No. 5 Wake Forest to Battle No. 21 Florida

Sunday, September 6

Gainesville, Fla.

12 p.m.

Wake Forest University

Florida

9/5/2026 1:07:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Live Stats Watch Game Notes

The Deacs are 1-0 against ranked opponents so far this season, as they opened the year with a victory over No. 16 LSU.

By: Kaitlyn Stocum

GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Following a sixth-straight shutout over the South Florida Bulls, the No. 5 Wake Forest women's soccer team heads to Gainesville to face the No. 21 Florida Gators on Sunday, Sept. 6 at Donald R. Dizney Stadium.

The contest is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. and will be streamed live on SECN+ with live stats available here.

Need to Know - Game 7
No. 5 Wake Forest (6-0) vs. No. 21 Florida (4-1-1)
Sunday, Sept. 6 2026 - 12 PM - SECN+
Gainesville, Fla. – Donald R. Dizney Stadium

Last Time Out

The No. 5 Wake Forest women's soccer team (6-0-0, 0-0-0 ACC) grabbed its first road win of the season with a 3-0 win over the South Florida Bulls (1-4-0, AAC 0-0-0), Thursday night at Corbett Stadium.
Despite an hour rain delay, the Deacs came out fresh to face South Florida.
Less than three minutes in, redshirt-junior defender Sierra Sythe sent a long ball from the left side on target, but the Bulls' keeper was there for the save.
In the 8th minute, sophomore Kylie Maxwell recorded a shot on goal to keep the momentum going.
The Demon Deacons maintained heavy offensive pressure, throwing shots on net but sending them all high.
Graduate student forward Henley Tippins got in on the action in the 18th minute, with an off-target shot towards the net.
Wake Forest took a one goal lead in the 32nd minute, with sophomore forward Kylie Maxwell netting the opening goal.
- Freshman midfielder Eva Forster recorded her first career points with an assist on the goal.
The Demon Deacons outshot South Florida 11-2, holding them to just one shot in the first 24 minutes.
Wake Forest held a solid offensive presence into the second half, pressing hard into the Bulls' defense.
Tippins doubled the Deacs' lead in the 65th minute.
- Sophomore forward Allie Flanagan worked her way up the left side and connected with Tippins who maneuvered her way around the defense in the box for the goal.
Wake Forest took a 3-0 lead in the 71st minute off a converted penalty kick from redshirt-junior defender Sierra Sythe.
- This marked Sythe's third-straight goal of the season.
Redshirt-freshman Lizzie Thornton came in during the 82nd minute to relieve redshirt-junior Valentina Amaral.
With two minutes remaining, sophomore midfielder Sofia Atehortua launched a beautiful strike towards the net, but hit the crossbar.
Wake Forest defeated South Florida, 3-0.

Shutdown and Shutout
Wake Forest is one of five teams in the NCAA with yet to allow a goal this season, and following a tie for the No. 1 Stanford Cardinal are the lone squad in the nation with six wins and yet to allow a goal. Additionally, the Demon Deacons are the last team in the ACC with no goals allowed. Beyond the Deacs' offensive powers, the defense and its anchors remain vital to the blemish-free scoresheet. This past Thursday, the Demon Deacons allowed just one shot on goal and three total shots, with one off-target attempt in the second half, in their 3-0 victory over the South Florida Bulls.

Hold the Line
The Demon Deacons backline has shown veteran experience in fifth 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 41-game start streak. Beyond her defensive skill, Sythe also leads the Deacs with midfielder Lola Ressler with three goals and seven points. The Long Beach, Calif.-native is on a three-game points streak, with a goal in the last three games, as well as an assist against the Portland Pilots. 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. Amaral has recorded a shutout in all of her appearances this season, and is the only goalie in the ACC with five shutouts in five games, the most recent shutout being a combined effort from Amaral and redshirt-freshman Lizzie Thornton. Thornton earned her first career start this past August, facing five shots and tallying three saves against Old Dominion. Thornton launched high to make a save in the 82nd minute, securing not only the 1-0 victory but her first career shutout. Amaral ranks first in the conference and is tied first in the nation with a perfect save percentage with yet to allow a goal this season. Recently named to the Mac Hermann Watch List, Amaral ranks third in Wake Forest program history with 17 career individual shutouts, behind NWSL Pros Kaitlyn Parks and Aubrey Kingsbury (Bledsoe).

Midfield Mania
Da Luz's carefully crafted midfield has seen incredible success in just the opening month of the season. Their offense makes up over a third of the Deacs 46 shots on goal. Sophomore Riley Cross and Ressler have proved to be an offensive force to fear as they take top spots in four offensive categories. 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. Brown has shown versatility, slotting into the backline against the South Florida Bulls. Yet to show up on the scoresheet but providing production in game are sophomore Sofia Atehortua and junior Amaya Dawkins. Also of note is freshman Eva Forster, who recorded her first career points with an assist in the game-winning goal against South Florida. 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.

Gola Ressler
Entering her third year as a Deac, midfielder Lola Ressler is an offensive threat on the field. The Winter Garden, Fla.-native has started all five contests, surpassing her career starts from 2025. Ressler struck just 46 seconds into the Deacs' game 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. Ressler leads the team with three goals, seven points and two game-winning goals of which ranks top-10 in the conference.

Quick Hitters

Wake Forest maintained the No. 5 spot on United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll and earned No. 5 on TopDrawerSoccer. The Deacs were named No. 5 during Week 3 of competition, which marked their highest ranking on United Soccer Coaches since December 10, 2024.
The Demon Deacons are the only remaining team in the country with six wins and zero goals conceded.
- Redshirt-junior defender Sierra Sythe earned back-to-back ACC Defensive Player of the Week nods during weeks one and two of play.
  - Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Valentina Amaral earned ACC Co-Goalkeeper of the Week during week one of play. This past August, 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 336-205-67 (.608) record in his time with the Deacs.
Last Saturday marked the fifth-straight shutout of the season, and extended Wake Forest' s unbeaten record at home to 21 games, dating back to October 2024.

Series History vs. Florida

This Sunday marks the fourth all-time meeting of the two programs, and the first in the 21st century.
- The Deacs are 0-3-0 against the Gators, and have not competed since Oct. 1, 1999.
Despite not facing off in Gainesville since 1999, da Luz and Gators' head coach Nick Zimmerman met last season at Mississippi State, prior to Zimmerman joining Florida.
- Zimmerman also served as associate head coach for the Bulldogs. The Deacs captured a 2-1 win over Mississippi State in 2024, but fell on the road in 2025 in Zimmerman's first season as head coach.
Wake Forest has played in Gainesville twice before, both under da Luz: 1996 and 1999.

Scouting the Gators

Florida is led by Head Coach Nick Zimmerman, who enters his first season with the Gators, and second all-time season as a head coach.
- He joined the Mississippi State coaching staff in Jan. 2019, beginning as assistant coach, and was then promoted to associate head coach in 2022 and head coach in 2024.
Zimmerman brought to Gainesville a number of top players from his time with the Bulldogs: Kyra Taylor and Zoe Main.
- As a senior, Taylor leads the Gators' offensively, with four goals and 11 points across five starts and six appearances. Main, another senior, follows Taylor with three goals and nine points, but edges her teammate with 13 shots on goal.
Defensively, junior Skye Barnes has tallied the most of any outfield player for Florida at just under 500 minutes, and earned her second-career assist in the Gator's 6-0 victory over Jacksonville.
Florida is 4-1-1 overall, with one non-conference game left to go before beginning SEC play.
The Gators have relied on all keepers in net, with senior Jayden Emmanuel making four starts and tallying 401 minutes so far this season. Junior Paloma Pena has recorded 135 minutes between the posts, and made two starts. Emmanuel played the full 90 with one goal allowed and four saves during Florida's upset victory over defending national champion, No. 3 Florida State. Senior Paris Bice also recorded time in net this past Thursday against Youngstown State.

Up Next
The Demon Deacons head back home to open the ACC slate, beginning with No. 12 Virginia Cavaliers, this Saturday, Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. The contest will be streamed on ACCNX with live stats available here.

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