Wake Forest’s season came to a heartbreaking end as they fell 1-0 to Michigan State in the Second round of the NCAA tournament. Wake Forest made its 24th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, with the last 23 coming under the helm of Head Coach Tony da Luz. The Demon Deacons have made four of the last five tournaments, highlighted by a national finalist runner-up finish in the 2024 College Cup.

In the first half, the Demon Deacons backline of Sierra Sythe, Sammi Wiemann, Brooke Miller and Tahlia Zadeyan held strong as redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Valentina Amaral saw 8 shots throughout the frame. Wake went into the locker room 0-0 and trailing 0-8 in shots for the half. 

The Spartans broke the stalemate and struck for the game-winner in the 69th minute.

Despite attempts to tie it from the Deacs, they were unable to get the ball past the Michigan State goalkeeper, and ultimately fell in a defensive battle 1-0. 

Da Luz expressed that this team represented the program well and embodied the high standards that they hold themselves to. 

“I’m super proud of this group,” Da Luz said of the loss. “After graduating 19 seniors and nearly 80 percent of our starting lineup, a lot of people underestimated what this team could accomplish. Nobody thought we would even make it to the NCAA tournament, let alone have the quality of the season we had. I’m really proud of the effort we put forth. 

Wake Forest finished with an undefeated record at Spry Stadium. In the post-season, three Demon Deacons earned All-ACC honors, highlighted by the All-ACC Freshman of the Year selection for Kylie Maxwell. Maxwell also earned a spot on the Third Team and Freshman Team, joined by redshirt-sophomore Valentina Amaral on the third team and freshman Allie Flanagan on the freshman team.