into the zone.
The contest entered a rain delay, putting action on hold.
Despite the weather, the Demon Deacons took the lead upon returning back to the field in the 37th minute.
- Tippins found K. Maxwell at the top of the box, leaving the sophomore to drill the ball deep into the net.
- Sophomore forward Allie Flanagan also earned an assist on the goal, her first of the season.
The Cavaliers called redshirt-junior goalkeeper Valentina Amaral into action in the 53rd minute.
Amaral tallied her second save of the night in the 66th minute.
Wake Forest's defense remained solid through Virginia's attempts into the box and towards the net.
The Hoos sent a header into the net in the 85th minute, but after review the goal was deemed offsides and Wake Forest maintained their one goal lead.
Senior defender Sammi Wiemann made a huge block inside the box to keep the Cavs attempt away from reaching Amaral.
The Demon Deacons defended into the final minutes and defeated No. 10 Virginia, 1-0.

Demon Deacon Details to Note

Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Valentina Amaral made her 45th career start.
Senior midfielder Dempsey Brown made her 55th career start.
Senior defender Sammi Wiemann made her 15th career start.
Sythe, Zadeyan, T. Maxwell and Wiemann went the full 90.

From Coach da Luz
"Our team took so much pride into tonight's game, we refused to break and gave a committed team performance. Weather delays are always difficult but our response after the break was impressive. Our team defense was incredible, especially the back four. Kylie's goal was created off of tough ball winning and a great transition. Henley gave a special assist and Kylie left no doubt. Our team supported each other with great team spirit. On to the next!"

Up Next
Wake Forest embarks on another two-game road trip, heading out west to first face the Cal Golden Bears on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 4 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. The contest will be streamed on ACCNX with live stats available here.