Wake Forest Falls 4-1 to No. 6 Duke in ACC Tournament Quarterfinals

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Wake Forest (7-11, 2-6 ACC) field hockey team saw its 2024 season come to a close with a 4-1 defeat to No. 6 Duke (11-5, 6-2 ACC) on Tuesday afternoon at Kentner Stadium.

The Demon Deacons were led offensively by senior midfielder Brooke McCusker, as she tallied her second goal of the season and the 11th of her decorated Wake Forest career with a fourth quarter strike. As a team, Wake Forest recorded four shots with a pair on goal.

Between the pipes, junior goalkeeper Ellie Todd added five saves. It marks the second-straight season that Todd has finished with 70 or more saves.

The Boston native will enter her senior season needing just four saves to reach the 200 career saves mark, as she currently sits at 196 through her first three seasons in the Old Gold & Black.

How It Happened

Duke earned the first penalty corner of the contest with 8:58 remaining in the opening quarter, but Wake Forest held strong defensively as the Blue Devils' shot attempt went wide of the frame.
Senior Ellie Todd was called into action late into the first quarter, stepping up to stonewall a Duke attempt from close distance.
The two sides evenly matched up in the first quarter of play, as each team tried to find its footing while searching for the opening goal of the game.
Sophomore Ava Moore fired off the first shot of the second quarter, a powerful attempt that rocketed past the goal.
The Deacs nearly got on the board first with 11:50 remaining in the second, as a Wake Forest penalty corner resulted in a shot from sophomore Mia Schoenbeck that was thwarted by a diving effort from the Duke keeper.
Todd picked up her second save of the afternoon in the 21st minute. The Boston native then registered her third save, blocking an attempt off a Duke penalty corner 29 minutes into the match.
The two sides went into the halftime break knotted at 0-0, as it marked just the second time in the Blue Devils' last eight appearances that they were held scoreless in the opening 30 minutes.
A fourth save was collected by Todd midway through the third quarter, as she laid out to deny Duke's Kira Curland just in front of the goal.
Duke would take a 1-0 lead with 6:15 remaining in the third quarter, converting on a penalty stroke.
The Blue Devils extended their lead to 2-0 at the 48-minute mark and then pushed their lead to 3-0 with 9:18 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Demon Deacons immediately responded just 20 seconds later, however, as Wake Forest answered back with senior Brooke McCusker scoring her second goal of the season.
- The scoring play began with freshman Mia Montag penetrating the left side of the Blue Devils defense before perfectly placing a ball to graduate Anabelle Brodeur who flipped the ball to McCusker to cap the run.
The Blue Devils regained a three-goal advantage with 3:49 remaining, holding onto a 4-1 result at the final whistle.

Quotables
"I'm incredibly proud of our ability to continue to grow and fight throughout this season. Today, we played solid hockey for three quarters and then lost it in the final one. To Lotte [Smorenburg] and Anabelle, I'm grateful for their leadership and the brand of hockey they brought to our team. For Julia [LeClercq], Lilly [Avrigian], Ashley [Hart] and Brooke, we thank them for their commitment to this program and each other. We will work hard this offseason to make them proud." - head coach Jen Averill

2024 Season Highlights

Wake's underclassmen were the story for the 2024 season, as freshmen and sophomore student-athletes combined for 62 of Wake's 81 points (76.5 percent).

A season ago, the Deacs had just one athlete go for over eight points on the season. In 2024, four student-athletes are over the eight-point mark, with all four being underclassmen.

Freshman Lauren Storey's 17 points mark the most by a first-year Wake Forest student-athlete since 2016 ACC Freshman of the Year Nicola Pluta's 41 points.

o The Auckland, New Zealand native added braces against App State and James Madison.
o Her 17 points were good for second among conference freshmen this season.
o She finished her first year ranked ninth in the ACC in shots per game, averaging 2.27 during the regular season.

Sophomore Faye Janse joined Storey in double-digit points, finishing her sophomore season with 14 points on six goals and two assists.

o Janse came on strong to end her sophomore campaign with 12 of her 14 points coming in the last month of the season.
o She added a pair of game-winning goals against Louisville and James Madison with both coming in double overtime.

Sophomore Mia Schoenbeck received All-ACC honors for the first time being named Second Team All-ACC on Monday.
- Schoenbeck is one of three Demon Deacons to start every match this season and recorded three goals and two assists in her second season in the Old Gold & Black.
Freshman Mia Montag is one of 10 ACC student-athletes with six or more assists on the season.
- Montag found a knack for finding her teammates with five assists in the last 10 matches for the Deacs.
Playing in every game of their four years and 148 matches between the two, seniors Ashley Hart and Brooke McCusker both concluded stellar careers for the Demon Deacons.
- McCusker contributed 29 points on 11 goals and seven assists over her career.
- Hart finished her career with 25 points on nine goals and seven assists.
Several Deacs found the back of the cage this season as 13 players recorded goals and seven scored two or more goals: Storey (7), Janse (6), Schoenbeck (3), Anabelle Brodeur (2), Lena Keller (2), McCusker (2) and Montag (2).
Wake grabbed wins in five of their last six non-conference contests and outscored opponents 20-5 over the stretch.
The Demon Deacons recorded three shutouts on the year. On nine of 17 occasions, the Demon Deacons back line held an opponent to one goal or less. In five contests, the Deacs were able to keep the opponent to six shots or less.
Averaging 5.6 per game, Wake Forest finished in the top half of the ACC in penalty corners per game and ranked in the top 45 nationally in the category.
Wake Forest was ranked as high as No. 18 in the National Field Hockey Coaches Association (NFHCA) poll. Since the poll's inception in 2018, Wake Forest has appeared at least once in each of the last seven years.
With the win over James Madison on Oct. 20, head coach Jen Averill earned her 425th victory as the head coach of Wake Forest and now sits just four wins away from her 450th career win.

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Wake Forest Falls 4-1 to No. 6 Duke in ACC Tournament Quarterfinals

Team Stats

Brooke McCusker

Anabelle Brodeur

Ava Moore

Mia Schoenbeck

Players Mentioned

Anabelle Brodeur

Ashley Hart

Faye Janse

Lena Keller

Brooke McCusker

Mia Montag

Ava Moore

Mia Schoenbeck

Lauren Storey

Ellie Todd

Wake Forest Athletics

Wake Forest Falls 4-1 to No. 6 Duke in ACC Tournament Quarterfinals

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Team Stats

Game Leaders

Brooke McCusker

Anabelle Brodeur

Ava Moore

Mia Schoenbeck

Players Mentioned

Anabelle Brodeur

Ashley Hart

Faye Janse

Lena Keller

Brooke McCusker

Mia Montag

Ava Moore

Mia Schoenbeck

Lauren Storey

Ellie Todd

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