# 2018 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer team

The 2018 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer team represented Wake Forest University during the 2018 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 72nd season of the university fielding a program. It was the program's fourth season with Bobby Muuss as head coach. The Demon Deacons played their home matches at Spry Stadium.

## Background

The 2017 Wake Forest men's soccer team finished the season with a 19–2–2 overall record and a 7–0–1 ACC record. The Demon Deacons were seeded first–overall in the 2017 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament, and they went on to win the tournament. The Demon Deacons earned an automatic bid into the 2017 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament for winning the ACC Tournament. As the first–overall seed in the tournament, Wake Forest defeated Columbia and Butler, before losing to eventual champions Stanford in the Quarterfinals.
At the end of the season, three Demon Deacons men's soccer players were selected in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft: Jon Bakero, Ema Twumasi and Luis Argudo. Bakero and Twumasi were both taken in the first round.

## Player movement
### Players leaving

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Luis Argudo | 2 | MF | 5'8" | 135 | Senior | New York City, NY | Declared for 2018 MLS SuperDraft; selected 67th overall by Columbus Crew |
| Kevin Politz | 4 | DF | 6'0" | 170 | Senior | Morganville, NJ | Graduated |
| Jon Bakero | 7 | FW | 6'3" | 165 | Senior | Sitges, ESP | Declared for 2018 MLS SuperDraft; selected 5th overall by Chicago Fire |
| Steven Echevarria | 15 | MF | 5'9" | 145 | Senior | Slate Hill, NY | Graduated |
| Ema Twumasi | 22 | MF | 5'8" | 160 | Sophomore | Accra, GHA | Declared for 2018 MLS SuperDraft; selected 11th overall by FC Dallas |

### Players arriving

| Name | Nat. | Hometown | Club |
| Koby Carr DF | USA | San Antonio, TX | Houston Dynamo Youth |
| Kyle Holcomb FW | USA | San Diego, CA | Pateadores SC |
| Elijah Kerr DF | USA | Stewart Manor, NY | Dix Hills SC |
| Isaiah Parente DF | USA | Medina, OH | Columbus Crew Academy |
| John Rula DF | USA | Birmingham, AL | FC Dallas |
| Jake Swallen MF | USA | Shoreview, MN | Minnesota Thunder |
| Aristotle Zarris MF | USA | Casa Grande, AZ | LA Galaxy |

## Squad
### Roster

Updated:August 3, 2018
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 | Andrew Pannenberg |
| 1 | GK | ESP | Andreu Cases Mundet |
| 2 | DF | USA | Koby Carr |
| 3 | FW | USA | Kyle Holcomb |
| 4 | DF | USA | Holland Rula |
| 5 | DF | TRI | Michael DeShields |
| 6 | DF | SWE | Alberto Catenacci |
| 7 | FW | USA | Aristotle Zarris |
| 8 | MF | CAN | Alistair Johnston |
| 9 | FW | USA | Tater Rennhack |
| 10 | MF | BRA | Bruno Lapa |
| 11 | MF | JAM | Justin McMaster |
| 12 | MF | USA | Brad Dunwell |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | MF | JAM | Joey DeZart |
| 15 | MF | USA | Isaiah Parente |
| 16 | MF | USA | Omir Fernandez |
| 17 | DF | USA | Logan Gdula |
| 19 | DF | USA | Eddie Folds |
| 20 | MF | USA | Kyle McCurley |
| 21 | MF | USA | Machop Chol |
| 24 | MF | USA | Jake Swallen |
| 25 | DF | USA | Elijah Kerr |
| 26 | DF | USA | Sam Raben |
| 28 | DF | USA | Tyrrell Moore |
| 29 | DF | USA | Tre Bailey |
| 30 | GK | USA | Dominic Peters |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Athletic director | Ron Wellman |
| Head coach | Bobby Muuss |
| Assistant coach | Steve Armas |
| Assistant coach | Dane Brenner |
| Assistant coach | Matt Poplawski |
| Assistant Athletic Trainer | Michael White |
| Academic Counselor | Brooke Taylor |
| Strength & Conditioning Staff | David Bass |
Source:

## Schedule

Source:
| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Exhibition ||||||
| August 12* 7:00 pm | No. 5 | at Furmam | T 4–4 | – (–) | Stone Stadium (967) Greenville, SC |
| August 18* 7:00 pm | No. 5 | Loyola | W 2–0 | – (–) | Spry Stadium Winston–Salem, NC |
| Regular season ||||||
| August 24* 7:30 pm | No. 5 | No. 2 Indiana Carolina Nike Classic | W 2–1 $^{2OT}$ | 1–0–0 (0–0–0) | Spry Stadium (4,751) Winston–Salem, NC |
| August 26* 7:00 pm | No. 5 | ETSU Carolina Nike Classic | W 4–2 | 2–0–0 (0–0–0) | Spry Stadium (1,470) Winston–Salem, NC |
| September 1* 7:00 pm | No. 1 | at Florida Gulf Coast | W 3–1 | 3–0–0 (0–0–0) | FGCU Soccer Complex (1,017) Fort Myers, FL |
| September 4* 7:00 pm | No. 1 | Presbyterian | W 4–1 | 4–0–0 (0–0–0) | Spry Stadium (1,113) Winston–Salem, NC |
| September 7 7:00 pm | No. 1 | No. 8 NC State | W 3–0 | 5–0–0 (1–0–0) | Spry Stadium (4,023) Winston–Salem, NC |
| September 11* 7:00 pm | No. 1 | Georgia Southern | W 2–0 | 6–0–0 (1–0–0) | Spry Stadium (1,017) Winston–Salem, NC |
| September 14 7:30 pm | No. 1 | at No. 16 Virginia Tech | W 2–1 | 7–0–0 (2–0–0) | Thompson Field (1,200) Blacksburg, VA |
| September 21 7:00 pm | No. 1 | at Clemson | W 3–0 | 8–0–0 (3–0–0) | Riggs Field (3,259) Clemson, SC |
| September 25* 7:00 pm | No. 1 | Davidson | W 5–1 | 9–0–0 (3–0–0) | Spry Stadium (1,357) Winston–Salem, NC |
| September 29 7:00 pm | No. 1 | No. 15 Duke | W 4–2 | 10–0–0 (4–0–0) | Spry Stadium (4,937) Winston–Salem, NC |
| October 2* 7:00 pm | No. 1 | UNCG | W 2–0 | 11–0–0 (4–0–0) | Spry Stadium (1,819) Winston–Salem, NC |
| October 5 7:00 pm | No. 1 | at Syracuse | L 0–2 | 11–1–0 (4–1–0) | SU Soccer Stadium (1,957) Syracuse, NY |
| October 9* 7:00 pm | No. 2 | High Point | W 4–2 | 12–1–0 (4–1–0) | Spry Stadium (1,783) Winston–Salem, NC |
| October 12 6:00 pm | No. 2 | Boston College | W 2–1 | 13–1–0 (5–1–0) | Spry Stadium (3,111) Winston–Salem, NC |
| October 16* 7:00 pm | No. 1 | at South Carolina | W 2–0 | 14–1–0 (5–1–0) | Stone Stadium (2,250) Columbia, SC |
| October 20 7:00 pm | No. 1 | at No. 6 Virginia | W 3–2 | 15–1–0 (6–1–0) | Klöckner Stadium (2,791) Charlottesville, VA |
| October 26 7:00 pm | No. 1 | No. 17 Louisville | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 16–1–0 (7–1–0) | Spry Stadium (1,165) Winston–Salem, NC |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| November 4 1:00 pm | (1) No. 1 | (8) NC State Quarterfinal | W 2–0 | 17–1–0 | Spry Stadium (2,037) Winston-Salem, NC |
| November 7 7:00 pm | (1) No. 1 | (4) No. 10 Louisville Semifinal | L 1–2 $^{OT}$ | 17–2–0 | Spry Stadium (2,117) Winston-Salem, NC |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 18* 5:00 pm | (1) No. 2 | Colgate Second Round | W 2–0 | 18–2–0 | Spry Stadium (1,802) Winston-Salem, NC |
| November 25* 5:00 pm | (1) No. 2 | Akron Third Round | L 0–1 | 18–3–0 | Spry Stadium (1,686) Winston-Salem, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Bruno Lapa | ACC Offensive Player of the Week | August 28, 2018 |
| Omir Fernandez | ACC Offensive Player of the Week | September 10, 2018 |
| Omir Fernandez | ACC Offensive Player of the Week | September 17, 2018 |
| Bruno Lapa | United Soccer Coaches Player of the Week | October 2, 2018 |
| Logan Gdula | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | October 22, 2018 |
| Bobby Muuss | Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Soccer Coach of the Year | November 7, 2018 |
| Omir Fernandez | Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Offensive Player of the Year | November 7, 2018 |
| Bruno Lapa | Atlantic Coast Conference Men's Soccer Midfielder of the Year | November 7, 2018 |
| Omir Fernandez | All-ACC First Team | November 7, 2018 |
| Bruno Lapa | All-ACC First Team | November 7, 2018 |
| Brad Dunwell | All-ACC Second Team | November 7, 2018 |
| Sam Raben | All-ACC Third Team | November 7, 2018 |
| Aristotle Zarris | All-ACC Freshman Team | November 7, 2018 |
| Machop Chol | All-ACC Tournament Team | November 11, 2018 |
| Sam Raben | All-ACC Tournament Team | November 11, 2018 |
| Bruno Lapa | United Soccer Coaches First Team All-American | December 6, 2018 |
| Omir Fernandez | United Soccer Coaches First Team All-American | December 6, 2018 |
| Brad Dunwell | United Soccer Coaches Second Team All-American | December 6, 2018 |

## 2019 MLS Super Draft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| Logan Gdula | FC Cincinnati | 1 | 13 | DF |
| Brad Dunwell | Houston Dynamo | 3 | 56 | MF |
Sources:

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Final |
| United Soccer | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | None Released | None Released | None Released | None Released | 6 |
| TopDrawer Soccer | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 9 |