Wake Forest Thrashes Big Four Rival Duke

Saturday, September 5

Winston-Salem, N.C.

7 p.m.

Wake Forest University

3-1-1, 1-0-0

Duke

2-3-0, 0-1-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Duke	0	1	1
Wake Forest	5	1	6

9/6/2026 12:02:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

The Demon Deacons put six past the Blue Devils in the ACC opener.

By: Dylan Shackelford

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest men's soccer team put together one of the most dominant conference performances in program history on Saturday night, racing past Duke, 6-1, at Spry Stadium to open ACC play with a statement victory.

The result secured Wake Forest's first ACC win of the 2026 campaign while extending the Demon Deacons' impressive success in conference openers since 2015. Wake Forest is now 8-2-2 in ACC openers during the Muuss era and 4-0-1 when beginning league play at home.

Saturday's six-goal performance also moved the Demon Deacons to 4-2-1 against Duke since 2015 and further strengthened Wake Forest's standing against its Big Four rivals. The Deacs are now 20-4-4 against Duke, NC State and North Carolina under Muuss, with another matchup against a Big Four opponent awaiting later this season at NC State.

With the triumph, Wake Forest improved to 2-0-1 at Spry Stadium this season while adding another chapter to one of the nation's strongest home records. The Demon Deacons have now amassed 119 home victories since 2015, 13 more than any other NCAA Division I program.

The Demon Deacons erupted for five goals in the opening 36 minutes to take a 5-0 lead into the break and added another in the second half to secure their third victory of the season to improve to 3-1-1 overall.

Wake Forest's six goals were its most against Duke in series history, surpassing its previous high of four, most recently in a 4-0 victory on Sept. 29, 2018. The six-goal outburst was also Wake Forest's largest offensive performance in ACC play since scoring six times against No. 10 Clemson on Sept. 24, 2022.

Additionally, it was the first time the Blue Devils had conceded six goals in an ACC regular-season contest since a 6-2 loss to Clemson on Oct. 14, 1977.

The Demon Deacons wasted virtually no time putting their stamp on the match, scoring twice inside the opening 11 minutes. Hometown hero Tate Lorentz opened the scoring just 2:06 into the contest, finding the back of the net for the first time this season and giving Wake Forest a 1-0 advantage after some clever work in the box.

Just over eight minutes later, Joby Reid doubled the lead in the 11th minute, finishing off a perfect Ronnie Garcia cross to give the Deacs a two-goal cushion for his first as a Demon Deacon. It also marked Garcia's second assist of the season.

After controlling the opening stages, Wake Forest turned the match into a rout with three goals in less than four minutes late in the first half. Joel Torbic scored in the 32nd minute with a nice finish off an assist from Alfred Debah before Mason Sullivan headed one home just 73 seconds later following a Torbic corner. Those marked the second career goals for both Torbic and Sullivan.

Pariss Mitchell then capped the first-half barrage in the 36th minute, converting a great through-ball from Philip Biskupski to send the Demon Deacons into halftime with a commanding 5-0 lead.

The offensive pressure continued throughout the evening, with Wake Forest finishing with a 27-13 advantage in shots, including a 16-8 edge after halftime, while controlling 63 percent of possession.

Duke briefly trimmed the deficit early in the second half when Julius Suber scored in the 51st minute, but Wake Forest answered emphatically. Just 17 minutes later, Lorentz found the back of the net for a second time, finishing a Chandler Young assist in the 67th minute to restore the five-goal advantage at 6-1.

The goal marked Lorentz's second of the night and completed a four-point performance for the hometown senior.

Man of the Match - Tate Lorentz
Lorentz was named Wake Forest's Man of the Match after delivering one of the most impactful performances of his career. The Winston-Salem native scored twice on four shots and was a problem for the Duke backline all night.

The performance brought his career totals to eight goals and seven assists (23 points), all of which have come in the Old Gold & Black over the last two seasons.

Saturday also marked the second brace of his career, with the previous coming against UNCW on Sept. 16 of last year.

Balanced Attack
Lorentz was far from alone in leading the attack with five different Demon Deacons finding the net. Wake Forest received goals from Reid, Torbic, Sullivan and Mitchell in addition to the brace. Five different players also recorded an assist, as Garcia, Debah, Torbic, Biskupski and Young all contributed to the six-goal attack.

The Deacs finished with 27 shots, their highest total through the first five matches of the season, while recording 16 shots in the second half alone.

Wake Forest also maintained its recent defensive stability despite Duke finding the net once. Jonah Mednard made three saves across his 72:41 in goal before giving way to Owen Barnett, who played the final 17:19 and made one save.

How it Happened

Wake Forest wasted little time getting on the board, as Lorentz opened the scoring just 2:06 into the match with his first goal of the season to give the Demon Deacons an early 1-0 advantage.
The Deacs doubled the lead in the 11th minute when Garcia played the ball to Reid, who finished to make it 2-0
- Wake Forest continued to apply pressure, generating multiple chances in the opening 20 minutes while controlling possession.
Torbic made it 3-0 in the 32nd minute, finishing an assist from Debah.
- Less than 90 seconds later, Torbic turned provider, setting up Sullivan for Wake Forest's fourth goal of the night.
The offensive barrage continued in the 36th minute when Biskupski found Mitchell, who buried the fifth Wake Forest goal of the opening half.
Duke got on the board early in the second half, with Julius Suber scoring in the 51st minute to trim Wake Forest's advantage to 5-1.
- The Blue Devils were reduced to 10 men shortly after, as Adrian Byasiima was shown a red card in the 53rd minute for denying a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
Lorentz put the finishing touches on his Man of the Match performance in the 67th minute, taking a pass from Chandler Young and scoring his second goal of the night to push the Wake Forest lead back to five at 6-1.
- The brace marked Lorentz's second career brace.
Wake Forest continued to generate opportunities throughout the remainder of the match, finishing with a season-high 27 shots and holding Duke to 13. The Demon Deacons recorded 16 shots in the second half alone and maintained 63 percent of possession on the night.
Jonah Mednard made three saves over 72:41 before Owen Barnett entered to close out the match, with Barnett making one save in the final 17:19.
Wake Forest ultimately finished with a 27-13 edge in shots and 6-1 on the scoreboard.

FROM MUUSS
"I'm super proud of the guys. When people look at that box score, they're going to ask if there was a red card. There was, but it came in the second half and it was 5-0 at halftime. The performance at Bowling Green carried over to the belief and the courage that they had tonight. Duke is a really good team, don't let that scoreline diminish the quality of players that they have.

Every guy stepped up and did their part. We had five different goal scorers and five separate players recorded an assist. The workrate they had was great to win second balls against a really good team in transition. To play almost every single guy on the roster in an ACC game is amazing. I want to thank the Winston-Salem and student community for coming out. The Golden Army's first appearance was incredible, I hope that group continues to grow."

UP NEXT
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 stream live on ACCNX and will serve as Wake Forest's We Are Wake Green Match, with game-worn green jerseys being auctioned to benefit The Trinity Center in support of mental health awareness.