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The No. 1 Wake Forest men’s soccer team (4-1-3, 0-1-1 ACC) fell for the first time in 2025 with a 6-3 defeat at Virginia (5-1-1, 2-0-1 ACC) Friday evening at Klöckner Stadium.
The Demon Deacons found the back of the net in the 75th and 79th minutes with strikes from senior midfielder Basit Umar. Umar’s first goal was a long-ranged strike before completing his first-career brace four minutes later as he tapped in a good ball across the face of goal from redshirt junior Nico Rabiu. It marked Rabiu’s first assist of the season and fourth of his career. Umar now has 12 career goals to his name with seven coming in a Wake Forest uniform.
Sophomore forward Harvey Sarajian rocketed a shot off a Virginia defender and into the back of the net in the 88th minute for the Deacs’ third and final goal of the evening. The Demon Deacons registered 19 shots on the night, including four from Umar and three from junior midfielder Jose Perez. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Owen Barnett played the entire second half for a career-high 45 minutes in his second appearance and finished the night with three saves.
From Coach Muuss
“Extremely disappointing and humbling performance. We played a really good Virginia team that, especially in the first half, wanted it more than we did. We lacked in all areas of the game. We were not as loose as we were the last couple of games with the ball, but where we turned it over and the transitional opportunities that we gave Virginia really made us pay. I’m just proud of the way they didn’t give up. They came out in the second half and played 45 minutes and we were pushing. I at least like to play for respect, play for the brand and play for each other. I think that’s important. Losing is never a good thing, but it could be a good thing if we turn it into a good thing and start turning screws and paying attention to details.”
Up Next
Wake Forest will now return to non-conference action as it hosts Liberty at Spry Stadium on Monday, Sept. 21. The match is slated for 7 p.m. and will serve as the WeAreWake Green Game for Mental Health Awareness.
The game-worn green jerseys are up for auction with the proceeds going to support the Trinity Center’s Financial Aid program, which provides low-cost therapy for people who are uninsured and underinsured.
credit: godeacs.com
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