Wake Forest University
Davidson
Deacons Overcome Early Deficit, Rout Davidson 7-1
10/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 11, 2011
Final Stats | Final Stats (.pdf) 
| Season Stats (.pdf)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Wake Forest rallied from an early 1-0 deficit to earn its 18th straight win over Davidson with a 7-1 victory on Tuesday evening at Kentner Stadium.
The Deacons' record improves to 5-8 with the win, while the Wildcats dropped to 7-5 on the season.
Wake had a trio of excellent opportunities in the first 15 minutes of the contest. Freshman Anna Kozniuk broke free of the defense in the 6th minute, but fired off a shot that sailed well over the cage. Junior Lizzie Rae launched a well-placed attempt in the 13th minute that was expertly turned away by Davidson netminder Sarah Fisher, and another attempt by Kozniuk off a penalty corner was blocked by a Wildcat defender.
Despite those chances for the Deacs, Davidson took the first lead of the evening in the 16th minute. Christine Rua hauled in a pass from Finley Amato and took a shot from the right side of the goal. The ball took an odd bounce off the turf and made it past Kaitlyn Ruhf for the score.
From that point, however, it was all Demon Deacons. Rae made a superb run through the defense in the 24th minute into the center of the circle and converted an unimpeded shot into the equalizing goal.
Less than five minutes later, Wake Forest struck again with a goal by sophomore and leading scorer Kari Walkley. She brought in a long pass from Kozniuk with no defenders around her and took a shot which was saved by Fisher. She was unable to maintain control, though, and Walkley collected her own deflection and pushed it into the cage to hand the Deacons a 2-1 lead at the 28:13 mark.
Wake would add to its lead once more before the half. Late in the 32nd minute, senior Cristen Atchison sent an excellent pass across the circle and through the Davidson defense to sophomore Taylor Rhea, who promptly fired a laser into the upper right corner of the net. That score allowed the Deacs to enter the half with a 3-1 advantage.
The Deacons continued to come out firing in the second half as some heavier rain showers began to affect the matchup. Sophomore Jess McFadyen earned a penalty corner opportunity in the 44th minute. Fellow sophomore Molly Murphy was the first to maintain control of the insertion and fired a blistering shot that was deflected by Rae into the back of the cage, her second goal of the night.
Not to be outdone, Walkey also notched her second score at 62:59. Senior Adelaide Knott collected her first assist of the season on a well-placed pass just in front of the net, which Walkley managed to fire past Fisher.
Senior Kaitlin Piosa also got in on the scoring action in the 68th minute thanks to an assist from Walkley. The sophomore sent a pass into the center of the circle and Piosa launched a one-timer into the cage for her third goal of 2011.
Because of a foul called within the circle, the Deacs were permitted to take a final penalty corner with no time left on the clock. McFadyen inserted a pass to junior Jillian Anzalone, who returned the ball to its sender as McFadyen chipped it in for a goal as time expired to extend her streak to three straight games with a score.
Wake Forest dominated the shot differential in the contest, outshooting Davidson by a 25-5 margin. The Deacons also earned five penalty corner chances while the Wildcats had just one.
The Deacs will return to action in a newly-scheduled road game on Friday afternoon. They will be traveling to Lynchburg, Va., to face the Liberty Flames with a 4:00 p.m. start time.
