# 2023 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer team

The 2023 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer team represented Wake Forest University during the 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 77th season of the university fielding a program. It was the program's ninth season with Bobby Muuss as head coach. The Demon Deacons played their home matches at Spry Stadium.
The Demon Deacons finished the season 11–3–5 overall and 4–1–3 in ACC play to finish in first place in the Atlantic Division. As the second overall seed in the ACC Tournament they earned a by into the Second Round where they lost to North Carolina. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They were the tenth overall seed and lost to Indiana in overtime in the Second Round to end their season.

## Background

The Demon Deacons finished the season 14–6–0 overall and 5–3–0 in ACC play to finish in second place in the Atlantic Division. As the fourth overall seed in the ACC Tournament they defeated Virginia Tech in the Second Round before losing to Clemson in the Quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They were an unseeded team and lost to Ohio State in the First Round to end their season.

## Player movement
### Players leaving

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Takuma Suzuki | 12 | MF | 6'1" | 150 | Senior | Peachtree City, Georgia | Graduated |
| David Wrona | 13 | MF | 5'11" | 165 | Senior | Hoover, Alabama | Graduated |
| Omar Hernandez | 17 | MF | 5'11" | 175 | Senior | Dalton, Georgia | Graduated |
| Cole McNally | 31 | GK | 6'4" | 220 | Junior | Mount Airy, Maryland | Transferred to William & Mary |
| Sebastian Scrivner | 33 | DF | 6'3" | 180 | Senior | Bellevue, Washington | Graduated |

### Players arriving
#### Incoming Transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Camilo Ponce | 17 | MF | 5'9" | 161 | Sophomore | Amityville, New York | Boston College |

#### Recruiting Class

| Name | Nat. | Hometown | Club |
| Pranav DuBroff DF | USA | Frisco, Texas | FC Dallas Academy |
| Jonah Mednard GK | USA | Congers, New York | New York City FC Academy |
| Pariss Mitchell FW | USA | Ontario, Canada | Toronto FC Academy |
| Liam O'Gara MF | USA | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | NC Fusion |
| Ernesto Perez MF | USA | Antioch, Illinois | Shattuck-Saint Mary's School |
| Travis Smith DF | USA | Louisville, Kentucky | Louisville City FC Academy |
| Jeffrey White MF | USA | Tampa, Florida | Tampa Bay United Academy |

## Squad
### Roster

    As of January 16, 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 0 | GK | USA | Jonah Mednard |
| 1 | GK | USA | Trace Alphin |
| 2 | DF | USA | Bo Cummins |
| 3 | DF | USA | Travis Smith Jr. |
| 4 | DF | USA | Alec Kenison |
| 5 | DF | USA | Samuel Jones |
| 6 | MF | USA | Aethan Yohannes |
| 7 | MF | USA | Nico Rabiu |
| 8 | FW | SEN | Babacar Niang |
| 9 | MF | USA | Roald Mitchell |
| 10 | MF | SWE | Oscar Sears |
| 11 | MF | USA | Leo Guarino |
| 12 | MF | USA | Jose Perez |
| 13 | MF | USA | Jeffrey White |
| 14 | DF | USA | Jahlane Forbes |
| 15 | FW | USA | Mwinso Denkabe |
| 16 | DF | JPN | Hosei Kijima |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | MF | USA | Camilo Ponce |
| 18 | MF | USA | Cooper Flax |
| 19 | DF | USA | Cristian Escribano |
| 20 | MF | USA | Ryan Fessler |
| 21 | FW | USA | Julian Kennedy |
| 22 | MF | PUR | Sidney Paris |
| 23 | DF | USA | Vlad Walent |
| 24 | MF | USA | Jake Swallen |
| 25 | MF | USA | Chase Oliver |
| 26 | MF | USA | Colin Thomas |
| 27 | DF | USA | Prince Amponsah |
| 28 | MF | USA | Nicolas Mancilla |
| 30 | GK | USA | Devin Armstrong |
| 32 | DF | USA | Garrison Tubbs |
| 33 | MF | USA | Liam O'Gara |
| 34 | DF | USA | Pranav DuBroff |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Athletic Director | John Currie |
| Head coach | Bobby Muuss |
| Associate head coach | Steve Armas |
| Associate head coach | Dane Brenner |
| Assistant coach | Ade Taiwo |
| Assistant Athletic Trainer | Michael White |
| Academic Counselor | Brooke Taylor |
| Sports Performance | David Bass |
Source:

## Schedule

Source:
| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Exhibition ||||||
| August 13* 7:00 p.m. | No. 18 | Davidson | T 2–2 | – | Alumni Soccer Stadium Davidson, NC |
| August 19* 7:00 p.m. | No. 18 | Denver | W 3–2 | – | Spry Stadium Winston–Salem, NC |
| Regular season ||||||
| August 24* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 18 | Grand Canyon | W 3–1 | 1–0–0 | Spry Stadium (1,324) Winston–Salem, NC |
| August 27* 6:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 18 | California | T 1–1 | 1–0–1 | Spry Stadium (1,352) Winston–Salem, NC |
| September 1* 7:30 p.m., B1G+ | No. 16 | at No. 20 Maryland | T 0–0 | 1–0–2 | Ludwig Field (4,644) College Park, MD |
| September 5* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 16 | Furman | W 5–1 | 2–0–2 | Spry Stadium (1,360) Winston–Salem, NC |
| September 9 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 9 | at Pittsburgh | L 0–3 | 2–1–2 (0–1–0) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (714) Pittsburgh, PA |
| September 12* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 20 | Gardner–Webb | W 4–0 | 3–1–2 | Spry Stadium (915) Winston–Salem, NC |
| September 16 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 20 | No. 7 Syracuse | T 1–1 | 3–1–3 (0–1–1) | Spry Stadium (2,217) Winston–Salem, NC |
| September 19* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 14 | Liberty | W 3–1 | 4–1–3 | Spry Stadium (753) Winston–Salem, NC |
| September 22 6:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 14 | Clemson | W 1–0 | 5–1–3 (1–1–1) | Spry Stadium (2,528) Winston–Salem, NC |
| September 26* 7:00 p.m., FloFC | No. 10 | at Campbell | W 3–1 | 6–1–3 | Eakes Athletics Complex (307) Buies Creek, NC |
| September 29 2:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 10 | at Boston College | W 1–0 | 7–1–3 (2–1–1) | Newton Campus Soccer Field (207) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| October 6 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 6 | at NC State | W 3–0 | 8–1–3 (3–1–1) | Dail Soccer Field (1,636) Raleigh, NC |
| October 10* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 4 | Wofford | W 2–0 | 9–1–3 | Spry Stadium (956) Winston–Salem, NC |
| October 14 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 4 | No. 14 North Carolina | W 1–0 | 10–1–3 (4–1–1) | Spry Stadium (2,454) Winston–Salem, NC |
| October 17* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 3 | Robert Morris | W 5–1 | 11–1–3 | Spry Stadium (699) Winston–Salem, NC |
| October 20 8:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 3 | No. 6 Notre Dame | T 1–1 | 11–1–4 (4–1–2) | Spry Stadium (2,261) Winston–Salem, NC |
| October 27 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 3 | at Louisville | T 2–2 | 11–1–5 (4–1–3) | Lynn Stadium (1,052) Louisville, KY |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| November 5 4:00 p.m., ACCN | (2) No. 6 | (7) No. 13 North Carolina Quarterfinals | L 0–1 | 11–2–5 | Spry Stadium (2,958) Winston–Salem, NC |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 19 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (10) No. 6 | Indiana Second Round | L 2–3 $^{2OT}$ | 11–3–5 | Spry Stadium (2,059) Winston–Salem, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Garrison Tubbs | Pre-Season Hermann Trophy Watchlist | August 24 |
| Hosei Kijima | Pre-Season All-ACC Team | August 26 |
| Trace Alphin | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | September 5 |
| Garrison Tubbs | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | October 17 |
| Garrison Tubbs | ACC Defensive Player of the Year | November 8 |
| Garrison Tubbs | All-ACC First Team | November 8 |
| Trace Alphin | All-ACC Second Team | November 8 |
| Jahlane Forbes | All-ACC Second Team | November 8 |
| Hosei Kijima | All-ACC Second Team | November 8 |
| Roald Mitchell | All-ACC Second Team | November 8 |
| Liam O'Gara | All-ACC Freshman Team | November 8 |

## 2024 MLS Super Draft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| Hosei Kijima | St. Louis City | 1 | 17 | MF |
| Jahlane Forbes | Charlotte FC | 2 | 38 | DF |
| Babacar Niang | Minnesota United | 3 | 78 | MF |
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| United Soccer | 18 | 16 | 9 | 20 | 14 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 15 |
| TopDrawer Soccer | 17 | 17 | 14 | 19 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 18 | 18 | 18 | 18 |