The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (5-1-3, 0-1-1 ACC), now in their 11th season under 4-time ACC Coach of the Year Bobby Muuss, are hoping to meet the high expectations that surround the team this season. The Deacs opened as the #6 team in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, and they now sit at #13. This comes after a 2024 season where Wake won its first postseason silverware since 2017 with an ACC Championship victory on penalties over Clemson as well as their first appearance in the last 8 of the NCAA
tournament since the 2020/2021 split calendar season, which really changed the narrative of a year where the Deacs had an up and down 8-5-5 regular season. As one of the top programs in the country, this year the Deacs are looking to retain their crown in college soccer’s best conference and for an elusive second national championship.
Roster Turnover
The big story for the Deacs this season is how they can respond to some key losses. Only 4 members of the starting eleven from their season-ending loss to Ohio State last season remain on the roster. These losses included two time All-ACC goalkeeper Trace Alphin, All-ACC Freshman winger Dylan Borso, 2023 All-ACC Freshman defensive midfielder Liam O’Gara, starting right back and All-ACC Tournament selection Bo Cummins, and the Deacs’ 7th most capped player in history, center back Prince Amponsah. The 11 total players who departed the program either due to graduation or to join the professional ranks (or both) offered the Deacs an opportunity to make some significant changes to their roster, and they have done so.
Bobby Muuss and his staff replaced his 11 departing players with 10 newcomers for the 2025 season. Three of these newcomers arrive to Winston-Salem by way of the transfer portal, with Sun Belt Freshman of the Year forward Harvey Sarajian arriving from Georgia Southern, junior center forward Ethan Subachan coming from Louisville, and junior winger Tate Lorentz making the switch from UNC. The remaining 7 freshmen additions, including forward Chandler Young, right back Copeland Berkley, midfielder Alfred Debah, and defensive midfielder David Nguema, each of whom have found some minutes already this season, round out what was ranked as the #12 recruiting class in the nation for the 2025 season by TopDrawerSoccer. This level of turnover is not unfamiliar to this Wake Forest program, but a youth movement through the lineup can come with some growing pains
The Story So Far
At this point, Wake has reached a fork in the road for their season. Although they have looked dominant at times, particularly in their victories against Lipscomb and Oral Roberts (by 4-0 and 2-0 respectively), and soared to the #1 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, they have certainly struggled as well. A 1-0 victory over Campbell where a late Camel miss inside the six yard box carried them through to victory as well as a canceled opening night game with perennial contender Maryland at Spry where the Deacs trailed by a goal before weather ultimately washed out the clash were some warning signs for a team who had found themselves at the top of the rankings.
The Deacs did open ACC play with a 1-1 draw in Chapel Hill against the Tar Heels in what was a hard fought match, which was the result that ultimately landed them the #1 ranking, but the week that followed proved a difficult one. On 9/16, they suffered a shock draw at home against UNC Wilmington, surrendering a 3-1 lead with 20 minutes left to tie 3-3. What followed was a nightmare trip to Charlottesville where UVA issued the Deacs their first loss of the season by a score of 6-3 in a game that was 4-0 at half and 5-0 in the second half. That said, it has not been all doom and gloom for this team. They took out some frustration on an overmatched Liberty team on Monday, smashing them by a 7-0 scoreline. They also hold a victory over an always tricky UCF team at home, a game they won by a score of 2-1. With all of that being said, Wake has faced only a couple of big tests this season, and the results have not been up to their very high standards.
The Good
Despite the UNCW and UVA games last week, Wake’s defense has been largely strong so far this year, keeping 5 clean sheets in 9 matches. Returning junior center back Travis Smith Jr. has been a rock defensively alongside sophomore Mason Sullivan, a first year starter, who has shown some great talent with the ball at his feet as well as against the ball. Junior fullback Amoni Thomas also returned this year to take a starting role, this time switching from the left side of defense to the right, and he looks like a player that could make the jump to the professional level with his athleticism, attacking talent, and work rate. On the other side, 6th year player and captain Cristian Escribano has been a steadying presence, both in possession and defensively, after missing all but 4 games last season due to injury. With that said, Escribano looks to be sideline with an injury again, as he missed the Deacs’ most recent game against Liberty and was replaced by winger Vlad Walent in his left back slot.
Just ahead of the backline, defensive midfielder Jose Perez seems to have found another gear. In Bobby Muuss’s 4-3-3 formation, that holding midfielder role is one that comes with a lot of responsibilities, and Perez has been willing to take them all on this year. The junior midfielder earned the majority of the starts in that role last year due to a long term injury that held Liam O’Gara out of action until the very tail end of the season, but his primary aptitude was his ability to play with the ball and find teammates up the field. This year, he has shown a bit more bite defensively as well as a strong ability to read the game against the ball, and his attacking performance has not tailed off at all, as he has already netted twice.
This has been coupled with a bit of a change to Bobby Muuss’s tactical philosophy, one that took shape last season as his team went on that run to secure an ACC Championship. Although the strong focus on positive, possession-based soccer has remained, this team is now a more direct outfit with a much stronger focus on pressing when out of possession and forcing the ball into dangerous areas when they do have the ball. The patient, sometimes too patient, possession model of previous years seems to have been tweaked, and that has allowed the Deacs to create a bit more danger, even if it is at the expense of some game control. Although it was a bit of a shaky start for Wake’s attack, they have exploded into life these last few games, spearheaded by UNC transfer Tate Lorentz. Lorentz did not begin the season as a starter, and he still does find himself rotating in and out of the lineup, but he has proven to be the Deacs’ most prolific attacker from his left wing position, leading the team with 5 goals and sharing second on the team in assists with 3. He may just be the central attacking piece for this Wake team as they start to come down the stretch this year.
The Questions that Remain
The big question for Wake is up front. Across the 9 games that have been played so far this season, the Deacs have started 4 different players in the center forward slot: Harvey Sarajian, Ethan Subachan, Ryan Belal, and Chandler Young. Subachan leads those four with 2 goals thus far this season, with each of the other three having a goal each. Chandler Young looks to be the preferred option in that position currently, as he has started each of the last two games and is coming off of a monster performance against Liberty, where he won 2 penalties and scored a goal. Returning sophomore forward Pariss Mitchell has been held out so far this season due to injury, but he represents another option in that center forward position which still appears to be open for one of these players to grab it. There are also a few questions regarding who will get the minutes in the two wing positions. It seems as if Jeffrey White has locked up a starting position on the right side of the forward line, as he has started all 9 games and registered 2 goals and 2 assists, but the other side is a bit more up for grabs between the previously mentioned Harvey Sarajian and Tate Lorentz. Sarajian was the Deacs’ marquee addition this offseason, but he is off to a bit of a slow start, only having registered his first goal and point against Liberty this week while Lorentz has been flying. Coach Muuss does like to rotate the forwards frequently in game, so there are plenty of minutes to go around in that spot, but it will be interesting to see how Muuss configures his attacking line when Wake needs to find a goal. Nico Rabiu and Vlad Walent are also fighting for minutes in those two wing slots, with Rabiu shining particularly brightly over his past few games, and Walent returning to his previous form in recent matches.
Beyond the forward line, the two midfield positions ahead of Perez are equally intriguing. Returning Third Team All-American Cooper Flax, the Deacs’ top returning player, has struggled through the early part of this season. He exploded for a hat trick and an assist to boot in this week’s thrashing of Liberty, but he had registered 2 assists and 0 goals in 8 games prior. His partner in the pivot and fellow captain Basit Umar has been largely good this season with 3 goals and 3 assists, but he has had his struggles this year, particularly in the UNC game. Make no mistake, these two should make an elite midfield pivot. Flax is an uber talented player with the ball at his feet in the attacking third, and Umar is a true box to box midfielder that can run forever and create some magic in the attacking third as well. But, with many difficult games ahead, both players will need to find another gear and help deliver victories for a team that looks as if it is still figuring itself out. They are also not without pursuers in that position, as returning sophomore Joel Torbic and freshman Alfred Debah have carved out some minutes in the middle of the field coming off the bench, and both have shown flashes of quality.
Moving all the way back to the goalkeeper position, there may be a competition in that slot. Redshirt sophomore keeper Jonah Mednard has started all 9 games this year, and he has largely looked the part, particularly in a 6-save performance in Chapel Hill that helped Wake hold onto a point. However, after the 3-3 draw with UNCW and a 4 goal first half in Charlottesville, Coach Muuss lifted Mednard at half time against UVA and put in redshirt freshman Owen Barnett. Neither player had registered a collegiate start before this year, as departing keeper Trace Alphin started all 33 games the Deacs played across the 2023 and 2024 seasons. Jonah Mednard made two appearances last season, both of the bench, and Barnett made his first collegiate appearances this year, so this is not a position where Wake holds a wealth of experience, as in previous years. While Mednard did return to his starting role and to form with a few big saves in the win against Liberty, Barnett was still given the opportunity to play for the final 22 minutes of the game, which may open the possibility that the goalkeeper spot is up for grabs over the last 7 games.
What is Next
Wake will have to answer a lot of the questions that face them quickly, as, on Friday, they will play their biggest game of the season so far, hosting bitter rivals Clemson in a nationally televised game at Spry. Oddly enough, Clemson finds itself unranked at this stage of the season after being as high as #2 this season. They have taken some shock losses to Queens University and VCU, which has set up one of very few clashes in recent memory between these teams where only one side is ranked. With Clemson though, you always know what to expect, but that does not make things any easier. The Tigers are led by head coach Mike Noonan, who has continued what has been a history of excellence in his 16 years in charge. With a high-pressing, physical, direct playing style, Noonan has instilled an identity into a Clemson program that has won 2 national titles and 3 ACC championships under his direction. They are led this year by a bonafide MAC Hermann Award contender in Ransford Gyan, a diminutive but clinical attacking midfielder who is joint-4th in Division 1 in goals. Nathan Richmond and Wahabu Musah, each with 5 goals to their name, along with Gyan, have scored 17 of Clemson’s 20 goals this season. They haven’t looked like the solid defensive team that they have been in previous years, having kept only 1 clean sheet in their 8 games this season, and they have generally just looked like a less organized and committed defensive unit to this point. But even with all of that being said, they are 2-0-1 in the ACC, they held #3 Indiana to a 2-2 draw on the road, and, above all else, they still have the top level talent that a team ranked in the top 10 would have. Kickoff for this game is set for 6:00 PM EST on Friday, and the game will be broadcast on ESPNU.
