Friday, September 29
Blacksburg, VA
7:00 P.M.
Wake Forest University
8-1-2, 2-1-1
2
at
0
Virginia Tech
5-4-3, 2-2-0
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F
Wake Forest
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2
Virginia Tech
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No. 25 Wake Forest Earns First ACC Road Victory in 2-0 Win Over Virginia Tech
9/29/2023 10:07:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Junior goalkeeper Payton Cahill tallied her second-straight clean sheet in goal.
BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Wake Forest women's soccer team earned its second-consecutive clean sheet Friday evening, as the Deacs defeated Virginia Tech, 2-0, at Thompson Field.
With the win, the 25th-ranked Demon Deacons improved to 8-1-2 and 2-1-1 in ACC play this season.
After a tightly contested opening 59 minutes of play, the Demon Deacons scored in the 60th minute, as junior midfielder Malaika Meena fired a shot that ricocheted off the crossbar to sophomore forward Caiya Hanks. On the rebound, Hanks headed home her team-high sixth goal of the season to give the Deacs a 1-0 lead.
With just over six minutes left, junior forward Emily Murphy broke free down the pitch and scored her fourth tally of the season to extend Wake Forest's lead to 2-0.
The Demon Deacons held a heavy advantage in shots (11-3) and shots-on-goal (9-0) Friday, despite the Hokies holding the slight edge in possession (52 percent) and corners (8-7).
Individually, Hanks led the Deacs with five shots and four on-goal, while Meena and Murphy recorded two shots each.
Like most of the season, the strong back line of junior's Kristin Johnson, Laurel Ansbrow, Zara Chavoshi and freshman Dempsey Brown, played the full 90 minutes in the clean sheet victory in front of junior goalkeeper Payton Cahill.
How It Happened
Demon Deacon Details of Note
Standout Stats
Tony Time with Coach da Luz
"This was a great road win against a very tough Virginia Tech team. It's so hard to win here and we performed well as a team. Our ball winning was excellent, our set piece defense was outstanding and we gained more control as the game went on. The team was the star tonight."
Up Next
Wake Forest will now hit the road for consecutive matches against Syracuse (Oct. 5) and Pitt (Oct. 8).
Follow The Deacs
Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | #GoDeacs
With the win, the 25th-ranked Demon Deacons improved to 8-1-2 and 2-1-1 in ACC play this season.
After a tightly contested opening 59 minutes of play, the Demon Deacons scored in the 60th minute, as junior midfielder Malaika Meena fired a shot that ricocheted off the crossbar to sophomore forward Caiya Hanks. On the rebound, Hanks headed home her team-high sixth goal of the season to give the Deacs a 1-0 lead.
With just over six minutes left, junior forward Emily Murphy broke free down the pitch and scored her fourth tally of the season to extend Wake Forest's lead to 2-0.
The Demon Deacons held a heavy advantage in shots (11-3) and shots-on-goal (9-0) Friday, despite the Hokies holding the slight edge in possession (52 percent) and corners (8-7).
Individually, Hanks led the Deacs with five shots and four on-goal, while Meena and Murphy recorded two shots each.
Like most of the season, the strong back line of junior's Kristin Johnson, Laurel Ansbrow, Zara Chavoshi and freshman Dempsey Brown, played the full 90 minutes in the clean sheet victory in front of junior goalkeeper Payton Cahill.
How It Happened
- Wake Forest earned its first corner in the fifth minute, but the Demon Deacons were unable to capitalize.
- Virginia Tech nearly took an early 1-0 lead in the 10th minute, but the attempt sailed just over the crossbar.
- Caiya Hanks had the Deacs' best opportunity early, but her shot was saved by Virginia Tech's keeper.
- Hanks had another chance six minutes later that drifted just off frame.
- Neither side attempted a shot over the ensuing 20 minutes.
- Malaika Meena fired a shot toward the bottom center of the net, but the Hokies' keeper corralled the shot.
- The two teams entered the halftime break tied, 0-0.
- Wake Forest held a 5-2 shot advantage over the first 45 minutes of action.
- Four of the Deacs' five shots were on goal.
- Nikayla Small attempted the Demon Deacons' first shot of the second half in the 53rd minute but it was saved.
- Emily Morris blasted a shot from just outside the 18 a few minutes later.
- In the 60th minute, Hanks gave Wake Forest a 1-0 lead with her team-high sixth goal of the season.
- Meena fired a shot off the crossbar before the sophomore forward headed it home off the rebound.
- The Deacs kept the pressure on the Hokies following the opener, as they earned three corners over a four-minute span before the 70th minute.
- The third corner was the result of another nice shot from Meena, which forced a tough save from the Virginia Tech keeper.
- The Demon Deacons earned their sixth corner of the night in the 80th minute, as a good ball in found the head of Laurel Ansbrow, whose attempt was blocked behind for another Wake Forest corner.
- Murphy doubled the Wake Forest lead in the 84th minute with her fourth tally of the season.
- Pressure from Murphy and Hanks forced a Virginia Tech turnover before the junior forward took it herself and fired it into the bottom-right corner to make it 2-0.
- The Demon Deacons held on for their second ACC victory of the season.
Demon Deacon Details of Note
- Kristin Johnson made her 50th-career appearance, becoming the second active Demon Deacon to do so (Liv Stowell).
- Nikayla Small earned her 30th-career start.
- Caiya Hanks made her 30th-career appearance.
- Emily Murphy scored her 14th-career goal and fourth for the Demon Deacons.
- She is now second on the team in goals (4) and points (9) this season.
- Goalkeeper Payton Cahill earned her second-career clean sheet in her second-career start.
- The entire back line played the full 90 minutes in the shutout.
- Laurel Ansbrow played the full 90 for the seventh time this season and currently leads the team with 911 minutes played.
- This marks the sixth time this season that Dempsey Brown, Kristin Johnson and Zara Chavoshi have played the full 90.
Standout Stats
- With her opening goal Friday night, Caiya Hanks now has 21 career points in a Wake Forest uniform (seven goals, seven assists), surpassing Liv Stowell (20) for the most of any active Demon Deacon.
- This season alone, Hanks has tallied an impressive six goals and four assists for a team-high 16 points.
- This marks the third time this season the Demon Deacons did not allow a shot on goal (Iona and Idaho State).
Tony Time with Coach da Luz
"This was a great road win against a very tough Virginia Tech team. It's so hard to win here and we performed well as a team. Our ball winning was excellent, our set piece defense was outstanding and we gained more control as the game went on. The team was the star tonight."
Up Next
Wake Forest will now hit the road for consecutive matches against Syracuse (Oct. 5) and Pitt (Oct. 8).
Follow The Deacs
Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | #GoDeacs
Team Stats
WF
VA
Goals
2
0
Shots
11
3
Shots on Goal
9
0
Saves
0
7
Corners
7
8
Fouls
10
6
Scoring Plays
Caiya Hanks (6)
Assisted By: Malaika Meena
GOAL by WF Hanks, Caiya Assist by Meena, Malaika.
59:51
Emily Murphy (4)
GOAL by WF Murphy, Emily.
83:51
Game Leaders
mid
Shots
5
SOG
4
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
Defender
/ Women's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Women's Soccer
Goalkeeper
/ Women's Soccer
Defender
/ Women's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Women's Soccer
Defender
/ Women's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Women's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Women's SoccerForward
/ Women's Soccer
Midfielder
/ Women's Soccer
Forward
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