Todd Plays Hero as Wake Forest Downs No. 10 Syracuse in Shootout

Syracuse, N.Y - No save was bigger than her final turnaway of the evening, as sophomore goalkeeper Ellie Todd matched a season-high with eight saves securing Wake Forest first ACC win of the season as the Demon Deacons downed No. 10 Syracuse, 2-1, on Friday night at J.S. Coyne Stadium.

After Eefke Nieuwenhof started the shootout with a goal for Syracuse (10-6, 2-4 ACC), Todd got her chance at redemption in the later rounds, diving to her left and turning away Nieuwenhof's shot from the spot to clinch the victory for the Demon Deacons (7-8, 1-5 ACC). .

Facing the top scoring offense in the ACC (3.467 ScoreAvg), the Wake defense was up to the task, holding Syracuse without a shot on goal through the entirety of the first half. The back line for the Deacs held the Orange to just two shots on goal during regulation with Todd turning away one.

Offensively, Wake finished with 10 shots, putting six on frame. Brooke McCusker led the way with three while Grace Delmotte and Mia Schoenbeck each added a pair. Anna Gwiazdzinski netted her second goal of the season and seventh in the Old Gold and Black to put Wake Forest on top in the second quarter.

How It Happened

Wake earned the first penalty corner of the match with 7:15 left in the first quarter.
- Delmotte inserted for the Demon Deacons with Schoenbeck ripping a shot off the left post of the cage to nearly give Wake Forest the early 1-0 advantage.
The Deacs defense held the Orange without a shot or corner through the first 15 minutes of action.
Anna Gwiazdzinski gave the Deacs the lead just 1:50 into the second quarter with her second goal of the year.
- Ashley Hart picked up her first point of the 2023 campaign with her sixth career assist.
Goalie Ellie Todd went untested in the opening 30 minutes, as the Wake backline held Syracuse to just two shots with none on frame.
Syracuse tied the match at 1-1 with 12:06 left in the third quarter, scoring off their second penalty corner of the contest.
Wake picked up their first penalty corner of the second half with 5:22 remaining in the third quarter with Flo Tutfill sending a shot wide of the cage.
Brooke McCusker came close to her third-straight game with a goal, forcing the Syracuse keeper into a save less than a minute into the final quarter of play.
Both teams were unable to generate much offensively in the final 15 minutes of regulation with each squad taking just one shot each.
Todd was forced into just one save through the first 60 minutes of action.
Wake Forest outshot Syracuse, 7-5 (3-2 SOG), through regulation but were unable to separate.
Todd was tested in the opening minutes of overtime, turning away a pair of shots on cage by Syracuse.
Delmotte nearly ended the match three minutes into OT with a shot that tested Abby Neitch, who came up with the save.
With less than 10 seconds left in the first OT, Hart tried to beat Neitch by going to the top of the cage, but Neitch was able to get her glove to the shot and take the match into a second overtime period.
Syracuse earned back-to-back-to-back corners to start the second OT, with Todd turning away two shots and the Wake defense blocking another to keep the match alive for the Demon Deacons.
The match headed to a shootout with things hanging in the balance after a tightly contested 80 minutes of action.
- Shootout results:
  - Round 1 -
    - Wake – Mia Schoenbeck, Made
    - Syracuse – Eefke Nieuwenhof, Made
  - Round 2 -
    - Wake – Meredith Medvetz, Made
    - Syracuse – Charlotte de Vries, Missed
  - Round 3 -
    - Wake – Faye Janse, Made
    - Syracuse – Willemijn Boogert, Made
  - Round 4 -
    - Wake – Ashley Hart, Missed
    - Syracuse – Bo Madden, Made
  - Round 5 -
    - Wake – Nat Friedman, Made
    - Syracuse – Pieke van de Pas, Made
  - Round 6 -
    - Wake – Faye Janse, Made
    - Syracuse - Eefke Nieuwenhof, Missed

Quotables
"It was a tremendous collective effort by the squad this evening. There were so many moments that were truly inspiring throughout regulation, overtime and the shootout. This team certainly fought for this win and managed the game when we needed to. I'm so thrilled from them and hope we can continue to use this momentum going into Colgate and the ACC tournament." - head coach Jen Averill

Up Next
Wake Forest closes the regular season at Colgate on Sunday with a noon start time. The Deacs are searching for their fourth-straight nonconference win with all four coming away from Kentner Stadium.

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Todd Plays Hero as Wake Forest Downs No. 10 Syracuse in Shootout

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Team Stats

Anna Gwiazdzinski

Ashley Hart

Brooke McCusker

Grace Delmotte

Players Mentioned

Grace Delmotte

Nat Friedman

Anna Gwiazdzinski

Ashley Hart

Faye Janse

Brooke McCusker

Meredith Medvetz

Mia Schoenbeck

Ellie Todd

Wake Forest Athletics