Strong Defensive Performance Powers No. 14 Wake Forest Past VCU

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The No. 14 Wake Forest field hockey team displayed excellent defense and scored a pair of timely goals on Sunday afternoon inside Kentner Stadium to defeat VCU, 2-1.

The Deacs (10-3, 2-1 ACC) were led offensively by sophomore Ashley Arnold, who scored her first goal of the season in the third period, and veteran Sky Caron, who secured the win with a penalty stroke goal with 90 seconds remaining in the match. Meanwhile, the Rams (7-5, 3-1 A10) scored their lone goal in the 56th minute off a misdirected pass.

The score was Caron's sixth of the season and marked her second penalty stroke goal of the weekend.

Ellie Todd, the reigning Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Week, notched a pair of saves in 90 minutes to earn her 10th win of her freshman season. In 11 appearances, the Boston, Mass. native has made 39 defensive stops

Overall, Wake Forest posted advantages over the Rams in shots (16-4), shots on goal (10-3) and penalty corners (11-3).

Additionally, the Deacs have now given up less than two goals in its last seven-matches, dating back to its 1-0 shutout victory against Ohio State in Columbus on Sept. 18. Overall, the Deacs have held opponents to two goals or less in 12 matches this season.

How It Happened

Wake Forest opened the match aggressively with a pair of shots by senior Meike Lanckohr in the third minute of the contest, with one of those being saved by the VCU goalkeeper.
Junior Anna Gwiazdzinski continued to apply pressure with a shot that missed high at the 5:10 minute mark.
Wake Forest recorded its first penalty corner of the match with four minutes remaining in the period but were unable to score.
- The Demon Deacons outshot the Rams 4-0 in the opening stanza, with two coming on goal.
The Deacs continued to work hard on the offensive end as they produced a pair of penalty corners in the first minute of the second period.
- Lanckohr had the best opportunity to score on those two opportunities as she placed a shot in the top right of the net, but it was saved by the Rams goalie.
VCU recorded its first shot of the afternoon three minutes into the second frame as Janne Wetzel placed one wide left off a penalty corner attempt.
After the Deacs and Rams traded possessions without any real opportunities to score, Sky Caron registered Wake Forest's next shot on goal with five minutes left in the half. However, it was saved.
Wake Forest had a pair of other shots in the closing minutes of the first half, but were unable to score.
- In the opening 30 minutes of action, Wake Forest outshot the Rams 11-1 and had six penalty corner opportunities compared to VCU's just one attempt.
VCU opened the second half with a penalty corner two minutes in, but the shot by Litana Field was saved by Ellie Todd.
At the 34 minute mark, the Deacs responded with a penalty corner of their own and sophomore Ashley Arnold scored her first goal of the season to help Wake Forest grab the lead.
- The remainder of the third quarter was highlighted by a pair of penalty corners and one shot by each team.
The final period began with each team trading possession for the first five minutes before the Deacs earned a penalty corner off a Hannah Maxwell attack.
- On the corner Lanckohr placed a beautiful shot in the lower left corner of the goal, but it was saved by the VCU goalie.
Following five more minutes of back-and-forth action, the Demon Deacons registered their second penalty corner of the fourth period but the scoring attempt by Sky Caron was unsuccessful.
With 3:51 remaining in the match, VCU's Lynea Gregory scored her first goal of the season to even the match at one apiece off a tipped pass towards the net.
Undaunted, Wake Forest continued to pressure the Rams defense and forced a foul that led to a penalty shot that was taken by Sky Caron.
- On the attempt, Caron scored on a beautiful shot to the lower left part of the goal with 1:31 remaining in the match.
- The goal was her sixth of the season and it was her second penalty stroke goal of the weekend.
Wake Forest's defense was able to hold off VCU in the final 90 seconds to secure the win.

Quotables
Head Coach Jennifer Averill - "Going into this game, we knew that VCU was going to play a very direct and aggressive style of hockey. I am just really proud of our squad for being able to deflect that and play some really good defense. I thought we showed a lot of growth today. With that, I was proud of a lot of our players, especially those who have not seen a whole lot of minutes earlier this season. We are starting to unveil more layers to the depth of our team. We have won four matches in seven days, and I think anyone in the country would be celebrating that. Hats off to VCU as they showed a lot of grit and they had a lot of opportunities this afternoon, but we will take a look at the film and continue to improve."

Up Next
The Deacs open its regular season-ending four-match road trip next weekend at No. 6 Virginia (Friday, Oct. 14) and No. 17 James Madison (Sunday, Oct. 16).
Friday's ACC contest in Charlottesville can be streamed on ACC Network Extra, while the non-conference clash against the Dukes can be seen live on ESPN+ with a paid subscription.

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Strong Defensive Performance Powers No. 14 Wake Forest Past VCU

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Team Stats

Sky Caron

Ashley Arnold

Meike Lanckohr

Anna Gwiazdzinski

Players Mentioned

Ashley Arnold

Sky Caron

Anna Gwiazdzinski

Meike Lanckohr

Hannah Maxwell

Ellie Todd

Players Mentioned

Ashley Arnold

Sky Caron

Anna Gwiazdzinski

Meike Lanckohr

Hannah Maxwell

Ellie Todd

Wake Forest Athletics