Wake Forest Welcomes Duke to Spry for ACC Opener

Saturday, September 5

Winston-Salem, N.C.

7 p.m.

Wake Forest University

Duke

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The Deacons' match against the VCU Rams on Sunday, August 23rd, 2026 at Spry Stadium in Winston-Salem, NC / Wake Forest Athletics

Photo by: Seth Seebaugh / Wake Forest Athletics

9/4/2026 10:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Watch Live Stats Tickets Game Notes

The first 250 students in attendance will receive free Wake Forest bucket hats, courtesy of Truist.

By: Dylan Shackelford

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest men's soccer team opens ACC play Saturday night as the Demon Deacons welcome Duke to Spry Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

Saturday's matchup marks Wake Forest's first conference game of the 2026 season and the first meeting between the two programs since the sides played to a scoreless draw in Durham on Oct. 12, 2024.

The Demon Deacons enter the contest with a 2-1-1 record after closing a two-match road swing through Ohio with a 1-0 victory at Bowling Green on Monday.

Wake Forest has been particularly strong defensively over its last three matches, conceding just one goal over the last 335 minutes of action while recording clean sheets against VCU and Bowling Green.

The Demon Deacons will look to continue their strong home form against a Duke team that enters Saturday's contest 2-2-0 after splitting its first four matches of the season. The Blue Devils opened with wins over Seton Hall and California Baptist before dropping consecutive matches to Furman and Georgetown.

For those unable to attend, the match will be streamed live on ACCNX with live stats available here.

The first 250 students through the gate will receive a free Wake Forest bucket hat courtesy of Truist.

MATCHUP NOTES

The Demon Deacons are 7-2-2 in conference openers under head coach Bobby Muuss and 3-0-1 when opening at home.
- Last season, the Deacs battled to a 1-1 draw with North Carolina on the road.
Wake Forest and Duke will meet for just the second time since the 2022 season with the last meeting coming on Oct. 12, 2024 in Durham where the two sides played to a 0-0 draw.
This will be the first of two Big Four matchups for Wake Forest in the 2026 regular season, as the Demon Deacons are a combined 19-4-4 against Duke, NC State and North Carolina since 2015.
- Wake Forest is 3-2-1 against Duke, 10-0-3 against NC State and 6-2-1 against North Carolina during that span.
Overall, the Demon Deacons are 71-27-20 against ACC opponents (including postseason) under Muuss.

DEFENSIVE SOLIDARITY

Entering Saturday, Wake Forest has only conceded one goal over the last 335 minutes of action, including two clean sheets against VCU and Bowling Green.
- During that span, goalkeeper Jonah Mednard has impressed with 16 saves (.941 save percentage).
- For the season, Mednard has posted a .75 goals against average, cutting last year's number in half.
Centerbacks Mason Sullivan (332) and Daniel Krueger (326) lead all outfield players in minutes and have played a major role in limiting clear-cut chances for opponents this season.
In front of the defense, Jose Perez and David Nguema have provided extra defensive support in addition to controlling the midfield throughout the season.
Both fullback positions have seen minutes split between Ronnie Garcia and Will Kuisel (LB) as well as Travis Smith Jr. and Copeland Berkley (RB).

NATIONAL LEADER IN WINS

Named the fourth head coach in program history prior to the start of the 2015 season, Bobby Muuss has guided Wake Forest to sustained success unmatched in the college game over the 12 years.
Since the start of the 2015 season, Wake Forest has collected 161 wins, the most in NCAA Division I men's soccer. The Demon Deacons are followed by Indiana (160), Clemson (152), Georgetown (150) and Stanford (144).
Wake Forest has also earned 118 home wins since 2015, 13 more than any other Division I program.

TOTAL WINS SINCE 2015

Rank	Team	Wins Since '15
1.	Wake Forest	161
2.	Indiana	160
3.	Clemson	152
4.	Georgetown	150
5.	Stanford	144

ACC DOMINANCE

Wake Forest has collected 58 regular-season ACC victories since 2015, eight more than any other conference opponent.
During that span, the Demon Deacons have won three ACC Championships, the most in the conference, and an ACC-best five Atlantic Division titles.

ACC REGULAR-SEASON WINS SINCE 2015

Rank	Team	ACC Wins Since '15
1.	Wake Forest	58
2.	Clemson	50
3.	North Carolina	47
4.	Virginia	43
5.	Duke	41

LAST TIME OUT

Wake Forest closed its two-match Ohio road swing with a 1-0 victory at Bowling Green on Monday night at Cochrane Stadium.
- The Demon Deacons broke through in the 43rd minute when Chandler Young finished a combination from Mason Sullivan and Marcos Miranda for his first goal of the season.
- The goal marked the first career assist for Sullivan and the first NCAA Division I assist for Miranda.
Wake Forest controlled much of the opening half, recording seven shots and four corner kicks before taking its lead into halftime.
Bowling Green applied heavy pressure after the break, recording 14 second-half shots, but goalkeeper Jonah Mednard made four second-half saves to preserve the advantage.
Mednard finished with six saves for his second clean sheet in three matches and fifth career solo shutout, while moving to 63 career saves.
The shutout was Wake Forest's first road clean sheet since a 0-0 draw at Duke on Oct. 12, 2024.
- The victory also marked Wake Forest's first non-conference road win since a 4-1 victory at UNCW on Oct. 15, 2024.
The win moved the Demon Deacons to 2-1-1 on the season entering Saturday's ACC opener against Duke.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS

Duke enters Saturday's matchup with a 2-2-0 overall record after opening the season with wins over Seton Hall and California Baptist before dropping consecutive matches to Furman and Georgetown, all four of which came at home.
The Blue Devils have scored eight goals through four matches, averaging 2.00 goals per game, but have allowed nine goals for a 2.25 goals-against average.
- Duke was held scoreless in Sunday's 3-0 loss to Georgetown.
Senior Ulfur Bjornsson has been Duke's top offensive threat early in the season, leading the team with three goals, two assists and eight points.
Jack Ottley has also been a major contributor, ranking second on the team with five points on one goal and a team-high three assists. He recorded two assists in Duke's 4-3 loss to Furman.
Duke has used Max Deisenhofer in goal for all 360 minutes
- He has made eight saves with a .471 save percentage and 2.25 goals-against average through four matches.
The Blue Devils were picked to finish seventh in the ACC preseason poll, while Bjornsson was named to the ACC Preseason Watch List and freshman Logan Moniz was selected to the TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Best XI All-Freshman Team.

FAN INFORMATION

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.

SEASON TICKET INFORMATION

2026 Wake Forest soccer season tickets are on-sale now giving fans the opportunity to witness The Best Fan Experience In North Carolina from a number of unique seating options!
Adult season tickets start as low as $75 for general admission and $55 for youth. Reserved chairbacks are $135 for adults and $115 for youth and Wake Forest University faculty and staff.
Fans can catch all of Demon Deacon home action this fall as well by purchasing combo season tickets to see both men's and women's soccer starting as low as $100 for general admission. Reserved chairbacks are $190 for adults and $150 for youth and Wake Forest University faculty and staff.
Attendance on Walt Chyzowych Alumni Hill is free during all preseason and regular season action.
To order, visit GoDeacs.com/Tickets 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.

THE SPRY ADVANTAGE

Since 2015, Wake Forest has totaled 118 home victories, 13 more than any other Division I program.
Last season, the Deacs posted a 6-2-4 mark at home and will have plenty of opportunities this year for more marquee wins at Spry Stadium.
- Wake Forest hosts three of the top seven teams picked in the ACC preseason poll with Virginia (No. 3), SMU (No. 4) and Duke (No. 7) all paying a visit to Winston-Salem this season.

HOME WINS SINCE 2015

Rank	Team	Wins Since '15
1.	Wake Forest	118
2.	Indiana	105
3.	Clemson	103
T4.	Georgetown	95
T4.	Virginia	95

LOOKING AHEAD
The Demon Deacons return to non-conference action Tuesday, Sept. 8, welcoming USC Upstate to Spry Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.

The match will be streamed live on ACCNX and will serve as Wake Forest's We Are Wake Green Match. As part of the event, the game-worn green jerseys will be auctioned off with proceeds benefiting The Trinity Center in support of mental health awareness. Bidding is open now.