Friday, November 16
Louisville, Ky.
1:00 PM
Wake Forest University
(13-10)
1
at
4
North Carolina
(22-0)
1
2
F
Wake Forest
0
1
1
UNC
4
0
4
Field Hockey Falls to No. 1 North Carolina in NCAA Semifinals
11/16/2018 4:13:00 PM | Field Hockey
LOUISVILLE, KY. – Wake Forest field hockey (13-10) made an impressive run earning a spot in the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, but fell to No. 1 North Carolina 4-1 on Friday at Trager Stadium as its 2018 season came to an end.
"I have tremendous pride in our student-athletes, head coach Jen Averill said. "I thought they embodied the true spirit of our season, they displayed great character in the second half. We played a very well-rehearsed Carolina squad and we knew that we had a huge challenge ahead of ourselves. Having said that, we had missed opportunities and our counter-structure hurt us in the first half. Once we had the time to address that, things cleaned up for us. The first half was an indication of how our season went with so many ups and downs, but the second half the momentum changed. I could not be prouder to represent this group of young women."
Wake Forest was picked to finish last in the ACC, but after impressive runs in the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, the Deacons busted brackets and found themselves in the Final Four for the first time since 2008.
Kelsey Gill notched the lone goal for the Deacons with an assist from senior Megan Anderson who found Gill from the left side. Anderson capped her four-year playing career with the Deacons taking sole possession of the top spot in Wake Forest history with 61 career assists, passing Michelle Kasold for the lead.
"It has been very exciting," Anderson said. "Since I came here as a freshman we have just grown and grown each year. The coaching staff instills this 'never give up' an 'being the best you you can be' attitude. That's just what we embodied, but we played the underdog role in the tournaments and we liked that position because we have nothing to lose and there is nothing more fun than just going out and playing hockey. Once we started to do that, we saw success. We have a great team this year and we put in so much effort heart and fight. We are just so connected out there on the field and that is what got us through today. Carolina is a great squad, but I am so proud of our effort and fight."
North Carolina (22-0) scored four consecutive goals beginning in the fourth minute of play as Catherine Hayden tipped the shot in past Wake keeper Isla Bint to put the Tar Heels up 1-0.
ACC Freshman of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, Erin Matson found the back of the net twice and Eva van't Hoog followed with her sixth of the season before the end of the half, putting the Deacons in an 0-4 hole heading into the break.
Out of the break, Wake Forest answered back as Anderson set up Gill in front of the cage to cut the Tar Heels lead to three in the 58th minute. Defenses did the work for the remainder of the game as North Carolina earned a trip to the NCAA Championship.
The Deacons only recorded three shots in the first half, but found their stride to triple their shots with nine in the second frame. Out of the 12 total shots, half we on goal, while North Carolina tallied 13 shots with nine on target. Jule Grashoff paced the Deacons with five shots and two on goal. Bint notched five saves in the contest.
"I have tremendous pride in our student-athletes, head coach Jen Averill said. "I thought they embodied the true spirit of our season, they displayed great character in the second half. We played a very well-rehearsed Carolina squad and we knew that we had a huge challenge ahead of ourselves. Having said that, we had missed opportunities and our counter-structure hurt us in the first half. Once we had the time to address that, things cleaned up for us. The first half was an indication of how our season went with so many ups and downs, but the second half the momentum changed. I could not be prouder to represent this group of young women."
Wake Forest was picked to finish last in the ACC, but after impressive runs in the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, the Deacons busted brackets and found themselves in the Final Four for the first time since 2008.
Kelsey Gill notched the lone goal for the Deacons with an assist from senior Megan Anderson who found Gill from the left side. Anderson capped her four-year playing career with the Deacons taking sole possession of the top spot in Wake Forest history with 61 career assists, passing Michelle Kasold for the lead.
"It has been very exciting," Anderson said. "Since I came here as a freshman we have just grown and grown each year. The coaching staff instills this 'never give up' an 'being the best you you can be' attitude. That's just what we embodied, but we played the underdog role in the tournaments and we liked that position because we have nothing to lose and there is nothing more fun than just going out and playing hockey. Once we started to do that, we saw success. We have a great team this year and we put in so much effort heart and fight. We are just so connected out there on the field and that is what got us through today. Carolina is a great squad, but I am so proud of our effort and fight."
North Carolina (22-0) scored four consecutive goals beginning in the fourth minute of play as Catherine Hayden tipped the shot in past Wake keeper Isla Bint to put the Tar Heels up 1-0.
ACC Freshman of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, Erin Matson found the back of the net twice and Eva van't Hoog followed with her sixth of the season before the end of the half, putting the Deacons in an 0-4 hole heading into the break.
Out of the break, Wake Forest answered back as Anderson set up Gill in front of the cage to cut the Tar Heels lead to three in the 58th minute. Defenses did the work for the remainder of the game as North Carolina earned a trip to the NCAA Championship.
The Deacons only recorded three shots in the first half, but found their stride to triple their shots with nine in the second frame. Out of the 12 total shots, half we on goal, while North Carolina tallied 13 shots with nine on target. Jule Grashoff paced the Deacons with five shots and two on goal. Bint notched five saves in the contest.
Team Stats
WF
NC
Goals
1
4
Shots
12
13
Shots on Goal
6
9
Saves
5
5
Corners
7
5
Offsides
0
0
Fouls
0
0
Scoring Plays
Catherine Hayden (17)
Assisted By: Malin Evert
direct shot by 15 tipped in by 8
4:49
Erin Matson (18)
Assisted By: Meredith Sholder
MS attacks down left, enters circle and
16:54
Erin Matson (19)
Assisted By: Marissa Creatore
long ball up to MC, MC attacks from righ
30:41
Eva van't Hoog (6)
Assisted By: Meredith Sholder
MS gets ball at PS and sends to cage, 22
32:16
Kelsey Gill (6)
Assisted By: Megan Anderson
MA centers ball; KG pokes over the endli
58:02
Game Leaders
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
5
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
Midfield
/ Field Hockey
Forward
/ Field HockeyForward
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