After a season full of ups and downs, the Wake Forest women’s soccer team finished their season with five wins, seven losses, and two draws. Their season ended abruptly when their final game on the road against Louisville was canceled shortly before play was set to begin. With a couple of COVID-19 shutdowns and a few wins under their belts, the Wake Forest women’s soccer team was proud of the season they put together amid these uncertain times.

Senior Hannah Betfort spoke on the team’s season and dealing with COVID-19 issues, saying, “COVID certainly had a major impact since we had to split our season, and it limited our off-season preparation. However, I think we showed a lot of resilience and made the most of our season.”

“I learned a lot about being adaptable,” Belfort added. “From changing positions multiple times to being a captain and learning how to best approach each individual. I can definitely handle change better than before I got here.”

Betfort will continue her career by playing professionally next year for the Portland Horns.

With this season now over, the Demon Deacons will shift their focus to next season. Kaitlyn Parks, a rising junior, is expected to continue to start as the goalie after receiving ACC Defensive Player of the Week multiple times over the course of this past season.

“Moving from an underclassman to an upperclassman position, I feel that I will begin to progress into a leadership position,” Parks said. “The success I had as a player this season and the awards I was given allowed me to feel as if I can now inspire my other teammates and incoming freshmen to set goals and strive for success.”

Striving for success is exactly what Wake Forest women’s soccer plans to do over these next years. The team had glimpses of success this year, most notably when the team shut out a ranked Notre Dame team on the Irish’s home field.

“I have never been a part of a more eager-minded program, Parks said.” Entering next semester will bring more experience and success for our program, which will allow us to beat future ranked teams as we did to Notre Dame last fall.”

The Deacs will also look to their younger players to build the program and obtain a highly successful season next year. Rising sophomore Midfielder Sophie Faircloth will continue to lead the team as she received ACC honors in her freshman year.

Achieving sustained success in these next coming seasons, however, cannot be done without the knowledge instilled in the team by the departing seniors this year: Betfort, Abby McNamara and Jasmin Hillard.

“For future players, the best piece of advice I can give is to be ready for anything,” Betford said. “Embrace new challenges head-on because adversity is what made me into the player I am today. Take everything as a learning experience and grow from it.”