The Wake Forest University Demon Deacons men's soccer team is an NCAA Division I college soccer team composed of students attending Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They achieved their greatest result in 2007, winning the 2007 Division I Men's College Cup. Like all sports teams from Wake Forest, men's soccer competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Deacons play their home matches at Spry Stadium on the campus of Wake Forest.
History
Wake Forest fielded its first team in 1980, under the coaching of George Kennedy. The Deacons went 12–9–1 in their first season. They won their first ACC game that season, defeating Maryland 2–1. Coach Kennedy led Wake Forest through 1985 finishing with a 62–55–12 overall record and 6–27–3 in the ACC. Walt Chyzowych took over the program in 1986 until his death just prior to the 1994 season. Coach Chyzowych took the Deacons to a 77–59–22 overall record and 15–25–7 in the ACC in his eight seasons. The Deacons played in their first NCAA Tournament in 1988, losing in the first round to North Carolina. Since 1988, Wake Forest has reached the NCAA tournament 15 times. Jay Vidovich, an assistant under Coach Chyzowych, was named Head Coach in 1994. In 19 seasons under Coach Vidovich, the Deacons went 254–103–48 overall and 65–44–22 in the ACC.
To date, Wake Forest has won the ACC Regular Season Title in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2015, and 2017. They won the ACC Tournament in 1989, 2016, and 2017. With their inclusion in the 2009 College Cup, the Demon Deacons reached four consecutive College Cups, becoming the ninth team in NCAA history to achieve this feat.
2007 NCAA Champions The most successful season in team history took place in 2007, when Wake Forest won the NCAA Division I Championship in a 2–1 decision over Ohio State. It marked the program's only championship to date. During their championship run, the No. 2 seeded Deacons defeated Furman 1–0, No. 15 West Virginia 3–1, and No. 10 Notre Dame 2–1 in overtime to reach the College Cup. In the semifinals, Marcus Tracy scored twice in a 2–0 win over Virginia Tech. In the final, Wake Forest scored two second half goals to come from behind to defeat Ohio State 2–1 to win the National Championship.
Coaching staff Head Coach Bobby Muuss Associate Head Coach Steve Armas Associate Head Coach Dane Brenner Assistant Coach Ade Taiwo
Notable alumni
Current professionals
The players in bold have senior international caps.
Steve Holeman (1987–1990) currently head coach with Texas State John Hackworth (1991–1992) currently interim head coach with St. Louis City SC Mike McGinty (1991–1994) currently assistant coach with North Carolina FC Kelvin Jones (2000–2003) currently assistant coach with San Diego FC James Riley (2001–2004) currently head coach with Ballard FC Brian Edwards (2003–2007) currently goalkeeping coach with Charlotte FC Jamie Franks (2005–2008) currently head coach with Denver Zack Schilawksi (2006–2009) currently assistant coach with Pittsburgh Ike Opara (2007–2009) currently assistant coach with Sporting Kansas City II Akira Fitzgerald (2007–2010) currently with North Carolina FC Chris Duvall (2010–2013) currently assistant coach with St. Louis City 2 Collin Martin (2012) currently with North Carolina FC Ian Harkes (2013–2016) currently with San Jose Earthquakes Jon Bakero (2014–2017) currently with Charlotte Independence Steven Echevarria (2014–2017) currently with Colorado Springs Switchbacks and has 1 cap for Puerto Rico Jack Harrison (2015) currently with Everton F.C. Brad Dunwell (2015–2018) currently with Midwest United FC Bruno Lapa (2016–2019) currently with Ansan Greeners FC Mark McKenzie (2017) currently with Toulouse FC and has 17 caps for United States Brandon Servania (2017) currently with D.C. United and has 1 cap for the United States Omir Fernandez (2017–2018) currently with Colorado Rapids Machop Chol (2017–2020) currently with FK Žalgiris and has 3 caps for South Sudan Alistair Johnston (2018–2019) currently with Celtic FC and has 51 caps for Canada Michael DeShields (2018–2020) currently with Charlotte Independence Isaiah Parente (2018–2020) currently with LA Galaxy Calvin Harris (2019–2020) currently with Colorado Rapids Nico Benalcazar (2019–2021) currently with FC Cincinnati 2 Omar Hernandez (2019–2022) currently with Chattanooga Red Wolves SC Jahlane Forbes (2020–2023) currently with Charlotte FC Hosei Kijima (2020–2023) currently with D.C. United Garrison Tubbs (2020–2023) currently with D.C. United Tareq Shihab (2021) currently with HK and has 2 caps for Yemen Roald Mitchell (2021–2023) currently with New York Red Bulls
Wake Forest seasons SeasonConference RecordConferenceTourn. Pos.Overall RecordHonorsTop pointsIn NCAA scoring, goals count as 2 points while assists count as one point.Top scorerGoals in all competitions (regular season, Conference, and NCAA Tournament) are counted.ConferencePld.WLDPos.Pld.WLDNatl.Rank1980ACC61507th221291Rob Burt25Kenny Bauchle/Rob Burt171981ACC63305th219102Mark Erwin39Mark Erwin171982ACC61506th219102Mark Erwin21Mark Erwin81983ACC60427th211353Mark Erwin79Mark Erwin361984ACC61416th221273Henry Riggs-Miller25Flip Kenyon/Henry Riggs-Miller91985ACC60607th227141Henry Riggs-Miller23Henry Riggs-Miller111986ACC60607th207112Chris Wentz13Chris Wentz61987ACC61416thQF205132Nigel McNamera17Nigel McNamera71988ACC63122ndQF201154NCAA 1st RoundNigel McNamera24Nigel McNamera101989ACC64112ndW211542NCAA 2nd RoundGeraint Davies29Geraint Davies111990ACC61417thSF211074NCAA 1st RoundNigel McNamera16Nigel McNamera61991ACC63213rdF211353NCAA 1st RoundJohn Duguid27John Duguid111992ACC52305thQF17962Steve Gillmor18Andrew Chang/Steve Gillmor71993ACC61416thQF18783Steve Gillmor13Steve Gillmor61994ACC61507thQF191081Ryan Scott18Ryan Scott71995ACC62405thQF201181Serge Daniv17Trent Lind61996ACC63303rdSF201271Josh Timbers23Josh Timbers81997ACC62406thSF2010100Ihor Dotsenko20Ihor Dotsenko81998ACC61416thQF191171Greg Krauss22Greg Krauss101999ACC62133rdSF211335NCAA 2nd RoundChristian Lonteen20Ben Stafford82000ACC62405thSF191072Ben Stafford38Ben Stafford162001ACC63214thSF211362NCAA 1st RoundJeremiah White37Jeremiah White152002ACC64021stSF211524ACC Regular Season Champion, NCAA 3rd RoundJeremiah White27Jeremiah White112003ACC64022ndSF211605NCAA 2nd RoundScott Sealy26Scott Sealy112004ACC75021stSF211452ACC Regular Season Champion, NCAA 3rd RoundScott Sealy44Scott Sealy172005ACC81528thQF23138212NSCAA/adidas National Rankings Division I Final Post-Season Ranking Poll From http://www.nscaa.com , Posted December 13, 2005.NCAA 3rd RoundJustin Moose23Mark Ellington82006ACC8521T-1stF2518343NSCAA/adidas National Rankings Division I Final Post-Season Ranking Poll From http://www.nscaa.com , Posted December 5, 2006.ACC Regular Season Co-Champion, NCAA SemifinalistSteven Curfman20Wells Thompson72007ACC86112ndF2622221NSCAA/adidas National Rankings Division I Final Post-Season Ranking Poll From http://www.nscaa.com , Posted December 19, 2007.NCAA ChampionsCody Arnoux38Cody Arnoux152008ACC8701T-1stSF2522212NSCAA/adidas National Rankings Division I Final Post-Season Ranking Poll From http://www.nscaa.com , Posted December 16, 2008.ACC Regular Season Champion, NCAA SemifinalistCody Arnoux42Cody Arnoux172009ACC8521T-1stSF2417433NSCAA/adidas National Rankings Division I Final Post-Season Ranking Poll From http://www.nscaa.com , Posted December 15, 2009.ACC Regular Season Co-Champion, NCAA SemifinalistZack Schilawski35Zack Schilawski142010ACC84313rdQF19892Andy Lubahn16Andy Lubahn82011ACC8431T-3rdQF21885NCAA 2nd RoundAndy Lubahn14Luca Gimenez62012ACC84133rdQF20114522NCAA 2nd RoundSean Okoli25Sean Okoli112013ACC116143rdQF211065NCAA 3rd RoundLuca Gimenez/Sean Okoli21Sean Okoli92014ACC85305thQF191072NCAA 1st RoundMichael Gamble223 tied62015ACC86021stSF2217321ACC Regular Season Champion, NCAA QuarterfinalistJack Harrison27Jack Harrison, Jon Bakero82016ACC85122ndW2519242ACC Tournament Champion, NCAA Runner-upJacori Hayes19Jacori Hayes82017ACC87011stW215ACC Regular Season Champion, ACC Tournament Champion, NCAA QuarterfinalistJon Bakero46Jon Bakero162018ACC87101stSF2118306ACC Regular Season Champion, NCAA Third RoundOmir Fernandez30Omir Fernandez122019ACC86202ndSF231652NCAA SemifinalistBruno Lapa23Bruno Lapa102020ACC68121st South3rd AtlanticQF91332NCAA QuarterfinalistKyle Holcomb20Kyle Holcomb9 2021 ACC 8 4 3 1 3rd Atlantic QF 21 13 7 1 17 NCAA Third RoundKyle Holcomb 28Kyle Holcomb 12 2022 ACC 8 5 3 0 2nd Atlantic QF 20 14 6 0 24 NCAA First Round Roald Mitchell 18 Roald Mitchell 7 2023 ACC 8 4 1 3 1st Atlantic QF 19 11 3 5 15 NCAA Second Round Roald Mitchell 21 Roald Mitchell 9 2024 ACC 8 4 2 2 T-4th W 24 12 5 7 6 NCAA Quarterfinalist Cooper Flax 19 Cooper Flax 9Totals:42 Seasons1 Conference308149114458 ACC titles4 ACCT title930554266109 1 NCAA TitleMark Erwin160Mark Erwin68
Awards M.A.C. Hermann Trophy Winner:
Marcus Tracy – 2008 Ian Harkes – 2016 Jon Bakero – 2017
ACC Coach of the Year:
George Kennedy – 1981 Jay Vidovich – 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009 Bobby Muuss – 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018
ACC Offensive Player of the Year:
Jeremiah White – 2003 Scott Sealy – 2004 Corben Bone – 2009 Jack Harrison – 2015 Ian Harkes – 2016 Jon Bakero – 2017 Omir Fernandez – 2018
ACC Midfielder of the Year: Bruno Lapa – 2018
ACC Defensive Player of the Year:
Michael Parkhurst – 2004 Ike Opara – 2008, 2009 Kevin Politz – 2017 Garrison Tubbs – 2023
ACC Freshman of the Year:
Justin Moose – 2002 Corben Bone – 2007 Jack Harrison – 2015
All-Americans Year Player(s) 1988 Neil Covone, Todd Renner 1989 Neil Covone, Todd Renner 1995 Serge Daniv 1996 Serge Daniv, Josh Timbers 1999 Chad Evans 2001 Aaron Thomas, Jeremiah White 2002 Brian Carroll, William Hesmer 2003 William Hesmer, Michael Parkhurst, Jeremiah White 2004 Justin Moose, Michael Parkhurst, Scott Sealy 2005 Justin Moose, Ryan Solle 2006 Julian Valentin 2007 Cody Arnoux, Sam Cronin, Pat Phelan 2008 Cody Arnoux, Corben Bone, Sam Cronin, Ike Opara, Marcus Tracy 2009 Corben Bone, Ike Opara, Zack Schilawski 2015 Jack Harrison 2016 Ian Harkes, Alec Ferrell, Jacori Hayes
All-ACC Players The players are all first team All-ACC, unless otherwise noted