The Wake Forest Demon Deacons (10-4-4, 4-3-3 ACC) ended their regular season on Thursday, taking a heavy 4-1 defeat against the #6 Florida State Seminoles (10-2-3, 6-2-2 ACC). This result confirmed that
the Deacs would miss the ACC Tournament, as they finished in 9th in the conference, 5 points off of the 6th and final ACC Tournament spot. The Noles, meanwhile, secured their place in the ACC Tournament as the 4 seed, and they will host UVA with a spot in the semifinals on the line. This game was the Deacs’ heaviest defeat since a 4-1 loss in Pittsburgh during the 2023 season, and it padded out a tough run for Wake, as they now have only 1 win in their previous 6 matches. To put it plainly, this was a beating from start to finish, and the Deacs were hardly in the game at all for any of the 90 minutes. Provided the Deacs get into the field, which, by all accounts, they are likely to, they will have at least 15 days to regroup, and, most importantly, get healthy ahead of their first round matchup.
It was a scary start to the game, as in the 2nd minute, an aerial collision between Wake midfielder and captain Dempsey Brown and FSU forward Jordynn Dudley led Brown to land awkwardly, and she was ultimately unable to continue in the game. Brown was taken out on a stretcher with a neck brace after a lengthy delay, and there have been no updates regarding Brown’s status at this time by the team. The Deacs, already without top scorer winger Kylie Maxwell due to injury, had an uphill climb in this game now without one of their captains, and they did not look sharp at the beginning of this game, really struggling to play out of the back against the Noles’ pressure, especially with Brown’s absence. In the 10th minute, that this issue would bite them, as midfielder Taylor Suarez got her body ahead of midfielder Carly Wilson to intercept a pass from keeper Valentina Amaral, and Wilson would trip up Dudley at the top of the box to give the Noles a free kick. Suarez would be the one to take the free kick, and she would make no mistake, blasting her effort into the top corner on the goalie’s side for her 4th goal of the season to give the Noles an early 1-0 lead.
The Noles continued to pile the pressure on the Deacs, and Wake just seemed unable to respond. Only seconds later, FSU nearly doubled their lead, with Jordynn Dudley getting the ball up the field and spraying it out wide to right wingback Kameron Simmonds, who ran in behind the defense after left back Sierra Sythe tried to step up and cut out the pass. Simmonds put a great ball across towards forward Wrianna Hudson, but Valentina Amaral was able to get her hands to it. However, the Deacs couldn’t settle the rebound, and it looked like Hudson would get a chance from close range after winning the ball against center back Sammi Wiemann, but the referee blew the play dead for a foul against Hudson. In the 21st minute, though, the Noles would double their lead through a penalty kick. The penalty came as a result of more great play from Jordynn Dudley, as Dudley got the better of Sammi Wiemann off the dribble in the penalty area and went on towards goal, but Brooke Miller got across and prevent Dudley from getting a shot away before Amaral could claim it. It wasn’t called a foul on the field, but the referee was called over to the monitor to review it. After a lengthy review, the official called a foul against Brooke Miller for extending her arm up into the face of Dudley. In my opinion, this was a harsh decision, but defending with your arms is something that officials can always penalize a player for. Dudley was the one to take the penalty and she made it look easy, blasting her spot kick into the top corner for her 8th goal of the year, doubling FSU’s lead.
At this point, the Noles were running wild, and the Deacs were entirely unable to exit their own half. In the 23rd minute, a Sierra Sythe turnover forced by Taylor Suarez fell right to the feet of Jordynn Dudley just outside the 6 yard box, but Miller deflected her shot wide. In the 28th minute, the roles were reversed, with Jordynn Dudley playing the ball across the box to Suarez at the top of the 6 yard box, but she rolled her effort right into the arms of Amaral. The pressure kept coming from the Noles, and they came inches from their 3rd goal in the 43rd minute, as another turnover in the Deacs’ end allowed forward Solai Washington to get on the ball in the area, and Washington fizzed one across goal on her left foot. Amaral looked to get a touch on the ball on its way through, but couldn’t parry it away. However, the Deacs were spared a 3rd goal when the ball rattled off the base of the post and deflected back into the arms of Amaral. When the first half buzzer went, the score would be 2-0 for the Noles, and they may have been unfortunate not to have scored more.
In the second half, the Deacs started a bit better, pushing more numbers forward and causing some problems for the FSU backline. The Noles would weather this early pressure, though, and pushed on, taking advantage of a Wake team that was throwing numbers forward to try and find a way back into the game. In the 54th minute, they found a 3rd goal. It was Taylor Suarez and Jordynn Dudley combining again, with the former finding the latter with a big switch to the right flank. Dudley put the ball down inside the penalty area, sizing up Sierra Sythe. She got the better of her off the dribble, cutting inside before cutting back onto her right foot, then blasting one past Valentina Amaral at the near post for her 2nd goal of the game and her 9th of the season to make it 3-0 and put the result out of doubt, or, at least, it seemed that way. Less than 2 minutes after the Noles 3rd goal, the Deacs scrapped one back. They were finally able to get an extended spell of possession, working the ball from side to side before it reached Brooke Miller on the right flank. Miller cut the ball back onto her left foot and lofted it into the penalty area. It split the gap between two Seminole defenders and landed on the foot of Sierra Sythe, who got a touch on it before keeper Kate Ockene, and it bounced into the back of the net for her 3rd goal of the season to cut the deficit back down to 2.
Any hopes of a comeback were dashed shortly after Sythe’s goal, however. In the 62nd minute, a cross into the area from Sophia Nguyen landed at the feet of Solai Washington, who couldn’t quite control the ball. However, Sierra Sythe’s clearance was blocked by Wrianna Hudson, who was then able to get a shot away from close range, but Valentina Amaral stepped up and made a save. The ball deflected out to Enasia Colon, who put it back across to Washington, who couldn’t settle the ball, but the Deacs still couldn’t get it clear, and Wrianna Hudson pounced on the loose ball and get another shot away. Her shot got through Amaral, but the ball landed at the feet of center back Laine DeNatale inside the 6 yard box. DeNatale tried to get the ball back onto her favored left foot to clear it, but Yuna McCormack poked it into the back of the net before DeNatale could get it away, scoring her 4th goal of the season to make it 4-1 Noles. FSU continued to dominate the remainder of the game, and they looked likely to add onto their lead, but, ultimately, the game would end 4-1 after a further 30 minutes of FSU dominance. Of note during this period, though, was another injury for the Deacs. In the 69th minute, center back Laine DeNatale, who has started every game this year for the Deacs, knocked knees with FSU midfielder Peyton Nourse and had to be taken out of the game.
It was hard for the Deacs to have a worse night than the one they did, suffering a heavy defeat and potentially losing two starters due to injury. As for the player of the match, there are two players that were clearly head and shoulders above the rest in this game. Seminole midfielder Taylor Suarez was exceptional all night, scoring one and assisting another in an immense performance, but her forward teammate Jordynn Dudley, to me, was the best player on the field. Dudley was everywhere, always seeming to find a pocket of space in a dangerous part of the field. She also, of course, scored a brace, including a beautiful goal for the Noles’ 3rd of the game. Despite their excellent performances and the great performances of their teammates, Wake keeper Valentina Amaral should also be recognized, as, even in a 4-1 defeat, she was excellent, making 12 saves in the contest to keep a lopsided defeat from being even uglier.
In all likelihood, the Deacs will return to action sometime between 11/14-11/16, but that is dependent on the Selection Committee’s evaluation of their resume. They have a very strong candidacy to make the tournament and likely host a game, as they sit 24th in the RPI rankings, which are very important in the committee’s selection criteria. NCAA Tournament selection will take place on Monday, 11/10.
