Three Deacons Named Field Hockey All-ACC
11/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Nov. 2, 2011
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Freshman Anna Kozniuk, senior Lauren Greenwald and junior Lizzie Rae have been named to the 2011 All-ACC Field Hockey team as announced today by the Atlantic Coast Conference.
In addition to the three Demon Deacons, the 19-member team is comprised of at least one representative from each team in the conference. North Carolina and Maryland each had five players named to the squad, Duke had four nominees and both Boston College and Virginia had a single player with the honor.
Kozniuk, a native of North Vancouver, Canada, also earned the Freshman of the Year honor from the conference. She posted 13 points in the regular season on four goals and five assists and started all 16 games in which she appeared. In her first start at Kentner Stadium on Sep. 4, Kozniuk flashed her ability to make an immediate impact for the team by netting the game-winning goal in overtime to deliver a 3-2 victory over then-No. 16 Louisville. In addition to making her presence felt on offense, the dynamic freshman became a dominant force on the defensive side of the field. Her ability to drive attackers off the ball in order to collect possession served Wake Forest well, especially during the seven-game winning streak to close out the season. Under her leadership, the defense posted four straight shutouts for the first time since the 2006 season and allowed just six goals in its final nine games.
Hailing from Carlsbad, Calif., Greenwald earned a spot on the All-ACC team for the second consecutive year. The senior ended her career at Kentner Stadium in one of the best ways possible as she scored the game-winning goal against Boston College on Oct. 29 in her final game at home. That was her lone score of the season, but she also added four assists to finish with six total points. Greenwald has been a stalwart part of the defense since her freshman season in 2008 and has logged 74 starts in 82 appearances for the Deacons, including starts in all 17 games this season. Like Kozniuk, she has also played extensively on defense this season as part of a unit that allowed only 29 total goals, a number that was nearly cut in half from the 2010 total of 57.
One of the best offensive players in the ACC, Rae also earned her second straight nomination to the All-ACC team. The junior from Christchurch, New Zealand, leads the Deacons with a career-high 25 points on 10 goals and five assists this year, a mark which ties her with UNC's Samantha Travers for ninth in the conference. She also posted new career-highs in shots taken with 65 (third in the ACC) and shots on goal with 37. Rae scored in seven games this season and recorded a pair of goals in three of the final five games of the season. She and sophomore Kari Walkley were the only Deacs to reach double-digits in goals during the regular season. The junior appeared in all 17 games for Wake Forest and made 16 starts.
The Tar Heels swept the other special awards categories for offensive and defensive player of the year. Kelsey Kolojejchick claimed the honor for offense while teammate Caitlin Van Sickle won the defensive award for the second consecutive year.
Duke's Pam Bustin earned Coach of the Year accolades as she pushed the Blue Devils to an 11-6 overall record and a 2-3 mark in the ACC to claim the No. 3 seed in the tournament.
All of the ACC's teams will travel to College Park, Md., for the 2011 ACC Field Hockey Championship as it begins on Thursday at 1:00 p.m. Wake Forest and Boston College will play the opening game, followed by Duke and Virginia at 3:30 p.m. The semifinals of the tournament will be held on Friday at 1:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., and the final is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
