A Year in Review: Wake Forest Men’s Soccer

The Wake Forest Demon Deacons men’s soccer team will be more than happy to ring in the new year after what was a challenging 2025 season. Coming off of an ACC Championship and a run to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2024, the Deacs opened the season at #6 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and rose all the way up to the #1 ranking after a 4-0-2 start. However, after claiming that top spot in the September 14th poll, Wake would win only 3 of their final 11 games, punctuating a frustrating season with a heartbreaking 5-4 loss in Dallas to eventual ACC champions SMU in the first round of the ACC Tournament. In the end, a season that started with so much promise would prove to be the worst of Bobby Muuss’s Wake Forest tenure, as the Deacs missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010 under now Pittsburgh head coach Jay Vidovich. Their final record this season was 7-4-6, the first single-digit win season of the Muuss era. It was evident throughout the season that this was a team that had talent on it, but the experience the Deacs lost last winter through graduation and the MLS SuperDraft proved to be something they could not overcome. There is plenty to discuss regarding last year’s team, but let’s start with the positives.

The Good

Despite the Deacs’ poor results this season, they had one of their most prolific attacks in recent memory. Wake posted 39 goals across their 17 games this season, their best mark since 2022, and their best goal per game average (2.3) since the 2018 season. The star of the show was senior attacking midfielder Cooper Flax who, after starting the season with 0 goals and 2 assists in his first 8 games, exploded for 9 goals and 5 assists in his final 9 games, leading the team in both categories and earning Second Team All-American honors and a First Team All-ACC selection, the Deacs’ sole all-conference selection this year. It was a group effort otherwise, with 14 total Demon Deacons having scored goals this season and only one other player than Flax registering more than 5: UNC transfer winger Tate Lorentz. Lorentz began the season as a rotational piece, but, after 2 goals and an assist off the bench in his first four games, Lorentz became a regular starter, finishing the year with 6 goals and 5 assists, although his production did taper off some down the stretch. Overall, this was a unit the Deacs leaned on heavily throughout the season, and they largely delivered, only being shut out twice.

On the opposite end of the field, there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the goalkeeper position after the departure of the ever-present Trace Alphin, the 12th most-capped player in program history. Redshirt sophomore Jonah Mednard was the one who took up the mantle, and he proved a worthy replacement. It wasn’t always easy for Mednard, who did have his struggles. He was certainly culpable in the Deacs’ collapse against UNC Wilmington, in which they surrendered a 3-1 lead in the final 20 minutes to draw 3-3, and he was pulled at halftime of Wake’s 6-3 loss in Charlottesville to UVA only 3 days later after surrendering 5 first half goals. After that UVA game in September, however, he hit another level. He had some excellent games as the season went on, especially in Pittsburgh, where he made an exceptional triple save from a penalty kick that found its way all over social media. He was a busy man in most of the games he played in this season, but he answered the bell.

Another player worthy of recognition for his efforts this season was junior defensive midfielder Jose Perez. Perez was thrust into big minutes during the 2024 season due to injury issues for incumbent starter Liam O’Gara, and he proved a critical contributor to the Deacs’ ACC Championship. With O’Gara leaving to enter the professional ranks last winter, Perez was set to start again at the base of the midfield for Wake, and, once again, he was up to the task. He was the Deacs’ strongest midfielder defensively, and he showed a ton of quality on the ball, keeping Wake’s possession-heavy system ticking, linking the defense to the attack. He also chipped in on the attacking end of the field, scoring 3 goals and setting up another in his third season in Winston-Salem. Overall, he was a calming and consistent presence for a team that was extremely volatile throughout much of the year

The Bad

To put things plainly, despite their attacking prowess, Wake was not unlucky to put up the record that they did. A fair amount of blame for their performance this year falls upon their defensive unit. This season, the Deacs surrendered 27 goals, which is as many as they allowed last year, but in 7 fewer games. This season’s goals against average mark of 1.6 per game was their worst of the 21st century and far and away the worst of Bobby Muuss’s tenure. Heading into this year, the Deacs graduated half of their ACC-winning backline, with All-ACC Tournament selection right back Bo Cummins and ACC Tournament MVP and captain Prince Amponsah departing the program. The Deacs looked poised to reload in these positions, however, with underclassman starters Amoni Thomas and Travis Smith Jr. returning at fullback and center back respectively, with the latter returning to Winston-Salem despite being picked in the second round of the MLS SuperDraft by the Chicago Fire. The Deacs also had the benefit of returning 5th-year senior captain Cristian Escribano at fullback after Escribano had missed all but 4 games of the 2024 season due to injury. Wake also returned two highly touted underclassman center backs in Daniel Krueger and Mason Sullivan, with one of the two poised to take over Amponsah’s spot in the backline.

However, something just did not click. Sullivan started the first 8 games of the season but was relegated to the bench after the aforementioned UNCW and UVA games, and Krueger started the next 8 games before missing the Deacs’ ACC Tournament loss to SMU through injury, allowing Sullivan back into the lineup. Smith, who had been excellent in 2024, took a step back this season. Escribano remained a steady presence in the defense for the most part, and Thomas on the opposite flank had plenty of positive moments, but, across the entire unit, the Deacs were plagued by simple mistakes that led to goals, whether it was with the ball or against it. In addition, Wake continued their struggles with defending set pieces, something that has been a consistent issue over the past few years. In their season ending loss to SMU, the Mustangs scored 4 of their 5 goals on set pieces. With all of this being said, the backline doesn’t hold sole responsibility for Wake’s poor defensive performance this year, as Wake was certainly a bit weak in the middle of the field when out of possession, but this unit will certainly be hoping to take a big step forward next season from their performances in 2025.

In the middle of the field, while the Deacs got some excellent play from Cooper Flax and Jose Perez, but that third midfield slot next to Flax proved to be a tough one to fill. The expectation before the season was that senior captain Basit Umar would slot in and make this an All-ACC caliber midfield. Umar certainly had his moments, finishing with 4 goals and 3 assists, but he did not play at that level consistently, and, ultimately, saw his minutes dwindle throughout the season until he was dropped to the bench for the Deacs’ final two games against Notre Dame and SMU, playing 65 combined minutes across those matchups. Wake would play the likes of Joel Torbic, David Nguema, and Alfred Debah in that slot in rotational roles throughout the year, but none of them were able to make a consistent impact in that position. Over the years, Wake has typically liked to pair a more industrious box to box midfielder with an attacking minded one like Flax in the middle of the field, but they didn’t really have a player of that profile on the team this season, which certainly contributed to their defensive struggles.

Despite their attacking output, the Deacs were not without their issues further up the field. Tate Lorentz was a fairly consistent and very productive member of Wake’s forward line, but Bobby Muuss struggled to get consistent production from the other 2 forward positions. Wake’s biggest addition of the offseason was Georgia Southern transfer forward Harvey Sarajian, who played on both flanks and at center forward during his maiden campaign in Winston-Salem. However, he would ultimately finish the year with only 2 goals and 2 assists, although he did find some form at the end of the season and helped the Deacs to some important results. Junior winger Jeffrey White appeared in all but 2 of the Deacs’ 17 games this season, registering 3 goals and 2 assists, struggling with consistency despite some very good performances at the start of the year. The most glaring hole for the Deacs’ forward line this year, though, was at center forward. Bobby Muuss tried out 5 different players in the center of the forward line this season, with sophomore Ryan Belal, Louisville transfer Ethan Subachan, freshman Chandler Young, 4th-year junior Nico Rabiu, and the aforementioned Sarajian each getting opportunities in that role either in a starting capacity or off the bench. By the end of the year, though, the Deacs still didn’t really have a nailed down starter leading the line, and they did not get consistent production from that position despite some good moments from each of the players that played there, which contributed to some of their weaker offensive performances this year.

Season Awards

It was a difficult season for the Deacs, but I wanted to recognize a few players that I thought were top performers:

MVP: Cooper Flax, CM
Defensive Player of the Year: Jonah Mednard, GK
Newcomer of the Year: Tate Lorentz, LW
Most Improved Player: Nico Rabiu, RW

Conclusion

After going back through all of the trials and tribulations of this season, there was one big question left in my mind: where does Wake go from here? With Cooper Flax graduating and joining NYCFC of MLS and both Harvey Sarajian and Tate Lorentz having been drafted in the MLS SuperDraft (although Lorentz is listed on the 2026 roster and may return), the Deacs are losing some heavy firepower in the offensive end. This is in addition to graduating their steadiest defender this season, fullback Cristian Escribano. That being said, the Deacs have been busy in the transfer portal, adding OVC Freshman of the Year forward Joby Reid from Houston Christian, SAC Player of the Year and NAIA All-American midfielder Marcos Miranda from John Brown, and two year starter defender Miles Hadley from Army. This is in addition to a 5-player freshman class that includes FC Cincinnati academy defenders Will Kuisel and Amin Ibrahim, FC Dallas academy defender Jonah Gibson, Cedar Stars midfielder Henry Rosenfeld and Barca Academy U.S. forward Nolan Tinsley. They will also return a fair amount of this year’s squad, so, with some additions and a long offseason to stew on the results of 2025, the Deacs will be hoping to ascend back to the top of the sport this Fall.