Wake Forest University
Kent State
Field Hockey Overcomes Kent State
9/24/2001 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Sept. 24, 2001
Winston-Salem, N.C. - The Wake Forest field hockey team bounced back from Saturday's loss at Maryland to defeat Kent State by a score of 4-2. With the win, the Deacons upped their record to 4-3 (0-1 ACC), while the Golden Flashes fell to 3-4 (0-1 MAC).
The Deacons got on the board 15 minutes into the game when sophomore Kelly Doton scored her third goal of the season, this one coming off a penalty corner from juniors Heather Aughinbaugh and Maria Whitehead. Another 15 minutes later, freshman Kelly Dostal notched her third tally of the year, driving the ball into the back of the goal from 12 yards out. It appeared that the Deacs were going to keep the Golden Flashes scoreless in the first frame, but Kent State was able to capitalize on a penalty corner with just 11 seconds left in the half to cut the Wake Forest lead to 2-1 heading into halftime.
Wake Forest came out strong again in the second half. Eight minutes into the second, Dostal took a beautiful feed from senior Jennie Shelton and notched her second goal of the game and fourth in the last two home contests. The Deacons put the game out of reach with 16:15 remaining when Aughinbaugh and Dostal assisted junior Marlena Reese's goal with a perfect 3-on-2 run to the net. Kent State made a last-ditch effort to get back into the game when junior Kristen Clayton scored with 6:15 to play, but it was not enough to overcome the 7th-ranked Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest head coach Jennifer Averill was happy with her team's performance. "Our ability to possess was stronger than it was on Saturday," Averill said. "They started putting pressure on us, but we worked much better as a group and were able to learn from our mistakes and step up."
The Demon Deacons return to action Wednesday in Chapel Hill as they prepare to take on the 1st-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. The game will not count towards either team's ACC record, but it will be considered in the national rankings. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m.
