Wake Forest University
Louisville
No. 11 Wake Forest Advances to the ACC Semifinals
11/6/2014 12:00:00 AM | Field Hockey
Final Stats | Final Stats (PDF) 
By Josh Gresh, Wake Forest Athletic Communications (@WakeHockey)
DURHAM, N.C. - Karlee Spirit couldn't have scored her first-career goal as a Demon Deacon at a better time as the No. 11-ranked Wake Forest field hockey team defeated No. 8 Louisville 2-1 on Thursday morning in the ACC Field Hockey Championship quarterfinals at Jack Katz Stadium.
Wake Forest (12-6) will face the No. 1 seed Virginia tomorrow at 1 p.m. in the semifinals with a trip to the ACC Championship game on the line. Louisville (15-4) is now eliminated from ACC play and will wait for its seeding position in the NCAA tournament.
"I am extremely proud that we were able to struggle through that one, and it was a struggle," said Wake Forest head coach Jennifer Averill. "Hats off to Louisville. I thought that structurally, Louisville had better structure than Wake today and we made it difficult on ourselves by playing a very linear game so we are going to have to watch some film and take that to heart."
After a scoreless first half, Kozniuk struck first with a goal at the 21:49 mark to give Wake Forest a 1-0 lead. Kozniuk scored in impressive fashion, dribbling and eluded three defenders before firing a shot high into the top of the cage to give the Deacons the advantage.
Karlee Spirit then came up with what would be the game-winning goal at the 61:58 mark to extend Wake Forest's lead 2-0. She received a pass from Kali Vicars at the top of the circle and placed a shot into the bottom right of the goal.
Louisville would bring the match within one at 2-1 with just over four minutes remaining on a penalty corner. Erin McCrudden took the injected and trapped ball and slotted it home to put the Cardinals on the board.
After a crucial interception by Heather Wiley with seconds remaining, Wake Forest held on to earn the hard fought 2-1 victory and a trip to the ACC Championship semifinals match.
NOTES:
• Wake Forest improves its program record to 21-26 in the ACC Championships.
• Karlee Spirit's goal was the first of her career and her first-career game-winning goal.
• With a goal today, Anna Kozniuk now has a career-high 32 points for the season, the best season point total of her college career. She topped her previous mark of 24 points, which she tallied last season.
• The win was the first for Wake Forest against Louisville since September 4, 2011, which was a 3-2 overtime win at Kentner Stadium.
• The Demon Deacons have rebounded back to their winning ways in the ACC tournament. Before last season, Wake Forest had won at least one tournament game since 2001, a streak of 12 consecutive seasons. The Demon Deacons have now won a match 13 times in the last 14 ACC tournaments.
• The last time the Deacs were as high as the fourth seed was during the 2011 season.
UP NEXT:
• Wake Forest will face the No. 1-seeded Virginia Cavaliers in the ACC Championship semifinals on Friday, November 7, at 1 p.m. in Durham, N.C. Duke University is hosting the conference tournament this season.
