Wake Forest upsets No. 2 Duke to reach semifinals of ACC Tournament

DURHAM, N.C. – The Wake Forest women’s soccer team (15-4-0, 6-4-0 ACC) battled for a 2-1 upset victory at the No. 3 seed No. 2 Duke Blue Devils (13-3-1, 7-2-1 ACC) on Sunday night at Koskinen Stadium in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.

The sixth-seeded Demon Deacons capitalized on an early first half goal and a Duke own goal to secure the highest ranked win in program history and advance to the semifinals for the first time since 2012.

The Deacs, playing in their first ACC Championship since 2017 struck first in the 29th minute when Jenna Menta connected with a Nikayla Small cross to put the Deacs up one. Malaika Meena threaded a pass through for the Canadian, who served a tasty ball into the six-yard box. Menta made no mistake for her sixth goal of the season.

Chef's kiss ?@nikaylasmall4 ➡️ @jenna_menta pic.twitter.com/YcDtirulEc

— Wake Women's Soccer (@WakeWSoccer) November 1, 2021

Menta’s strike snapped the Blue Devils five-match shutout streak that went for 450 plus scoreless minutes.

Right from the start, both teams were displaying their physicality. In the first half there were four yellow cards shown by the referee.

Wake Forest outshot the Blue Devils in the first half, 8-5. The Deacs totaled more shots in the first half than they did through the whole game when they faced Duke earlier this campaign.

In the 83rd minute, Menta played a cross into the six-yard box, which was met by the foot of a Blue Devil defender. It bounced off her foot and nestled into the back of the Duke goal. The own-goal effectively put the game to bed and captured the upset victory.

Wow. pic.twitter.com/aUWKu1afYR

— Wake Women's Soccer (@WakeWSoccer) November 1, 2021

The four-person back line of sophomore Sophie Faircloth, freshman Kristin Johnson, freshman Zara Chavoshi and senior Ryanne Brown limited the Blue Devil offense that has outscored their ACC opponents 15-4, to just five shots on target.

Goalkeeper Kaitlyn Parks garnered four saves in route to her 13th win of the season.

Demon Deacon Details

• Wake Forest advances to the ACC tournament semifinals for the first time since 2012.
• This is the highest ranked win in program history.
  • The previous record was a 3-2 win over then No. 3 South Carolina.
• With the 2-1 victory over Duke, the Demon Deacons earned their first victory against the Blue Devils since 2013
• Wake Forest holds an unblemished record at the No. 6 seed with 4-0-1 at the ACC tournament.
• The 2021 season marks the 25th at Wake Forest for head coach Tony da Luz, where he is now 283-184-53.
• Wake Forest is 14-0 when scoring the first goal and 13-1 when outshooting their opponents. When the Deacs score two or more goals they are a perfect 12-0.
• This is the quickest any Wake Forest team has made it to 15 wins in program history.
• Twelve different Deacs have scored at least one goal this season, and six of Deac’s 12 goal scorers have scored two or more goals.
• Wake Forest is outscoring opponents 24-5 in the first half and has scored 10 goals during the first 15 minutes of regulation.
• Through 19 games, Wake Forest has scored 39 goals, surpassing the total number of goals scored by Wake Forest over 14 games during the 2020-21 season (16).
• Jenna Menat netted her sixth goal of the season, totaling 18 points on the season.
• Nikayla Small’s assist to Menta’s goal was her fifth of the season as Meena collected her first assist.

Tony Time with Coach da Luz
“I thought we came out to play tonight. We competed well and were aggressive throughout the whole unlike the last game we played against Duke. Tonight, we got a fast start and kept the pressure on. That is what I am most proud of is how we were able to continually apply the pressure throughout the 90 minutes. What resilience to give up that late goal and comeback and get the winner late. I thought Jenna (Menta) was fast and dangerous. I am proud of the team for continuing to improve. The whole roster has been contributing all through the week, every single player making each other better. We value and appreciate everything that everyone does on the team.”

Up Next 
Next up, Wake Forest will play No. 2 seed Florida State on Friday, November 5 in the ACC semifinals in Cary, N.C. The match will kick off at 8:00 p.m. and is slated to stream on ACC Network.