Field Hockey Season in Review
11/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Nov. 23, 2011
By Currie McFayden, WakeForestSports.com
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Despite not receiving an NCAA bid, the 2011 Wake Forest field hockey team undeniably displayed some of the best perseverance of any team led by Jennifer Averill in her 20 years as the head coach of the Deacons. After starting 2-8, the Deacs rallied with an eight-game winning streak, their longest since winning 10 in a row during a run to the national championship game during the 2008 season.
Wake's final record of 10-9 reflects just how truly difficult its schedule was this season. Every loss came against a team that made the 16-team NCAA Tournament field, and of those losses, seven of them came by a single goal. Conversely, five of the 10 wins came against teams who finished the season inside the top 35 of the RPI rankings. Overall, 12 of the 16 opponents that the Deacons faced ended the year within that range.
Freshman phenom Anna Kozniuk wasted no time in bursting onto the national field hockey scene. After missing the season opener against Iowa, the Vancouver native had two shots and a goal in her first collegiate action against Michigan in the second leg of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Aug. 28. Kozniuk would go on to finish with four goals (two game-winners) and seven assists for the season as she established herself as a dominant defensive force along Wake's back line.
As a result, she earned the prestigious Freshman of the Year award from the Atlantic Coast Conference as well as being named to the All-ACC team. The postseason awards did not stop there for Kozniuk, however. She was also named to the All-South Region Team and was the lone Deacon to receive All-American honors for the 2011 season.
The defense had its best showing statistically since the 2006 season, allowing only 34 goals behind the excellent goaltending of junior Kaitlyn Ruhf. In the final 11 games of the season, Wake Forest allowed its opponents to score multiple goals only three times and ended the regular season with four consecutive shutouts, the longest streak since 2006.
This stellar defense would not have been possible without the contributions of seniors Cristen Atchison and Lauren Greenwald and sophomores Jess McFadyen and Molly Murphy. Thanks to her back line, Ruhf did not face nearly as many shots as during the 2009 and 2010 seasons and posted the best goals allowed average (1.90 per contest) and save percentage (.673) of her career.
Senior Bronwen Gainsford saw action in four contests, getting two starts and earning a shutout against Liberty on Oct. 14, while freshman Letitia Nichols made a pair of saves in just under 24 minutes of action against Maryland on Sep. 24.
Offensively, there is little doubt that this team improved dramatically over the course of the season. After scoring only 18 goals in their first 10 games, they exploded for 35 in the second half of the year in a run that included four straight games with five or more scores, the first time that has happened since 2000.
Junior Lizzie Rae (13) and sophomore Kari Walkley (11) became the first Demon Deacons to reach double digits in the goals category since the 2009 season, and each of those totals represents a new career high for the duo. Both also produced new career highs in points, as Rae's 31 and Walkley's 23 were the top two marks on the team. Additionally, Rae recorded the second hat trick of her career at a crucial time to give the Deacons a 4-3 victory over Boston College in the first round of the 2011 ACC Field Hockey Championship on Nov. 3.
Rae joined Kozniuk on the list of Deacs who received individual achievements following the season. The New Zealander joined her teammate on both the All-ACC team (her second straight year earning that honor) and the All-South Regional Team (her third consecutive nomination).
Wrapping up the postseason awards, Greenwald earned both All-ACC and All-Region accolades for the second straight year, while her fellow senior Emily Cummings received an invitation to participate in the Senior All-Star Game and the third All-Region honors of her career.
Senior Kerry Ergen, in what could be considered a season-defining moment for the team, scored a goal just 52 seconds after entering the game against Virginia on Oct. 22. It was her first action of the season after suffering a knee injury in April, yet she fought back and did not allow the injury to end her year, much like the team fought back to finish with a winning record.
The Deacs will be faced with a daunting task heading into the 2012 season as they face the loss of eight seniors. Adelaide Knott, Kaitlin Piosa, and Faith Adams, in addition to those already mentioned, will not be returning next year. Suddenly, Wake Forest will transform from a senior-laden team into one with only a trio of them: Rae, Ruhf and Jillian Anzalone. If anything has been proven by the 2011 season, however, it is that these younger players, such as Taylor Rhea and Christine Conroe, are more than capable of leading this team back to the NCAA Tournament.
