# 2024 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer team

The 2024 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer team represented Wake Forest University during the 2024 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 78th season of the university fielding a program. It was the program's tenth season with Bobby Muuss as head coach. The Demon Deacons played their home matches at Spry Stadium.
The Demon Deacons started the season ranked fifteenth, but had a dissapointing opening week losing 2–1 to VCU and defeating Central Arkansas 3–2. The results saw them fall out of the national rankings. They followed that with a streak of games where they went 1–1–1, with the tie coming against number 21 UCF. They also tied their ACC opener against Virginia and drew 1–1 with fourteenth ranked Elon. They followed those two draws with a loss to fourth ranked Clemson. A defeat of Syracuse saw the Demon Deacons acheive a 3–3–3 overall record, and a 1–1–1 ACC record. They then went on a seven-game unbeaten run, which included two ACC wins over Boston College and Virginia Tech and a draw against sixteenth ranked Duke. They finished the season with a defeat at twenty first ranked SMU and a defeat of twelfth ranked NC State.
The Demon Deacons finished the regular season 8–4–5 overall and 4–2–2 in ACC play to finish in a tie for fourth place. As the fifth overall seed in the ACC Tournament hosted Syracuse in the First Round. They defeated the Orange 2–1, the same result as in the regular season to move on. Next was a re-match against fourth seed and fifteenth ranked SMU, where the teams drew 2–2. The Demon Deacons advanced via penalty shoot-out. In the Semifinals, Wake Forest won a regular season rematch with Virginia 5–1 to advance to the final. In a re-match with Clemson, the two teams drew, and Wake won the championship in another penalty shoot-out. They received the ACC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They were the eighth overall seed earned a bye into the Second Round. There they defeated Maryland 2–1 to set-up a Third Round rematch with Clemson. The match again went into overtime, but this time Wake scored in the overtime peroid to avoid a penalty shoot-out. The Demon Deacon's run ended in the Quarterfinals where they lost to top seed, and number one ranked, Ohio State 3–0. The Demon Deacons finished with a 12–5–7 overall record and were ranked sixth in the final United Soccer Coaches poll.

## Background

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.

## Player movement
### Players leaving

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Alec Kenison | 4 | DF | 5'9" | 153 | Sophomore | San Diego, California | Transferred to Northeastern |
| Samuel Jones | 5 | DF | 6'0" | 175 | Sophomore | Portsmouth, Virginia | — |
| Aethan Yohannes | 6 | MF | 6'0" | 175 | Sophomore | Springfield, Virginia | — |
| Roald Mitchell | 9 | FW | 6'2" | 170 | Junior | Montclair, New Jersey | Signed with New York Red Bulls |
| Oscar Sears | 10 | MF | 5'8" | 150 | Senior | Stockholm, Sweden | Graduated |
| Leo Guarino | 11 | FW | 5'10" | 155 | Junior | East Rockaway, New York | Transferred to Boston College |
| Jahlane Forbes | 14 | MF | 6'0" | 165 | Senior | Clermont, Florida | Graduated; Selected 38th overall in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft |
| Mwinso Denkabe | 15 | FW | 5'9" | 165 | Junior | Los Altos, California | — |
| Hosei Kijima | 16 | MF | 5'10" | 165 | Senior | Yokohama, Japan | Graduated; Selected 17th overall in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft |
| Camilo Ponce | 17 | MF | 5'9" | 161 | Sophomore | Amityville, New York | Signed with FC Tulsa |
| Jake Swallen | 24 | MF | 5'10" | 180 | Senior | Shoreview, Minnesota | Graduated |
| Chase Oliver | 25 | MF | 5'9" | 155 | Senior | Kennesaw, Georgia | Graduated |
| Devin Armstrong | 30 | GK | 6'2" | 165 | Freshman | Palm Harbor, Florida | Transferred to NJIT |
| Garrison Tubbs | 32 | DF | 6'3" | 175 | Senior | Brunswick, Georgia | Graduated; Signed with Atlanta United FC |
| Pranav DuBroff | 34 | DF | 5'10" | 174 | Freshman | Frisco, Texas | — |

### Players arriving
#### Incoming Transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Pierce Bateson | 17 | MF | 5'9" | 152 | Sophomore | Madison, New Jersey | Connecticut |

#### Recruiting Class

| Name | Nat. | Hometown | Club | TDS Rating |
| Owen Barnett GK | USA | Atlanta, Georgia | Atlanta United FC Academy | |
| Ryan Belal FW | USA | Baltimore, Maryland | FC Cincinnati 2 | |
| Dylan Borso MF | USA | Chicago, Illinois | Chicago Fire Academy | |
| Jojo Davila DF | USA | Valrico, Florida | Orlando City SC Academy | |
| Will Jackson DF | USA | Homewood, Alabama | Kiwanis Club | |
| Daniel Krueger DF | USA | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Philadelphia Union Academy | |
| Pariss Mitchell FW | CAN | Markham, Ontario | Colorado Rapids 2 | N/A |
| Mason Sullivan DF | USA | West Roxbury, Massachusetts | New England Revolution Academy | |
| Amoni Thomas DF | CAN | Edmonton, Canada | Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy | N/A |
| Joel Torbic MF | USA | State College, Pennsylvania | Barca Residency 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 | CAN | Amoni Thomas |
| 5 | DF | USA | Daniel Krueger |
| 6 | MF | USA | Liam O'Gara |
| 7 | MF | USA | Nico Rabiu |
| 8 | MF | USA | Dylan Borso |
| 9 | FW | CAN | Pariss Mitchell |
| 10 | MF | SEN | Babacar Niang |
| 11 | DF | PUR | Sidney Paris |
| 12 | MF | USA | Jose Perez |
| 13 | MF | USA | Jeffrey White |
| 14 | FW | USA | Ryan Belal |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | DF | USA | Jojo Davila |
| 16 | MF | JPN | Joel Torbic |
| 17 | MF | USA | Pierce Bateson |
| 18 | MF | USA | Cooper Flax |
| 19 | DF | USA | Cristian Escribano |
| 20 | MF | USA | Ryan Fessler |
| 21 | FW | USA | Julian Kennedy |
| 22 | MF | GHA | Basit Umar |
| 23 | DF | USA | Vlad Walent |
| 24 | DF | USA | Mason Sullivan |
| 25 | DF | USA | Will Jackson |
| 26 | MF | USA | Colin Thomas |
| 27 | DF | USA | Prince Amponsah |
| 28 | MF | CHI | Nicolas Mancilla |
| 30 | GK | USA | Owen Barnett |

### 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 11* 7:00 p.m. | No. 15 | at Davidson | T 1–1 | – | Alumni Soccer Stadium Davidson, NC |
| August 17* 7:00 p.m. | No. 15 | UNC Greensboro | L 0–2 | – | Spry Stadium Winston–Salem, NC |
| Regular season ||||||
| August 22* 8:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 15 | VCU | L 1–2 | 0–1–0 | Spry Stadium (2,234) Winston–Salem, NC |
| August 25* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 15 | Central Arkansas | W 3–2 | 1–1–0 | Spry Stadium (2,010) Winston–Salem, NC |
| August 31* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 21 UCF | T 1–1 | 1–1–1 | UCF Soccer and Track Stadium (1,012) Orlando, FL |
| September 6* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Gardner–Webb | L 1–3 | 1–2–1 | Greene–Harbison Stadium (350) Boiling Springs, NC |
| September 9* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Radford | W 1–0 | 2–2–1 | Spry Stadium (1,090) Winston–Salem, NC |
| September 13 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Virginia | T 1–1 | 2–2–2 (0–0–1) | Spry Stadium (2,440) Winston–Salem, NC |
| September 17* 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | No. 14 Elon | T 1–1 | 2–2–3 | Spry Stadium (871) Winston–Salem, NC |
| September 20 7:30 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 4 Clemson | L 0–1 | 2–3–3 (0–1–1) | Riggs Field (6,222) Clemson, SC |
| September 27 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at Syracuse | W 2–1 | 3–3–3 (1–1–1) | SU Soccer Stadium (1,687) Syracuse, NY |
| October 1* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | East Tennessee State | W 2–0 | 4–3–3 | Spry Stadium (852) Winston–Salem, NC |
| October 5 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Boston College | W 2–0 | 5–3–3 (2–1–1) | Spry Stadium (1,713) Winston–Salem, NC |
| October 8 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Wofford | T 0–0 | 5–3–4 | Spry Stadium (1,117) Winston–Salem, NC |
| October 12 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at No. 16 Duke | T 0–0 | 5–3–5 (2–1–2) | Koskinen Stadium (1,129) Durham, NC |
| October 15* 6:00 p.m., FloFC | | at UNC Wilmington | W 4–1 | 6–3–5 | UNCW Soccer Stadium (1,067) Wilmington, NC |
| October 19 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Virginia Tech | W 2–1 | 7–3–5 (3–1–2) | Spry Stadium (1,486) Winston–Salem, NC |
| October 25 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 21 SMU | L 0–3 | 7–4–5 (3–2–2) | Washburne Stadium (1,283) Dallas, TX |
| November 1 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | No. 12 NC State | W 1–0 | 8–4–5 (4–2–2) | Spry Stadium (1,825) Winston–Salem, NC |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| November 6 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | (5) | (12) Syracuse First Round | W 2–1 | 9–4–5 | Spry Stadium (975) Winston–Salem, NC |
| November 10 4:00 p.m., ACCN | (5) | at (4) No. 15 SMU Quarterfinals | T 2–2 (5–4 PKs) $^{2OT}$ | 9–4–6 | Washburne Stadium (1,175) Dallas, TX |
| November 14 5:30 p.m., ACCN | (5) | (9) Virginia Semifinals | W 5–1 | 10–4–6 | WakeMed Soccer Park (645) Cary, NC |
| November 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | (5) | (2) No. 7 Clemson Final | T 1–1 (7–6 PKs) $^{2OT}$ | 10–4–7 | WakeMed Soccer Park (1,839) Cary, NC |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 24 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (8) | Maryland Second Round | W 2–1 | 11–4–7 | Spry Stadium (2,034) Winston–Salem, NC |
| December 1 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (8) | (9) No. 7 Clemson Third Round | W 2–1 $^{OT}$ | 12–4–7 | Spry Stadium (2,273) Winston–Salem, NC |
| December 7 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (8) | (1) No. 1 Ohio State Quarterfinals | L 0–3 | 12–5–7 | Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium (1,763) Columbus, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Babacar Niang | Pre-Season All-ACC Team | August 14 |
| Daniel Krueger | ACC Defensive Player of the Week – Week 9 | October 22 |
| Trace Alphin | All-ACC Second Team | November 13 |
| Cooper Flax | All-ACC Second Team | November 13 |
| Dylan Borso | All-Freshman Team | November 13 |
| Prince Amponsah | ACC Tournament MVP | November 17, 2024 |
| Trace Alphin | All ACC-Tournament Team | November 17, 2024 |
| Prince Amponsah | All ACC-Tournament Team | November 17, 2024 |
| Bo Cummins | All ACC-Tournament Team | November 17, 2024 |
| Cooper Flax | All ACC-Tournament Team | November 17, 2024 |

## 2025 MLS Super Draft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| Travis Smith Jr. | Chicago Fire FC | 2 | 33 | DF |
| Bo Cummins | Houston Dynamo FC | 2 | 48 | DF |
| Trace Alphin | Real Salt Lake | 2 | 59 | GK |
| Liam O'Gara | Real Salt Lake | 3 | 79 | MF |
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | 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 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 6 |
| TopDrawer Soccer | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 22 | 16 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 5 |