Wake Forest University
Boston College
No. 19 Wake Forest Downs Boston College 1-0
10/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Oct. 29, 2011
Final Stats | Final Stats (.pdf)
| Season Statistics (.pdf)
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Senior Lauren Greenwald scored her first goal of the season at an opportune time to lift No. 19 Wake Forest over the visiting Boston College Eagles 1-0 on Saturday afternoon at Kentner Stadium.
The goal in the 43rd minute was the sixth of Greenwald's career and was an appropriate way for the Demon Deacons to secure the victory on Senior Day. All eight of the seniors started the game, including Bronwen Gainsford in goal, and were honored in a pre-game ceremony.
With the win, the Deacs finish the regular season with a 9-8 overall record and a 2-3 mark in ACC play. No. 12 Boston College dropped to 10-8 on the year and will finish 1-4 in conference matchups. The Deacons also secured the No. 4 seed in next week's ACC Tournament and will face a rematch with the Eagles, the No. 5 seed, in the first round on Thursday, Nov. 3.
Boston College enjoyed a plethora of chances early in the game, none better than a strike from Nicole Schuster in the sixth minute. She fired a shot from the right side of the circle toward the left post as junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Ruhf, who replaced Gainsford in the third minute, was caught out of position. Senior Faith Adams made a fantastic defensive save and pushed the ball just wide of the goal to keep the game even.
Sophomore Taylor Rhea almost gave the Deacons an edge at the 15:19 mark. She broke free from the Eagles' defense at the top of the circle and fired a rocket toward the right side of the cage, but it struck the right post and went just wide as the game remained knotted at 0-0.
The two sides continue to play evenly through the half, but Greenwald stepped up with her heroics at 42:10 to give Wake Forest the 1-0 lead. Sophomore Jess McFadyen took a pair of penalty corners, and the offense was able to convert the second. McFadyen inserted to Greenwald before sophomore Molly Murphy launched a shot that was blocked by a Boston College defender. Sophomore Kari Walkley collected the deflection and took a shot of her own that was also blocked. Greenwald followed through with the collection and put her shot into the lower right of the cage for the lone goal of the contest.
The Eagles mounted an offensive attack in the final ten minutes, but Wake's defense held strong and did not give up a goal despite the Eagles pulling netminder Nicole Barry with just under seven minutes to play to gain an extra attacker. Their best chance to equalize came when Courtney Tavener sent a shot to the left of the goal at the 63:41 mark.
Kaitlyn Ruhf, although not credited with a shutout, held Boston College scoreless for just over 67 minutes. In doing so, she lowered her goals allowed average to just 1.82 per game and increased her save percentage to .659.
Thanks to the victory, the Demon Deacons end the regular season on a seven-game winning streak, and they have not dropped a game since a 1-0 loss to North Carolina on Sep. 30. They enter the ACC Tournament with the second-longest active winning streak in the conference; the Tar Heels hold the longest with 12 consecutive wins.
Wake Forest will return to action next Thursday in the first round of the ACC Tournament in College Park, Md., with a rematch against Boston College. The game is scheduled to get underway at 1:00 p.m. at Maryland's Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex.
