Wake Forest University
North Carolina
Field Hockey Tops Carolina Again
10/6/2001 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 6, 2001
Winston-Salem, N.C. - The Wake Forest field hockey team defeated second-ranked North Carolina this afternoon at Kentner Stadium by the score of 2-0 behind two goals from junior forward Heather Aughinbaugh. With the win, the Deacons completed the season sweep of the Tar Heels after beating them last week in Chapel Hill by the same score. While the teams met twice this regular season, only this match-up counts towards the ACC standings. Wake Forest jumps to 7-3 (1-1 ACC) with the victory, while Carolina falls to 8-3 (1-1 ACC).
Both teams were very sharp in the first half and neither squad was able to gain an edge. The first half also featured some tremendous defense form both sides. With 25:30 left in the half, junior Maria Whitehead fired a shot from eight yards out that looked like a sure goal, but Carolina goalkeeper Amy Tran made the most impressive of her seven saves when she sprawled out and managed to deflect the shot with her stick. 15 minutes later, Deacon freshman back Claire Laubach made a crucial defensive save on an empty net to keep the Heels off the scoreboard. The teams went into halftime deadlocked at 0-0.
The tie did not last long. Less than a minute into the second half, Aughinbaugh fed a penalty corner into the circle, took the return pass from senior Jemima Cameron and deposited it in the net to put the Deacons on top, 1-0. That is how the score remained until 6:05 of the second when Aughinbaugh struck again, this time sneaking a shot past Tran from a seemingly impossible angle. With just under four minutes remaining in the game, Carolina was awarded a penalty stroke, but Deacon sophomore goalkeeper Katie Ridd made the play of the game when she dove to her left to barely get the blocker on the ball and deflect it wide. The defense held for the remainder of the game and the Demon Deacons had their second 2-0 victory over the Tar Heels in less than two weeks.
Wake Forest Head Coach Jennifer Averill was proud of her team. "It was important for us to show that we can play Carolina strong. It was great to play them as well as we did last time," Averill said.
The Demon Deacons will be back in action on Wednesday, October 10th when they welcome the 13th-ranked Duke Blue Devils to Kentner Stadium. Game time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
