Demon Deacons Fall to No. 15 Syracuse in ACC Home Opener

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The Wake Forest field hockey team hosted No. 15 Syracuse in their ACC home opener on Friday night at Kentner Stadium, as the Demon Deacons (2-6, 0-2 ACC) fell to the Orange (6-2, 1-1 ACC) 1-0 following a penalty corner goal late in the fourth quarter in a highly defensive contest.

Freshman Lena Keller led Wake Forest with two of the Deacs five shot attempts. Seniors Ashley Hart and Brooke McCusker were joined by freshman Lauren Storey with a shot attempt each.

The Deacs were able to generate three corners in the final 15 minutes of play, finishing with five on the evening, but were unable to come away with a goal.

Junior goalkeeper Ellie Todd and the Demon Deacon defense faced constant pressure from the Orange, as Todd made six saves to keep the Orange out of the Demon Deacon cage for the majority of the game.

How It Happened

Wake Forest started out on the front foot as both teams looked for the first shot of the contest.
The Demon Deacons held the Orange without a shot in a very defensive first quarter from both teams.
The Deacs recorded the first shot of the game as freshman Lena Keller's effort went just wide of the Syracuse cage.
Wake Forest earned the first penalty corner of the game with six minutes left in the first half, but were unable to get a shot off.
The Demon Deacons successfully defended back-to-back penalty corners to keep the game scoreless heading into halftime.
- Junior goalkeeper Ellie Todd earned her first save of the contest as she stopped a close-range effort from the Orange.
Todd was forced into action early in the second half as she palmed away a shot for her second save.
Todd recorded two consecutive saves on close-range efforts to keep the contest scoreless with five minutes left in the third quarter.
The Deacs recorded their second shot of the game on a penalty corner but were unable to break the scoreless tie.
Wake Forest continued to hold the Orange scoreless, as the Demon Deacon defense stayed strong on back-to-back corners in the early moments of the final period.
The Orange took a 1-0 lead off a penalty corner with seven minutes remaining.
Todd saved her third shot of the contest on another Syracuse penalty corner late in the fourth quarter to give Wake Forest a chance at equalizing on the offensive end.
The Deacs earned a penalty corner with two minutes remaining, but Keller's effort was blocked.

Quotables
"We were much more structured in our outlet this evening and created a lot of opportunities for us in the final third. Unfortunately, just a lot of missed opportunities. We created a lot of scoring chances for ourselves. We're going to continue to grind and look for ways that we can be a little more composed and finish. " - head coach Jen Averill

Up Next
Wake Forest continues the five-match home stand against Kent State on Sunday, Sept. 29 on ACC Network Extra.

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Demon Deacons Fall to No. 15 Syracuse in ACC Home Opener

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Team Stats

Lena Keller

Brooke McCusker

Ashley Hart

Lauren Storey

Players Mentioned

Ashley Hart

Lena Keller

Brooke McCusker

Lauren Storey

Ellie Todd

Wake Forest Athletics