Memorable Season Ends at NCAA Field Hockey Championships

Friday, November 11

Chapel Hill, N.C.

2:30 pm

Wake Forest University

(15-6)

Saint Joseph's (NCAA Championships First Round)

(16-4)

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Wake Forest	1	0	0	0	1
Saint Joseph's	1	1	0	1	3

Memorable Season Ends at NCAA Field Hockey Championships

11/11/2022 6:52:00 PM | Field Hockey

Box Score

The 2022 Demon Deacons made the program’s 18th appearance in the national tournament after 15 victories, the most since 2008.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - An incredible Wake Forest field hockey season came to a close in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Division I Championships as the No. 10 Demon Deacons fell to No. 9 Saint Joseph's, 3-1, on Friday afternoon at Karen Shelton Stadium.

On Nov. 6, the Deacs (15-6) were selected to the 2022 NCAA Division I Championship, the program's 18th appearance in the national playoffs.

Wake Forest won three-straight NCAA titles in 2002-04, while finishing as the runner-up in 2006 and 2008. The 2002 title marked the first national championship by a women's athletic program at Wake Forest and this year marks the 20th anniversary of the historic team on Nov. 24.

The Demon Deacons' victory in the 2022 ACC Championship quarterfinals against Duke helped this year's squad become the first Wake Forest team since 2008 to win at least 15 matches in a season.

Wake Forest finished this year's campaign winners of 15 of its last 19 matches, outscoring opponents 51-20 during that span.

The Deacs defeated three top-10 teams during the regular season, with the trio of victories coming against ACC opponents including a win at Virginia who is No. 5 in the latest RPI.

In addition to its five conference victories, Wake Forest posted a 9-3 record against non-league opponents, outscoring them 34-16.

Sky Caron's ninth goal of the season got Wake Forest on the scoreboard less than six minutes into the match on Friday afternoon. The goal came off a penalty corner, the Demon Deacons' 19th score following a penalty opportunity. Additionally, Grace Delmotte was credited with her 13th assist of the season, which tied for a team best this year.

The Hawks tied the match just minutes later as the teams ended the opening period knotted at one. Forty-seven seconds into the second quarter, Saint Joseph's took its first lead thanks to a deflection into the back of the net following a penalty corner.

Despite Wake Forest holding advantages in shot attempts (7-1) and penalty corners (4-0) in the final 30 minutes of play, St. Joseph's added to its lead in the final five minutes to clinch the opening round victory.

How It Happened

Saint Joseph's took the match's first penalty corner 38 seconds into the contest. Wake Forest's defensive penalty corner unit came up big once again as Nat Friedman blocked the ensuing shot by the Hawks.
The Deacs took their own penalty corner moments later as shots from Friedman and Sky Caron were denied.
Moments later, Caron found the back of the net with 9:24 minutes left in the first to put the Deacs 1-0.
- Grace Delmotte picked up the assist, her 13th of the season. The score marked Caron's ninth of the year.
The Hawks tied the match at 1 just two and half minutes later.
- The teams juggled for possession over the final minutes of the quarter. Overall, Wake Forest held advantages in shots (5-2) and corners (3-1) after 15 minutes.
Saint Joseph's took its first lead (2-1) of the match less than a minute into the second quarter, finding the back of the net after their second corner opportunity.
The Demon Deacon defense stopped a Saint Joseph's fast break following a turnover with six minutes remaining in the first half to keep it a one-goal match.
- Skye Rennie pushed the ball out of bounds on the left side of the goal.
Ellie Todd notched her first save of the match with 90 seconds remaining in the first half, denying a Hawk's attempt right in front of the goal.
Ashley Arnold fired the final attack of the first half as the sophomore's shot was blocked as the clock hit zero.
- The Deacs still held advantages in shots (5-4) and corners (3-2) after the opening half.
The Deacs came out as the aggressors after the halftime break, firing the second half's first shot just 60 seconds in the third. Caron's shot was blocked by a Saint Joseph's defender and a successful referral gave the Hawks possession.
After a successful video referral, Wake Forest received its second corner of the period with 1:45 left in the quarter. After Delmotte inserted the ball, Maggie Dickman attempted her first shot of the match but the Hawks' goalie made a diving stop to preserve its one-goal lead.
Moments later, McCusker received a pass right in front of the goal, but the sophomore pushed the attempt just wide of the goal.
With 14.9 seconds left in the third, Wake Forest received yet another corner. Saint Joseph's goal keeper made another diving stop on a strike from Abby Carpenter to end the period.
- The Deacs attempted five shots in the quarter while allowing no attempts by the Hawks.
Wake Forest continued to control the ball and be the aggressor, opening the fourth quarter with their 12th shot attempt as Ashley Hart's attempt was saved by Saint Joseph's.
Maxwell flipped a shot on target at the 52-minute mark as the Deacs continued to maintain possession and attack Saint Joseph's defense.
The Hawks added another goal with 4:40 left in the match, increasing its lead to 3-1.
With 37.6 seconds left, the Deacs took its sixth penalty corner of the match. The ensuing shot from McCusker was blocked as Saint Joseph's ran the clock out and secured a 3-1 victory.

Quotables
Head Coach Jennifer Averill - "I'm extremely disappointed for the team. I thought in the third quarter we certainly played to our potential. We just didn't have any execution in our final third and that really hurt us. Technically, we were too loose with the ball. Our lack of possession really hurt us in critical moments. I'm just absolutely gutted for the players that will be leaving the program. That's a tough one."

2022 Season Highlights

Head coach Jennifer Averill earned her eighth career ACC Coach of the Year award in 2022. Averill has also taken home the prestigious honor in 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2014.
Sky Caron and Meike Lanckohr headlined Wake Forest's All-ACC honorees, landing on the first team. Grace Delmotte, Nat Friedman and Ellie Todd rounded out award winners as the trio received second team honors.
- This marks Lanckohr and Friedman's third-straight All-ACC honor, while Caron (2019 at Boston College) and Delmotte (2020-212) have previously received recognition from the league. Todd is one of seven freshmen in the conference to earn the first All-ACC honor of their careers.
- Wake Forest and North Carolina each placed five honorees on the all-league teams, the most in the ACC.
The Wake Forest field hockey team was ranked No. 10 in the 11th 2022 National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) poll. This marked the 47th-straight NFCHA poll the Deacs have been featured in. Since the poll's inception in 2018, Wake Forest has appeared in 50 of the 51 weekly polls.
Averill secured her 400th win as the head coach of Wake Forest Field Hockey on Friday, Sept. 16 with the Deacs' 4-3 victory against Richmond. In 31 seasons at the helm of the program, Averill holds an overall record of 411-224-3 and an overall mark of 431-256-6 in 32 years of coaching.
The Demon Deacons' victory in the quarterfinals against Duke helped this year's squad become the first Wake Forest team since 2008 to win at least 15 matches in a season.
The Deacs defeated three top-10 teams during the regular season, with the trio of victories coming against ACC opponents.
In addition to its five conference victories, Wake Forest posted a 9-3 record against non-league opponents, outscoring them 34-16.
Wake Forest posted win streaks of five (Sept. 2-Sept. 18) and six (Sept. 25-Oct. 14) this season.
The Deacs gave up less than two goals in its last 12 matches of the regular season. Overall, the Deacs have held opponents to two goals or less in 17 matches this season.
The Demon Deacons headed into the national tournament leading the ACC in penalty corners (134), goals off corners (18) and assists (55), while ranking second in shots and third in scoring.
Wake Forest has outscored opponents 19-3 in the first quarter this season and found the back of the net first in all 15 of its victories.
Meike Lanckohr and Grace Delmotte are among the best passers in the ACC. Lanckohr entered NCAAs leading the conference in assists (13) after posting her third multi-assist of the season against Syracuse in the regular season finale. Delmotte was tied for second (12), but her assist in Friday's first round match moved her into a tie with Lanckohr for first in the league.
Freshman goalkeeper Ellie Todd has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Week twice this season. Todd leads the ACC with six shutouts this season (Ohio State, Duke, Louisville, Virginia, Brown and Duke) and ranks third in saves (51). Against North Carolina in Wake Forest's ACC opener, Todd notched a career-high 12 saves which helped the freshman become the first Demon Deacon to tally double-digit saves in a match since 2015.
A number of Deacs have been able to net goals this season as 11 players have scored multiple goals this season: Meike Lanckohr (10), Sky Caron (9), Hannah Maxwell (8), Ashley Hart (6), Grace Delmotte (5), Anna Gwiazdzinski (5), Maggie Dickman (2), Abby Carpenter (2), Brooke McCusker (2), Immie Gillgrass (3) and Rachel Thetford (2).