Demon Deacons Defeat Michigan for Top-Five Win

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - The No. 12 Wake Forest field hockey team defeated the No. 4 Michigan Wolverines Sunday, 1-0, for its first win over a top-five team and first win over Michigan since 2018 when the Deacs defeated the No. 5-ranked Wolverines.

When the Deacs defeated the Wolverines in 2018, it was in Chapel Hill, in the second game of the ACC/BIG Ten Challenge on Sunday, Aug. 26.

Sophomore goalkeeper and Preseason All-ACC player Ellie Todd recorded a season-high six saves for the second game in a row while defending eight Michigan corners. Offensively, the Deacs were led by graduate student and Preseason All-ACC player Nat Friedman and freshman Faye Janse, who each tallied four shots. Six other Demon Deacons also recorded shots.

The Wake Forest offense dominated most of the game, with 17 shots and nine on goal to Michigan's 12 shots and just six on goal. Janse, Friedman, senior Grace Delmotte and freshman Ava Moore all had multiple shots on goal for Wake.

The Deacs' game-winning goal was a product of two freshmen, Mia Schoenbeck and Moore. Schoenbeck had the ball inside the Wolverines circle a drew a penalty stroke off a Michigan foul. Moore took the penalty stroke one-on-one with the Michigan keeper and found the back of the net around the right side for her first collegiate goal in just her second game wearing the Old Gold and Black.

How It Happened

Wake Forest owned possession for the majority of the first five minutes of play, getting inside the Michigan 25 twice and limited Michigan offensively, not allowing them in the Wake circle until the 10-minute mark.
Michigan's first shot in the first quarter at the nine-minute mark was deflected by the Demon Deacon defense.
Todd defended a Michigan corner to record her first save with six minutes to go.
Immie Gillgrass fed it in the circle to spark the offense with two minutes left.
Delmotte got another shot 15 seconds later that resulted in a corner for the Deacs and Moore got her first shot of the match off Delmotte's insertion.
Rachel Thetford got a shot with 15 seconds left in the quarter off a long ball from Schoenbeck.
The Deacs came out hot with a shot by Anna Gwiazdzinski in the first 20 seconds of play in the second quarter.
Janse got another shot 10 seconds later to keep the momentum in the Deacs' favor.
Defensively, Lee Ann Gordon got the Wolverines out of the Wake circle twice over the next seven minutes while Wake maintained possession for the majority of the quarter.
Todd recorded another save, off the chest, at the six-minute mark to keep the game notched at zero.
- She recorded her fourth save just four minutes later with under two to play.
A corner for the Deacs with 55 seconds left in the half that was inserted by Gwiazdzinski resulted in a shot by Friedman.
Wake went into the half tied at zero.
Michigan opened the second half with a corner, and another save for Todd.
Janse got the first Deacon shot of the half just 90 seconds in.
- Three minutes later Brooke McCusker got her first shot of the game.
A shot by Delmotte led to the third corner for the Deacs at the nine-minute mark of the third quarter.
- Delmotte's insert resulted in back-to-back shots by Friedman and Janse.
Janse got her third shot of the quarter at the 7:30-mark.
The Deacs had two more shots by Moore and Ana Franco at the five-minute and four-minute marks.
A long shot from Mia SChoenbeck with a minute left in the third led to a corner for the Deacs, inserted by Delmotte that Friedman got another shot off of.
Wake Forest started the fourth quarter with the 9-1 second-half shot advantage.
Amelia Frey went one-on-one with the Michigan keeper to start the fourth quarter and keep the Deacs' offensive momentum going.
Schoenbeck drew a penalty stroke inside the circle with 10 minutes to play.
- Moore took the shot and put the Deacs up 1-0.
The Wake Forest defense stopped four Michigan corners and four shots over the next 10 minutes to win the game 1-0 in regulation.

Quotables
"We are extremely proud of the effort and intensity that our squad played with today. That is Wake Hockey. Our ability to manage the game in critical situations was key. There was tremendous growth from Friday's performance, and we are very happy to be leaving with a win today. We're excited to build on this with two home matches next weekend and hope Deacon Nation will be there to cheer us on." – head coach Jen Averill

Up Next
Wake Forest will return to Kentner Stadium for the team's home opener on Friday, Sept. 3, at 5 p.m. against William & Mary. The first 200 fans will receive a free Wake Forest Field Hockey t-shirt. The team will stay home for a Sunday matchup against James Madison at 4 p.m. inside Kentner Stadium.

Friday's game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra and Sunday's game will air live on ACC Network.

Next Event

Team Stats

Ava Moore

Nat Friedman

Faye Janse

Grace Delmotte

Players Mentioned

Grace Delmotte

Amelia Frey

Nat Friedman

Immie Gillgrass

Lee Ann Gordon

Anna Gwiazdzinski

Faye Janse

Brooke McCusker

Ava Moore

Mia Schoenbeck

Rachel Thetford

Ellie Todd

Wake Forest Athletics