| Sport: | soccer |
| Year: | 2021 |
| Team: | Wake Forest Demon Deacons |
| Conference: | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Short Conf: | ACC |
| Record: | 13–7–1 |
| Conf Record: | 4–3–1 |
| Head Coach: | Bobby Muuss |
| Hc Year: | 7th |
| Asst Coach1: | Steve Armas |
| Ac1 Year: | 7th |
| Asst Coach2: | Dane Brenner |
| Ac2 Year: | 11th |
| Asst Coach3: | Jonathan Lagos |
| Ac3 Year: | 3rd |
| Stadium: | Spry Stadium |
| Tourney: | NCAA Tournament |
| Tourney Result: | Third Round |
| Nscaarank: | 17 |
| Prev Year: | 2020 |
| Next Year: | 2022 |
The 2021 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer team represented Wake Forest University during the 2021 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. It was the 75th season of the university fielding a program. It was the program's seventh season with Bobby Muuss as head coach.[1] The Demon Deacons played their home matches at Spry Stadium.
The Demon Deacons finished the season 13–7–1 overall and 4–3–1 in ACC play to finish in third place in the Atlantic Division. As the sixth overall seed in the ACC Tournament they defeated Virginia in the first round before losing to Duke in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. They were an unseeded team and defeated Mercer in the first round and thirteenth seed FIU in the second round before losing to fourth seed Notre Dame to end their season.
See main article: 2020 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's soccer team.
The teams' 2020 season was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which curtailed the fall season and caused the NCAA Tournament to be played in spring 2021. The ACC was one of the only two conferences in men's soccer to play in the fall of 2020. The ACC also held a mini-season during the spring of 2021.
The Demon Deacons finished the fall season 5–1–0 and 7–2–0 in ACC play to finish in first place in the South Division. In the ACC Tournament they lost to Virginia in the quarterfinals. They finished the spring season 4–0–2 and 3–0–2 in ACC play, to finish in third place in the Atlantic Division. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. As the fifth seed in the tournament, they defeated Coastal Carolina in the second round and Kentucky in the third round before losing to North Carolina in the quarterfinals to end their season.
Four Demon Deacons men's soccer players were selected in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft: Calvin Harris, Michael DeShields, Justin McMaster and Andrew Pannenberg.[2]
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | GK | 6'3" | 195 | Junior | Graduated; Drafted 49th overall in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft by Orlando City | |||
| Koby Carr | 2 | DF | 5'9" | 150 | Junior | Transferred to Charlotte | ||
| 5 | DF | 6'1" | 180 | Senior | Graduated; Drafted 5th overall in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft by D.C. United | |||
| Aristotle Zarris | 7 | MF | 5'10" | 160 | Junior | — | ||
| 11 | MF | 5'9" | 165 | Senior | Graduated; Drafted 17th overall in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft by Minnesota United | |||
| 15 | MF | 5'9" | 150 | Junior | Signed a Homegrown contract with the Columbus Crew | |||
| Kyle McCurley | 20 | MF | 5'10" | 145 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| 21 | MF | 6'2" | 175 | Senior | Graduated; Signed a Homegrown contract with Atlanta United | |||
| 22 | FW | 6'0" | 160 | Sophomore | Drafted 2nd overall in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft by FC Cincinnati | |||
| William Valtos | 25 | MF | 5'8" | 145 | Sophomore | — | ||
| Tyrrell Moore | 28 | DF | 5'6" | 150 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Dominic Peters | 30 | GK | 6'3" | 180 | Junior | Graduated |
| Name | Nat. | Hometown | Club | TDS Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Carolina FC Youth | [3] | ||||
| [4] | |||||
| Silicon Valley Soccer Association | [5] | ||||
| Sporting Kansas City (Academy) | [6] | ||||
| [7] | |||||
| Orlando City (Academy) | [8] | ||||
| Club Universidad de Chile | [9] | ||||
| PDA | [10] | ||||
| [11] | |||||
| STA | [12] | ||||
| [13] |
| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Athletic Director | John Currie |
| Head coach | Bobby Muuss |
| Associate head coach | Steve Armas |
| Assistant Coach | Dane Brenner |
| Assistant Coach | Jonathan Lagos |
| Assistant Athletic Trainer | Michael White |
| Academic Counselor | Brooke Taylor |
| Sports Performance | David Bass |
Source:
Source:[15] [16] |-!colspan=6 style=""| Exhibition|-!colspan=6 style=""| Regular season|-!colspan=6 style=""| ACC Tournament|-!colspan=6 style=""| NCAA Tournament
| Recipient | Award | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Holcomb | Preseason All-ACC Watchlist | August 18, 2021 | [17] |
| Kyle Holcomb | All-ACC First Team | November 10 | [18] |
| Nico Benalcazar | All-ACC Third Team | ||
| Omar Hernandez | |||
| Jake Swallen |
See main article: 2022 MLS SuperDraft.
| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 29 | FW | |||
| Holland Rula | Compensatory | 87 | DF |
Source:[19]
See main article: 2021 NCAA Division I men's soccer rankings.